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Wars & Campaigns
►Boer War ►First World War
►►Western Front
►►►Trench Warfare: 1914-1916
►►►Allied Offensive: 1916
►►►Allied Offensives: 1917
►►►German Offensive: 1918
►►►Advance to Victory: 1918
►►Siberia ►Second World War ►►War Against Japan ►►North Africa ►►Italian Campaign
►►►Southern Italy
►►►The Sangro and Moro
►►►Battles of the FSSF
►►►Liri Valley
►►►Advance to Florence
►►►Gothic Line
►►►Winter Lines ►►North-West Europe
►►►Normandy ►►►Southern France ►►►Channel Ports
►►►Scheldt ►►►Nijmegen Salient
►►►Final Phase ►Korean War ►Cold War ►Gulf War
Battle Honours
Boer War
18 Feb 00
First World War Western Front Trench Warfare: 1914-1916
22 Apr-25 May 15
22-23 Apr 15
24 Apr-4 May 15
8-13 May 15
24-25 May 15
15-25 May 15
2-13 Jun 16
Allied Offensive: 1916
1 Jul-18 Nov 16
.1-13 Jul 16
.14-17 Jul 16
.23 Jul-3 Sep 16
.3-6 Sep 16
.9 Sep 16
15-22 Sep 16
26-29 Sep 16
. 1-18 Oct 16
1 Oct-11 Nov 16
13-18 Nov 16
Allied Offensives: 1917
8 Apr-4 May 17
.9-14 Apr 17
28-29 Apr 17
.3-4 May17
.15-25 Aug 17
.7-14 Jun 17
..31 Jul-10 Nov 17
31 Jul-2 Aug 17
.16-18 Aug 17
.20-25 Sep 17
26 Sep-3 Oct 17
.4 Oct 17
.9 Oct 17
.12 Oct 17
20 Nov-3 Dec 17
German Offensive: 1918
.21 Mar-5 Apr 18
.21-23 Mar 18
.24-25 Mar 18
.26-27 Mar 18
.4 Apr 18
.9-29 Apr 18
.9-11 Apr 18
.10-11 Apr 18
.13-15 Apr 18
.17-19 Apr 18
Advance to Victory: 1918
8-11 Aug 18
.26 Aug-3 Sep 18
26-30 Aug 18.
.2-3 Sep 18
.12 Sep-9 Oct 18
.27 Sep-2 Oct 18
3-5 Oct 18
.8-9 Oct 18
.1-2 Nov 18
.4 Nov 18
Second World War
War Against Japan
South-East Asia
8-25 Dec 41
Italian Campaign
Battle of Sicily
9-12 Jul 43
15 Jul 43
16-17 Jul 43
17-19 Jul 43
20-22 Jul 43
21-22 Jul 43
24-28 Jul 43
29 Jul-7 Aug 43
29-30 Jul 43
29 Jul-3 Aug 43
31 Jul-3 Aug 43
2-6 Aug 43
2-17 Aug 43
Southern Italy
3 Sep 43
The Sangro and Moro
19 Nov-3 Dec 43
.23-24 Nov 43
5-7 Dec 43
8-9 Dec 43
..10-19 Dec 43
..14-15 Dec 43
20-28 Dec 43
.31 Dec 43
Torre Mucchia
4 Jan 44
Battles of the FSSF
.5 Nov-9 Dec 43
2-8 Dec 43
Monte la Remetanea
25 Dec 43
3-8 Jan 44.
8 Jan 44
22 Jan-22 May 44
.22 May-4 Jun 44
.22 May-22 Jun 44
to the Tiber
25 May 44
27 May 44
2 Jun 44
11-18 May 44
13 May 44
14-15 May 44
Liri Valley
18-30 May 44
18-24 May 44
24-25 May 44
26-27 May 44
30 May 44
Advance to Florence
17 Jul-10 Aug 44
to Florence
20-30 Jun 44
20-21 Jun 44
4-17 Jul 44
25 - 31 Aug 44
Gothic Line
25 Aug-22 Sep 44
27-28 Aug 44
30-31 Aug 44
31 Aug 44
1 Sep 44
1-2 Sep 44
3-15 Sep 44
Winter Lines
14-21 Sep 44
14-18 Sep 44
San Lorenzo
18-20 Sep 44
23-25 Sep 44
11-15 Sep 44
in Salute
13-14 Sep 44
15-20 Sep 44
16-19 Sep 44
20-23 Sep 44
13-19 Oct 44
19-24 Oct 44
11-14 Nov 44
2-13 Dec 44
3-4 Dec 44
12-15 Dec 44
16-18 Dec 44
19-21 Dec 44
2-6 Jan 45
3-5 Jan 44
Northwest Europe
19 Aug 42
Battle of Normandy
6 Jun 44
7 Jun 44
8 Jun 44
8-9 Jun 44
11 Jun 44
4-5 Jul 44
4-18 Jul 44
8-9 Jul 44
18-23 Jul 44
18-19 Jul 44
19-23 Jul 44
22-23 Jul 44
25 Jul 44
7-22 Aug 44
7-9 Aug 44
10-11 Aug 44
►Clair Tizon
11-13 Aug 44
14-17 Aug 44
18-22 Aug 44
19-22 Aug 44
17-20 Aug 44
27-29 Aug 44
25-28 Aug 44
Southern France
15-28 Aug 44
Channel Ports
8-15 Sep 44
►Le Havre
1-12 Sep 44
8-10 Sep 44
►Boulogne, 1944
17-22 Sep 44
25 Sep-1 Oct 44
21-22 Sep 44
24-29 Sep 44
The Scheldt
►The Scheldt
1 Oct-8 Nov 44
6-16 Oct-44
1-27 Oct 44
9-10 Oct 44
11 Oct -3 Nov 44
20 Oct -7 Nov 44
24-31 Oct 44
31 Oct -4 Nov 44
Nijmegen Salient
Dec 44-Jan 45
31 Dec 44-
21Jan 45
16-31 Jan 45
8 Feb-10 Mar 45
8-13 Feb 45
8-15 Feb 45
14-21 Feb 45
19-21 Feb 45
26 Feb-
4 Mar 45
6-10 Mar 45
8-9 Mar 45
Final Phase
23 Mar-1 Apr 45
28 Mar-1 Apr 45
2-4 Apr 45
6-8 Apr 45
8-11 Apr 45
12-14 Apr 45
11-17 Apr 45
13-16 Apr 45
14 Apr 45
15-18 Apr 45
17-24 Apr 45
21-23 Apr 45
23 Apr-2 May 45
28-29 Apr 45
23 Apr-4 May 45
27 Apr-5 May 45
Korean War
21-25 Apr 51
Domestic Missions
►FLQ Crisis
International Missions
►ICCS Vietnam 1973
►MFO Sinai 1986-
India 1948-1979
Israel 1948- ....
Egypt 1956-1967
Lebanon 1958 ....
Congo 1960-1964
Yemen 1963-1964
W. N. Guinea 1963-1964
Cyprus 1964- ....
D. Republic 1965-1966
Kashmir 1965-1966
Egypt 1973-1979
Golan 1974- ....
Lebanon 1978 ....
Afghanistan 1988-90
Iran-Iraq 1988-1991
Namibia 1989-1990
C. America 1989-1992
Kuwait 1991 ....
W. Sahara 1991 ....
El Salvador 1991 ....
Cambodia 1991-1992
Angola 1991-1997
Yugosla. 1992-1995
Cambodia 1992-1993
Somalia 1992-1993
Mozambiq. 1993-1994
Rwanda 1993 ....
Rwanda 1993-1996
Haiti 1993-1996
Prevlaka 1996-2001
Haiti 1996-1997
Guatemala 1994-1997
Haiti 1997 ....
C.Afr.Rep. 1998-1999
E. Timor 1999-2000
Sie. Leone 1999-2005
The story of the lead-up to war in Europe in 1914 is complex. Political Assassination in the Balkans set off a cascade of military mobilizations throughout the Continent, drawing Britain into the fray. The web of alliances and diplomacy is too complicated to describe here.1 Of relevance is the fact that Canada's political relationship to Britain was such that once the latter declared war on Germany - which it did on 4 August 1914 - Canada too was at war.
The British Expeditionary Force, comprised in large part of soldiers from the small, but well-trained pre-war professional (i.e. volunteer, full-time) army, went hurriedly to the Continent where German troops violated Belgian neutrality in order to sweep down on Paris. French and British troops stopped them, and the "Race to the Sea" began, as each side sought to outflank the other, each maneuver bringing the armies a little farther north until a battle line stretched 700 kilometres, from Switzerland to the North Sea.
In the meantime, Canadian volunteers were raised. Mobilization plans were scrapped. None of Canada's regiments were to be sent overseas and instead, a new field force - the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.) was to be raised from scratch, at the whim of the Minister of Militia, Colonel Sam Hughes. Camp Valcartier was thrown together in Quebec, and C.E.F. units created at the stroke of his pen.2
Western Front
Trench Warfare: 1914-1916 Allied Offensive: 1916 Allied Offensives: 1917 German Offensive: 1918 Advance to Victory: 1918
Thirty-thousand men crowded into the new camp, and the main combat units of the new C.E.F. - sixteen provisional infantry battalions - were formed from the contingents of men sent from dozens of Militia regiments from across Canada. The origins of the battalions are shown below. A glaring omission was the inclusion of a francophone unit. French-Canadians were included in the 12th and 14th Battalions while a separate French-speaking battalion would not be authorized until later, becoming the famous 22nd Battalion (Vingt-Dieux in French, the genesis of the famous Royal 22e Regiment, or "VanDoos").3
Trench Warfare 1914-1916
Ypres, 1915 - Gravenstafel - St. Julien - Frezenberg - Bellewaarde - Festubert, 1915 - Mount Sorrel
The first convoy began embarking at Quebec on 25 September. It was the largest trans-Atlantic convoy to date, and over 7,500 horses and 30,000 soldiers made the crossing to the United Kingdom, the first contingent of many. What was known initially as the Canadian Division (later, 1st Canadian Division) spent long weeks training in southern England in an unusually rainy winter. A second division was raised, but the British remained cool to the idea until late October, agreeing to accept Canada's offer. That division arrived in the U.K. in April 1915, by which time the 1st Division had seen its baptism of fire at Ypres.4
The sluggish response by the Minister of Militia to the need for francophone battalions had repercussions in French Canada.5 Other groups also found themselves under-represented. The majority of soldiers in the initial C.E.F. battalions - just over 50% - had actually been born in the British Isles. Black Canadians met with racism, fostered by attitudes from the highest ranks. The Chief of the General Staff, Canada's senior soldier, felt as late as April 1916 that blacks were not the equals of whites. Pressure nonetheless mounted to recruit, and an all-black construction battalion was formed in July - with white officers. Sixteen black soldiers served in the 106th Battalion, a unit broken up for reinforcements, and one of them served with distinction as a replacement in the Royal Canadian Regiment. Native Canadians were accepted more readily, and a number served as snipers.6 Later in the war, Japanese-Canadians were given a mixed reception, rejected by some and more openly in other C.E.F. units. In 1917 the 10th Battalion accepted several dozen Japanese-Canadians, their comrades finding that the newcomers habitually polished their buttons and brass even in the trenches, and convincing the commanding officer that if they did so, so would everyone else. Complaints by the C.O. that experience with 11 men proved them to be "more work" than other reinforcements were ignored. At least two went on to be decorated for valour with the Military Medal.7
To France
The 1st Division crossed to France in a storm, landing at St. Nazaire and travelling by rail in "40 and 8" boxcars (unheated railcars with labels advertising their capacity of either 40 men or 8 horses, they would become familiar sights to the soldiers over the next four years). The trip to Hazebrouck was circuitous and took 43 hours, but by late February, Canadian units were at last at the front. Each Canadian battalion manned trenches for a week near Armentičres paired with experienced British units, and in early March the division was given its own sector. There were no real trenches to speak of due to soggy conditions. Entrenchments went half a metre down and sandbag walls and earth parapets were built up above ground. Broken bricks were used to shore up sandbags and duckboards were used in vain to firm up trench flooring. The division spent 21 days in this area, 5,000 metres south of Armentičres, near Fleurbaix, experiencing some scattered shelling, and providing small arms fire as a diversion when neighbouring British units put in an attack at Neuve Chapelle. The British suffered 12,000 casualties for the gain of a few thousand square yards. The Canadians, manning a quiet sector, lost 68 killed and 210 wounded.8
The Canadians were learning quickly that political patronage had left them ill-equipped. Enthusiasm for the war had been high, and a belief that the war would be over quickly was wide-spread. The reality of service life was different, and apart from the cruel realization that the Germans would not be defeated before Christmas 1914 came the knowledge that Canadian industry was not yet up to the task of equipping a large field army. Boots disintegrated under field conditions, tunics with colourful pre-war coloured shoulder straps were too finely tailored for field use, and the leather Oliver pattern field gear was unsuitable as well.9 Worst of all was the Ross rifle which armed the contingent, a fine sporting weapon but unsuited for the rigours of combat.10
Routine in the trenches established itself. Enemy attacks seemed to come at dawn or dusk, as light conditions were optimal at that time, and thus units "stood to" while the sun rose and set. Every man assembled in the trench and stood at the parapet with his weapon ready. During the day, men slept. "Funk holes" were carved into the sides of the trenches to provide overhead cover from shell splinters. Work was done at night under cover of darkness. Carrying parties to bring up rations, water, ammunition or other supplies ("stores", as the army called them) were relatively safe. More dangerous were trips into No Man's Land, the strip of ground between friendly and enemy-held trenches. There, patrols went out to do reconnaissance or raid enemy trenches, and wiring parties laid belts of barbed wire. Repairs were done on their own trenches at night, as snipers were active during the day, and the "daily hate" came at dawn - German shelling. The majority of casualties on the Western Front were inflicted by high explosives fired by large calibre guns.11
Situation in the Ypres Salient 21 April 1915
Ypres See also main article: Ypres 1915
The Canadians moved to the Ypres Salient in April. The Salient - a large bulge in the line which placed Allied soldiers at the mercy of German forces who surrounded them on three sides - had been created after what was later known as the First Battle of Ypres in the opening weeks of the war. A series of low ridges gave the Germans excellent observation points over the generally flat country. Between 14 and 17 April the Canadian Division took over 4,000 yards of trench between the British 28th Division and two French divisions. They moved into weak French positions made up of shallow and unconnected trenches and sandbag parapets, thinly wired and "paved with dead Germans" in the words of one Canadian officer. Unfortunately for the Canadians, a major German attack commenced on the afternoon of 22 April, including one of the first uses of poison gas on the Western Front. Panicked French troops streamed back in the face of chlorine gas toward St. Julien while the Canadian Division attempted to seal a two-mile gap in the line.12
See main articles: St. Julien and Gravenstafel
Two Canadian battalions hurried up out of reserve to counter-attack German troops at Kitcheners' Wood just before midnight on the 22nd, an act later referred to by the French Supreme Commander Marshal Foch as the "finest act in the war".13 There was no time to reconnoiter and the attack was costly, mounted over open ground and into the face of massed machine guns.
Its execution can be questioned, its military merits debated, but there can be no doubt that the assault by the 10th and 16th battalions, the first major offensive operation conducted by Canadian troops in the Great War, was a success, although all of the objectives could not be held. Moreover, it proved to be the only successful attack by Allied forces during the Second Battle of Ypres, which was a tribute to the training, discipline, and esprit de corps of these inexperienced young Canadians...14
If there was an absence of success elsewhere, there was no shortage of bravery. Lance Corporal Frederick Fisher of the 13th Battalion went forward with a machine gun detachment near St. Julien, and exposed himself to enemy fire while driving off German attacks. He was eventually killed in action and later awarded the Victoria Cross, the first Canadian VC of the war. The 13th Battalion had been the left-flank unit of the entire Canadian Division, and much fighting had concentrated there during the early hours of the battle. The original front-line trenches of the division still held firm on 23 April, and a new line had been stretched out to protect the left flank, where soldiers attempted to improve positions. British reinforcements attempted to counter-attack and improve the situation.
The Germans renewed their bombardment at 0300 on 24 April, and attacked the Canadian line behind another gas cloud. It was during this action that Company Sergeant Major Frederick Hall of the 8th Battalion was killed attempting to rescue a wounded man, for which he was also posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The 15th Battalion suffered 647 casualties, the highest number ever suffered by a single Canadian unit in one action during the course of the war. The Canadian line now buckled, and ad hoc groups were thrown in to shore up the defences. The apex of the Ypres Salient fell to the Germans, but nowhere was more than 1,000 yards of territory yielded. German attacks continued to mount, however. Lieutenant Edward Bellew, Machine Gun Officer of the 7th Battalion, manned a machine gun until it ran out of ammunition, disabled his weapon and fought on with pistol and bayonet until overwhelmed and captured. Taken prisoner, he too received the Victoria Cross, credited for having stopped a German attack on the 7th Battalion. Canadian determination - and the timely arrival of British reinforcements - had saved Ypres. On 25 April, British troops attempted to retake St. Julien and lost 2,400 men attacking well-entrenched Germans. Fighting continued in the Salient throughout May, but for the Canadians, it was mostly over by the end of 25 April. The division had suffered 60% casualties.15
Frezenberg and the PPCLI See main articles: Frezenberg and Bellewaarde
The first Canadian unit in the field had been the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the last privately raised infantry regiment in the British Empire. Created from a cadre of veterans and assembled at Ottawa in August 1914, PPCLI joined the British 80th Brigade and served in the St. Eloi sector of the Western Front from 7 January to 23 March 1915. They arrived in the Ypres sector on 9 April and remained there until the end of May.16 A gallant stand at Frezenberg on 8 May remains an important part of regimental lore. As German attempts to reduce the Ypres Salient continued after the departure of the Canadians, the Patricias found themselves subjected on 8 May to a fierce bombardment and the sight of a flank left wide open as German attacks pierced the British lines. Desperate counter-attacks by the Patricias and renewed assaults by the Germans raged for hours and 329 men were killed, wounded or went missing during the day's action.
It is easy to claim, after the fact, that the PPCLI saved the Ypres Salient by holding fast on the lower slope of Bellewaerde Ridge on 8 May, and that Ypres might have fallen otherwise. But no one can ever know what the outcome might have been, despite all the words of praise written about the Patricias by higher commanders after the battle. What did happen, however, was remarkable enough. A battalion that had never seen a general action, made up of older veterans shored up by younger reservists, a battalion virtually worn out, and worn down by long periods under fire, threw back a major German attack on its own front. Outflanked, out-numbered, outgunned, the Patricias did not break; they did not allow the enemy to pass.17
The Patricias, depleted to just 150 survivors, were merged with the 4th King's Royal Rifles and saw further action at Bellewaarde Ridge.18
Festubert See main article: Festubert
In the spring of 1915, Allied leadership still believed a successful offensive and large breakthrough could force a German strategic retreat. While the strength of field fortifications was acknowledged by leaders in the field, "the generals were firmly of the opinion that persistence would win out, particularly if massive artillery bombardments preceded the infantry assault so that the enemy was 'gradually and relentlessly worn down' beforehand."19
The French hoped to prove this theory correct with a major offensive in the south in early May 1915, just south of where their armies met the British Expeditionary Force. The B.E.F. was to engage in a two-division diverion at Aubers Ridge. Both elements were to begin on 9 May, but disastrous results by the British forces ended their involvement within twelve hours. Obliged to continue the fight to support French offensive actions, the British senior commander, Sir Douglas Haig, concentrated his forces on a narrow front at Neuve Chapelle and Festubert. Attacks began on 15-16 May following a 60-hour bombardment. The war on the Western Front had become a battle of attrition.
The deductions made by the Allies as a result of their attempts on the German front in the Spring and early Summer of 1915 had convinced them that the key to success lay in quantity. The larger the number of men and guns that there were available the greater the chances of a breakthrough. It was the principle of the sledgehammer; the greater the weight of metal that could be flung at the German defences the more likely they were to crumble.20
The 1st Canadian Division was drawn into the fighting, called on to make five separate attacks over the course of eight days over flat, open and water-logged ground, with attacks planned on inaccurate maps. Futile attacks had cost the Canadians 2,468 casualties by the time they left on 31 May for the Givenchy sector, many of the dead left to rot in No Man's Land as there was no way to retrieve them. A thousand square yards of ground had been the reward for their sacrifice. Lessons in tactics would be learned, but better weapons and tactics were still a long time in coming. For the Canadians in the summer of 1915, "(t)he German defences - the combined effect of reinforced strong points, machine guns in large numbers, thick barbed-wire barricades and plentiful artillery - had simply become too strong to be carried by men armed with rifles and bayonets."21
The 1st Canadian Division took over just 1,000 yards of front-line trench at Givenchy, which required just one of the division's three brigades to man front-line positions at any one time. Early June brought fine weather, the replacement of the hated Ross with the British Lee-Enfield rifle, and dry ground, meaning good, solid, deep trenches when in the line. On 15 June, the 1st Brigade was ordered to mount an attack on the German lines. The attack would be rehearsed in advance, to give every man an idea of what was expected. There would be a 60-hour preliminary artillery bombardment, including from three guns with armoured gunshields wheeled right up into the front lines, so as to be able to fire over open-sights at any German machine guns who still resisted the advance through No Man's Land. And British engineers, tunnelling under No Man's Land, were to set off a mine near the objective, a German strongpoint marked "H.2" on the Canadian trench maps.
Everything went wrong. The blast from the mine also killed a number of assaulting troops waiting in the tunnel, and German reaction was swift, raining down artillery into the Canadian forward positions. Two of the Canadian guns were knocked out and a number of troops of the 1st Battalion were hit without ever leaving their own trench. Nonetheless, two companies of the 1st Battalion managed to get into the German positions, and then by "leaning on the barrage" - advancing immediately behind the curtain of friendly shells - penetrated to their second line. As their "bombers" cleared out enemy trenches, German counter-attacks began in earnest. The third and fourth companies crossed over to reinforce, taking casualties from German machine guns now back in action. It was at this point that Lieutenant Edward Campbell took two machine guns and stopped and enemy counterattack, earning a Victoria Cross. Only one other man of his detachment survived; Private H. Vincent was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The 1st Battalion was forced to retire, out of ammunition and with no chance of reinforcement by the 2nd or 3rd Battalions.
On 24 June, the Division moved once more, to Ploegsteert (in fashion typical to English speaking soldiers on the Western Front, it was mangled to become "Plugstreet" by the Canadians), and on the 27th the Division went into 4,000 yards of trenches, there to remain for nine months. The sector expanded later as other Canadian divisions joined them, and the C.E.F. expanded to become a corps.22
Settling In
It was obvious by now that trench warfare was to be the modus operandi of the armies on the Western Front.
In every theatre of war the attack was, at some time or other, faced with the problem of an attack on an entrenched enemy. Nowhere was this more apparent than on the Western Front, where for four years both sides were permanently involved in finding a satisfactory solution to this phenomenon. The techniques of trench fighting originated for the most part, on the Western Front; if they were used elsewhere to start with it was only in order to prove them for use on the Western Front.23
The 1st Canadian Division, still under its first commander, Lieutenant-General Alderson, a British officer, spent a quiet summer improving their positions. "Live and let live" became the order of the day, with only occasional shelling, sniper activity, and night-time patrolling. However, Alderson was determined to construct defensive works throughout the divisional area, and thus there was much work conducted, primarily at night. Forward trenches were deepened to permit movement while upright without exposing troops to direct observation. Parapets were reinforced with sandbags, and firesteps were added to permit troops to observe and fire over top of the higher parapets. Trench sections were carved out into zig-zags, creating bays for groups of four or five soldiers, minimizing the effects a single shell burst might have and eliminating the possibility of an enemy unit firing along the length of an entire trench ("enfilade").
"No Man's Land" was made more difficult to traverse by the addition of thicker barbed wire entanglements ahead of the Canadian trenches, and concealed listening posts were added forward of the trenches as well. "Hoochies" dug into the rear wall of forward trenches let men sleep and eat under cover, and deep, narrow "safety" trenches provided temporary cover during bombardment when the front came under direct shelling. A Support Line - a second set of trenches parallel to the front line - was constructed in tandem with the main line of defence about 50 yards back, and several hundred yards behind that were strongpoints into which heavy machine guns of the Motor Machine Gun Brigade were deployed. The latter arrived from England in June. Communication trenches - narrow walkways just wide and deep enough to accommodate a crouching soldier - connected all these fortifications. "(A)s similar fortifications were built by both sides, the probability of assaulting infantry ever breaking through them became increasingly remote. The stage was being set for the horrible battles of attrition that would dominate warfare on the Western Front for the next two years."24
The Canadian Corps
Even after the bloodshed at Ypres, support for the war remained high in Canada, and the 2nd Canadian Division was formed in Canada and moved to England during the spring of 1915.25 The division moved to France in mid-September 1915, and plans were already in the works to create a Canadian Corps. This meant not just a corps headquarters to oversee the activities of the two divisions, but additional "corps troops" including artillery, engineers, medical and logistics units as well as additional battalions that later went on to help populate the 3rd Canadian Division, including PPCLI (released from duty under British command) and the Royal Canadian Regiment (Canada's only regular army infantry unit, freshly arrived from nearly a year of garrison duty in Bermuda). The Canadian Corps headquarters activated on 13 September 1915, extending the front of the 1st Division by 5,000 yards to permit the 2nd Canadian Division to enter the line, and numbering 1,354 officers and 36,522 men under command. It would increase in size the very next month and by war's end number four divisions of robust size and reputation.25
Winter 1915-1916
Most of the Western Front had settled into a stalemate at the time the Canadian Corps was formed, and weather suitable for conducting offensive actions was coming to an end. His Majesty King George V visited the Corps on 27 October 1915, and the next day, winter rains began, falling for much of the next four months. Some men would be lucky enough to receive waist-length rubber trench waders, while the rest would have to endure.
Men at the front had to spend days on end in thigh-deep water...(t)here was simply no shelter to go to: the dug-outs that had been so carefully prepared during the dry weather were either flooded or had collapsed. The intensity of the rain let up somewhat in late November, and hand-operated pumps were able to keep down the level of the water in the forward trenches. But ankle-deep, slimy mud was everywhere and on everything. The men had only one uniform, and usually only two pairs of socks, so there was no possibility of drying out clothing or boots. And, as there was no way to keep clean in these appalling conditions, everyone soon had a healthy crop of lice. As the temperature fell to near freezing for much of the next two months, it was sustained, bleak misery. the only brief respite from being cold, wet and dirty came once every ten days or so when units were marched through the divisional baths. Here, besides a luxuriously hot shower, the men got a clean pair of underwear, while their shirts and uniform were disinfected to kill the lice. The daily issue of service rum, supposedly to ward off the cold, was just about the only pleasure the men had to look forward to.27
Men at the front had to spend days on end in thigh-deep water...(t)here was simply no shelter to go to: the dug-outs that had been so carefully prepared during the dry weather were either flooded or had collapsed.
The intensity of the rain let up somewhat in late November, and hand-operated pumps were able to keep down the level of the water in the forward trenches. But ankle-deep, slimy mud was everywhere and on everything. The men had only one uniform, and usually only two pairs of socks, so there was no possibility of drying out clothing or boots. And, as there was no way to keep clean in these appalling conditions, everyone soon had a healthy crop of lice. As the temperature fell to near freezing for much of the next two months, it was sustained, bleak misery. the only brief respite from being cold, wet and dirty came once every ten days or so when units were marched through the divisional baths. Here, besides a luxuriously hot shower, the men got a clean pair of underwear, while their shirts and uniform were disinfected to kill the lice. The daily issue of service rum, supposedly to ward off the cold, was just about the only pleasure the men had to look forward to.27
A notable feature of the period was the trench raid, as General Alderson insisted the the "offensive spirit" needed to be maintained to keep up morale.28 "Trench raids were not, contrary to popular belief, a Canadian invention, but the Canadians became acknowledged experts in these violent excursions into enemy-held territory."29
Expansion of the Canadian Corps
The U.K.'s War Committee had decided in December 1915 that France would be the main theatre of war for the British Empire, where all military emphasis would be placed. Nine divisions were withdrawn from Egypt and Territorial Force and "New Army" forces crossed the English Channel to bolster the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. Between Christmas 1915 and 1 July 1916 the B.E.F. under Sir Douglas Haig grew from three armies of 38 infantry divisions and five cavalry divisions to four armies (and a reserve army) of 49 infantry divisions and five cavalry divisions. The reserve army became the 5th Army in October 1916. In June 1915, the British War Office formally asked Canada for additional formations beyond its commitment to 5,000 reinforcements monthly to the existing divisions in the field. Initial resistance to forming a third Canadian division was met by comments by General Alderson (the British commander of the Canadian Corps) who noted that standard policy in the B.E.F. was to have three divisions per corps, two in the line and one in reserve. A 3rd Division was authorized, and when the British asked for twelve battalions for Egypt as well, they counter-offered with a fourth division for the Western Front. By September 1915, Canadian officials were confident of their ability to maintain four divisions in the field.
The 3rd Division was created in December 1915 under Major-General M.S. Mercer, a veteran of the 1st Brigade and Commander of Headquarters Corps Troops. He was a Canadian as were all three brigade commanders and many of his staff officers. By the end of 1916, only three major appointments would be held by Britons (G.S.O. I, G.S.O. II and Brigade Major Artillery). A number of staff officers and unit commanders had combat experience but few soldiers or sub-unit leaders had been in the field.
The 4th Division was accepted by the War Office on the proviso that 18 reserve battalions be created in England as a source of reinforcements for the 36 battalions of the three divisions extant in the Canadian Corps. The 4th Division was therefore created from units already overseas, or imminently arriving, on 26 April 1916. Selection was tentatively made by representatives from both the Canadian Training Depot and the War Office. The division concentrated and took preliminary divisional training at Bramshott, in Aldershot Command. The first commander, Major-General David Watson, had led the 5th Brigade (of the 2nd Canadian Division) in France. The 4th Division did not have its own artillery, a situation it shared with the 2nd and 3rd, and it was not until June 1917 that the 4th Divisional Artillery was formed. The division moved to France in August 1916 after shuffling its slate of proposed infantry battalions.
The demands created by the organization of the two new overseas divisions and the necessity of maintaining in the United Kingdom an adequate number of reinforcement battalions (one for every two battalions in France) were met by an increasing flow of infantry units across the Atlantic. Although in the first two months of 1916 a shortage of accommodation in England restricted troop movements from Canada, by the end of June forty-two infantry battalions had sailed. Meanwhile the total establishment of the armed forces had been doubled.30
Major-General M.S. Mercer (LAC photo)
Canadian Operations January-March 1916
In early 1916, the 1st and 2nd Divisions moved to the Ypres Salient. "By then, the land had been levelled and rendered desolate. Only grey, shrapnel-shredded trunks remained of green woods, and the natural drainage of the land had been destroyed so that streams flowed into the trenches. shell holes and churned mud made bringing up supplies and other movement hazardous."31 The Canadian Corps, now consisting of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd 2nd Canadian Divisions, held positions from Ploegsteert to just north of Kemmel during the early winter months of 1916, and cold, damp weather caused great misery well into March 1916. Heavy rain caused flooded trenches, and cold biting wind added to the discomfort. Despite no periods of major action, in January, February and March 1916, 546 Canadians were killed and 1,543 were wounded, mostly by German shellfire.32 Additionally, three had been gassed and one Canadian taken prisoner, while there had been 667 accidental and other non-battle casualties, 20 of which had been fatal. " In spite of weather and living conditions the health of the troops was good; though there were cases of influenza, paratyphoid, and trench feet."33
Morale, however, remained remarkably high despite the relative inactivity, the constant discomfort and the steady losses. Some escape was occasionally possible, as the troops were now permitted short periods of leave in the towns in the rear area where they could drink plentiful quantities of rough vin rouge. But one of the new amenities most welcomed by the troops were the improvised laundry facilities now being set up alongside the Divisional baths. When they did get the rare luxury of having a shower, the men no longer had to put on damp and filthy uniforms.34
The Corps formed part of the British 2nd Army, its front immediately south of the Ypres Salient. The 3rd Division rotated brigades and battalions into the line in relief of the 1st and 2nd Divisions to gain experience, but due to the length of the front they were required to hold, tours of duty were frequent for all units and time out of the trenches was short. A battalion might typically serve six days in front line trenches, then six days in support trenches, then finally six in reserve where billets, baths and for some even films and entertainments awaited, such as the 3rd Division's "Dumbells" concert party which was formed in March 1916.35
3rd Division "Dumbells" (LAC photo)
The Canadians were ordered to comply with a general policy of "wearing down" the Germans by sniping, trench raids and surprise artillery shoots.36 Canadian snipers, like their British counterparts, were initially hamstrung by a lack of proper equipment. Sniper rifles were in short supply and actually considered "trench stores" - in other words, they were not issued to individuals, but to units, and left in the trenches to be turned over when a battalion relieved another for its tour of duty in the front line.37 There had also been no standardized pattern of telescopic sight at the outbreak of war and a variety of equipment was used, from both Canadian and British sources. Some of Canada's leading snipers used no telescopic sights at all, relying only on the standard aperture sight of the service rifle.
On 2 January 1916 the 25th Battalion (of the 2nd Division) used hand-held wire-cutters during a raid on enemy trenches. The cutters were a recent introduction into the collection of trench warfare equipment, and as a counter-measure, the Germans began using tempered steel in the construction of wire for use in obstacles, making the cutting of wire by hand much more slow and difficult. Picked men of the 28th and 29th Battalions launched a raid early on 31 January in the centre of the Canadian sector, and 30 men from each battalion cross No Man's Land to shower the enemy trenches with bombs, taking three prisoners for a loss of two killed and ten wounded. More significantly, three German regiments were positively identified. In Sir Douglas Haig's first official Despatch on 19 May 1916, 95 units and formations were mentioned by name for "good work in carrying out or repelling local attack and raid" and six were Canadian, including the 28th and 29th Battalions, as well as the 7th Battalion who had raided across the Douve in November 1915.
The two Canadian raids illustrated the phases through which patrolling in trench warfare had progressed. The casual encounters of hostile parties in the dark, which marked the first stage, had given way to the organized trench raid by night, the pattern of which the Canadians had set. The summer of 1916 was to see the third and final stage - the daylight raid.38
As the Germans prepared for their offensive against the French at Verdun, they launched a series of diversionary attacks in other areas of the front between 8 February and 19 February. One of these occurred at "The Bluff" which was a tree covered mound on the north bank of the Ypres-Comines Canal. The British 5th Corps lost the low heights in bitter fighting on 14 February, but 17 days later a well-executed British counter-attack took it back. Canadian participation was restricted to artillery support, as well as extending the line of the Canadian Corps 700 yards towards the outskirts of St. Eloi by relieving 5th Corps units, beginning on 17 February. The first Military Medal, created in March 1916, to be issued to a Canadian went to Corporal R. Millar of the 1st Battalion for bravery under fire on 18 March 1916.39
St. Eloi Craters
Mine warfare had also progressed during 1915, and by the start of 1916 commanders on both sides of No Man's Land recognized the practice of tunnelling and mining as important factors in the siege operations characterizing military activities on the Western Front. Mining had been prominent in the fighting for The Bluff, and the work of British sappers would lead to a costly and frustrating operation for 2nd Canadian Division.
Captioned on the LAC website as "Crater on the Bluff looking toward St. Eloi." (click to enlarge). Ammunition boxes and what looks like a German helmet can be seen in the middle ground. The desolation of the terrain is apparent; by mid-1916, No Man's Land on the Canadian front had been shattered to a treeless morass. LAC photo
German sappers generally operated 10-30 feet underground, exploding mines under British trenches or using lightly charged camouflets to destroy installations without creating craters. British countermining was done at the same depths initially, and also aimed at destroying German galleries. In time they found the Germans lacked the skill to operate at greater depth and so the British began their own mines farther back, and at depths of 50-90 feet. By December 1915 more than 20 tunnelling companies had been created in the B.E.F., with a system of training and supervision to coordinate their activities put into place that culminated in the creation in the first mining school in June 1916.
Before the British counter-attack and recapture of The Bluff on 2 March 1916, the 5th Corps was ordered to cut off the enemy held salient created at St. Eloi, a mile south-west of the Ypres-Comines Canal. The salient was 600 yards wide and penetrated about 100 yards north into British lines
Part of the salient here was elevated 10 to 20 feet above the surrounding water-logged area. At the western end of this rise was "The Mound"-a clay bank coveringhalf an acre which had been formed by the overburden from a brickfield nearby. Its original height of thirty or more feet had been reduced by much shelling and mining, but as an observation post overlooking the adjacent trenches it was still an important objective for either side. The Mound had unpleasant memories for the P.P.C.L.I., who had had the task of holding it in January 1915, when it was still in British hands. Within this area miners on both sides had waged an almost continuous battle throughout 1915, laboriously driving their sheeted galleries through the shifting quicksands below no man's land and the opponent's trenches. Altogether 33 mines and 31 camouflets had been blown in a space of ten acres. To offset the enemy's aggressive activity near the surface, British tunnellers had in August 1915 begun sinking three shafts 50 to 60 feet deep, running galleries forward well below the sand. So quietly did they work and so skilfully did they conceal the spoil from the tunnels that the enemy's suspicions were not aroused. Early in March they were under the German positions. On a front of 600 yards six mines (numbered consecutively from west to east), with charges ranging from 600 to 31,000 pounds of ammonal, were in readiness to initiate the British attack by blowing up The Mound and the enemy's front-line trenches. Staffs were confident that the outcome of the mining would ensure the success of the operation, even if the approaching spring weather should fail to improve the deplorable conditions of sticky mud and water-filled shell-holes and craters through which the infantry must assault. Capture of the objectives would reverse the salient by securing a new line which would thrust south into the German position to as much as 300 yards from the existing British trenches.40
Part of the salient here was elevated 10 to 20 feet above the surrounding water-logged area. At the western end of this rise was "The Mound"-a clay bank coveringhalf an acre which had been formed by the overburden from a brickfield nearby. Its original height of thirty or more feet had been reduced by much shelling and mining, but as an observation post overlooking the adjacent trenches it was still an important objective for either side. The Mound had unpleasant memories for the P.P.C.L.I., who had had the task of holding it in January 1915, when it was still in British hands. Within this area miners on both sides had waged an almost continuous battle throughout 1915, laboriously driving their sheeted galleries through the shifting quicksands below no man's land and the opponent's trenches. Altogether 33 mines and 31 camouflets had been blown in a space of ten acres.
To offset the enemy's aggressive activity near the surface, British tunnellers had in August 1915 begun sinking three shafts 50 to 60 feet deep, running galleries forward well below the sand. So quietly did they work and so skilfully did they conceal the spoil from the tunnels that the enemy's suspicions were not aroused. Early in March they were under the German positions. On a front of 600 yards six mines (numbered consecutively from west to east), with charges ranging from 600 to 31,000 pounds of ammonal, were in readiness to initiate the British attack by blowing up The Mound and the enemy's front-line trenches. Staffs were confident that the outcome of the mining would ensure the success of the operation, even if the approaching spring weather should fail to improve the deplorable conditions of sticky mud and water-filled shell-holes and craters through which the infantry must assault. Capture of the objectives would reverse the salient by securing a new line which would thrust south into the German position to as much as 300 yards from the existing British trenches.40
Rejecting plans for the British 3rd Division to carry out an assault at St. Eloi (when first planned, they had been fresh but by mid-March were much depleted and of doubtful use) and so General Alderson proposed accelerating a planned relief of the 5th Corps by the Canadian Corps and using the fresh 2nd Canadian Division. The British troops had rehearsed on a course simulating the actual terrain and time constraints left no ability for the Canadians to do the same: each day of delay meant risk of discovery and/or counter-mining by the Germans. A compromise was struck in which the 3rd Division provided the assault troops, but the Canadians relieved them as soon as the objectives were taken.
At 4:15 a.m. on 27 March 1916 a barrage of 41 guns and howitzers opened the battle, and the six mines were fired in sequence, blotting out landmarks and collapsing trenches on both sides of the line. Two companies of the 18th Reserve Jäger Battalion disappeared as Mines 2, 3, 4 and 5 went up and with it the remains of The Mound collapsed into Mine 3. Mines 1 and 6 failed to reach the German line and remained in No Man's Land.41 Crater 3, the largest of the new landmarks created by the mine explosions, was 15 yards deep and over 55 yards across at its widest point. Craters 2, 4 and 5 were smaller, but only slightly. The lip on each crater rose as high as six yards above the surrounding ground, and the debris blocked lines of sight from the former British front line.42 The British 9th Brigade assaulted with two battalions, capturing Craters 1, 2 and 3 and their objective of the German third line 200 yards beyond. On the British left, only Crater 6 and a smaller hole from earlier fighting (later referred to as Crater 7) were taken. The devastation wrought by the mines resulted in mass confusion and troops on the left thought that they secured Craters 4 and 5 when in fact, neither British nor German troops were in possession of the holes. The 3rd Division remained oblivious to the fact the Germans had moved up troops to Crater 5, though on 30 March they did establish a machine gun post in Crater 4.
Nearly a week of fighting followed until the last uncommitted battalion of the 3rd Division took back Crater 5 on 3 April, with only Point 85 remaining to be taken. Point 85 was a machine gun emplacement at a trench intersection 150 yards to the south-west which had become a key location through which German counter-attacks were mounted. German losses in the first three days of fighting had been 921 by enemy accounts, with about 300 men being killed or buried by the mine explosions - and would have been higher if not for careless security by British sappers and soldiers who gave away the operation with poor field telephone discipline, loose talk in civilian establishments, and permitting tell-tale underground noises to escape.
Every battalion of the 3rd Division had required to rotate through the craters, to withstand shellfire, long duty either standing or crouching in water-filled holes, some waist deep, with no prospect of rest. On 1 April the relief of 5th Corps was accelerated due to the exhausted nature of the division, and on the night of 3-4 April the Canadian Corps exchanged places with the 5th Corps, moving from a sector of line to the south, the Canadians assuming command at 12:00 pm on 4 April. As there was an unwillingness to register new artillery during ongoing operations, the British 3rd Divisional Artillery remained in place, along with mortars, a battery of Vickers machine guns and 24 Lewis guns. The occasion marked the first time an entire corps had relieved another, and on an active battle front. Because of the Canadian government's wishes to keep its divisions together as a national contingent, the practice became the rule rather than an exception to standard practice for the Canadians. The Canadian Corps would move as one.43
Another first occurred on 4 April when the 6th Canadian Brigade took over a section of line from the British 76th Brigade wearing steel helmets for the first time. Like telescopic rifles had been when first issued, these were considered "trench stores" and were issued to units rather than individuals.44 The first issues were done on a scale of just 50 per company.45
The 27th Battalion went into the line next to the corps right boundary, occupying 1,000 yards of front running east opposite Craters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The line was badly damaged and amounted to little more than a ditch, proving hard to identify. The 250 yards opposite Craters 4 and 5 were supposed to hold 12 Lewis gun posts, but only four could be found. The 27th Battalion defended this area with bombing posts linked by patrols. Their sector was also an ideal target for German shell fire and enemy observers on Wytschaete Ridge, with the sun to their backs for the majority of the day, could observe Canadian movements them at will while British observers had no commanding positions and could see only the lips of the craters on the sky-line, meaning that only when the sun was low could individual craters be seen by their shadows with the front line lying in the dead ground beyond.46
On the east side of the salient single companies of the 31st relieved three entire exhausted British battalions: "A" Company took the right sub-section over from the 12th Yorks, "B" Company the centre from the 4th East Yorks, and "C" Company the left from the 7th King's Own Shropshire Light Infantry. Their relief was effected under heavy shellfire and they also occupied trenches that offered little protection, with obliterated communications trenches and dugouts.47 The craters themselves had not been occupied by the 3rd Division, being considered too dangerous since German guns and mortars could easily target them. Since they were on higher ground they had the advantage of being relatively dry and the Canadian brigade commander, Brigadier-General Ketchen, planned to fortify them.48
One of the craters at St. Eloi, likely taken long after the battle. Horses and men can be seen on the road on the far side. (click to enlarge). LAC photo
The original front line that the 3rd Division had attacked from was now the 2nd Division reserve line, but it had been obliterated for a distance of 1,000 yards, beaten down and drenched, every shell hole turned into a pond and some trenches with as much as three feet of standing water. Communication between the captured German line and the rear was non-existent save for what existed around the flanks of the system of craters. The four centre craters had been created in such proximity that they were an impassable obstacle, the largest being 50 feet deep and 180 feet across.
In spite of these disadvantages General Turner felt that, given time, "we could make a pretty good line of the position selected, but that a very great amount of work would be required". The advice of the commander of the outgoing division, based on some experience in crater-fighting, was "to make good the [new] front line and wire it ... dig a support line in front of the craters and wire it ... provide communication trenches between old and new front lines ... make tunnelled dugouts in the rear exterior slopes of the craters as soon as the earth had consolidated sufficiently ... make and maintain dummy trenches round the lips of the craters to induce the enemy to waste ammunition by shelling them. Brig.-Gen. Ketchen was not in agreement with this proposed scheme of developing field works. The 3rd British Division, handicapped by the impossible ground and weather and the enemy's harassing fire, had made little progress on such a programme. Although two communication trenches had been dug, only one was still recognizable by the time of the hand-over. Ketchen was concerned over the extreme vulnerability of the new trench line and wanted instead to occupy and fortify the craters as the main defensive position - which is exactly what the Germans later did. But there was no time to change policy or to arrange for the men and materials required for such a task. The work of consolidation was attacked with energy. During the first two nights the 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion, under engineer direction and assisted by large parties drawn from the 4th and 5th Brigades, toiled vigorously to improve the defences. Firing positions in the captured German trenches which formed the front line were reversed, pumping slightly reduced the water level, British wounded were evacuated and the bodies of British and German dead were removed. A support trench running eastward was started south of the line of craters. Throughout 4 and 5 April the whole of the Canadian front line came under almost continual bombardment. The intensity of the German fire was described by a British artillery officer who had been in the Ypres Salient for the past year as far greater than any he had hitherto experienced.49
The sectors of both the 27th and 31st Battalions were punished by the German fire, 200 yards of trenches in the 27th Battalion's area were completely blown in.50 The history of the 31st Battalion described the shell fire as "intermittent" and "less severe than the bombardment of the previous night" but recorded that "it was sufficient to keep the men on edge, and prevent sleep" then noted that a violent bombardment resumed at 07:00 a.m. on 5 April. During the day 26 casualties were suffered by the battalion.51
When shellfire destroyed the sandbag parapet in front of a 31st Battalion trench, they were enfiladed by German machine guns at Point 85 and exposed to sniper fire from German positions only 150 yards distant. By this point, troops had managed to dig individual slit trenches in the mud but casualties had mounted in the 27th Battalion to the point they were were forced to thin their front line to cover it, and contact couldn't be maintained between the two battalions. On the evening of 5 April sniper and observation parties of the 28th Battalion moved into the large craters to attempt to hold them until they could be fortified, but there remains confusion as to which ground they actually occupied. On the night of 5-6 April, the 29th Battalion began to relieve the 27th Battalion.52 Plans to relieve the 31st Battalion were abandoned when it was found to be impossible to do so.53
During the relief, which was carried out over a single communication trench already in use by pioneers and carrying parties, two battalions of Germans made an assault on the craters at 3:30 a.m. on 6 April. Following an intense barrage, the Germans were able to move into positions not yet occupied by relief troops of the 5th Brigade. Attacking astride the road from St. Eloi to Warneton, they moved right between Crater 3 and Crater 4, wiping out machine gun posts. Their eastern wing was temporarily stopped by machine guns of the 31st Battalion, who beat back attacks on Crater 6 and Crater 7, but artillery fire failed to stop the Germans from splitting into small groups and securing Craters 2, 3, 4 and 5. In just under three hours the enemy had regained all the terrain they had lost between 27 March and 3 April.
Counter-attacks went poorly. Bombers of the 27th and 29th Battalions were shot down before they could get within grenade range of Craters 2 and 3. The 31st Battalion was reinforced by the 28th and attacked Craters 4 and 5. Losing direction in the featureless morass, they occupied Craters 6 and 7 and assumed they had taken their objectives. They were then cut off by German shellfire, where no reconnoitring officer could link up in daylight with them. Reconnaissance aircraft were similarly grounded due to weather and no aerial photographs were produced between 8 and 16 April. Troops could see the high edge of Crater 5, thinking it to be Crater 3. An attack on the night of 6-7 April by 75 bombers of the 28th Battalion was held up by German shells and heavy rain. They lost their way in the dark, captured some German patrols, and failed to identify the objective while nonetheless occupying a group of craters north of Crater 4. The 4th Brigade meanwhile relieved the 6th which had lost 617 men in four days of fighting.
On 8 April, Major-General Turner, commanding the 2nd Division, suggested that the Germans be given the same treatment they had meted out and urged a general evacuation from the craters in order to heavily bombard them, or alternately to attack along a wider front in order to present a wider objective for return fire from German artillery. A surprise attack would have been impossible in the small sector and resources were required for the coming Somme offensive. General Alderson, the corps commander, discussed the matter with General Plumers, the Army Commander, who though that only Craters 2 and 3 had been retaken and the Canadians were ordered to hold in place and retake the craters. Work continued on Canadian fortifications by the 4th Brigade and reserve troops while another attack, this time by the 21st Battalion, went in on Craters 2 and 3 on the night of 8-9 April, to be thrown back by small arms fire. Three Canadian battalions tried again the next night, but the 18th, 20th and 21st Battalions once again made no headway.
Another of the craters at St. Eloi. In the distance is Kemmel. (click to enlarge). LAC photo
On 10-11 April the Germans tried twice to enlarge the salient, but were stopped by Canadian bombers. On 12-13 April, the 5th Brigade relieved the 4th Brigade and efforts turned to improving the front line.54 On 13 April, the divisional commander called off further attacks. It was finally realized that Craters 2, 3, 4, and 5 were in possession of the enemy (it wouldn't be until 16 April that aerial photography finally confirmed it). Nine days of confusion had yielded little gain, and 1,373 casualties.
The sodden condition of the ground, together with the difficulty in determining locations caused by the greatly altered lay of the terrain, were among the reasons for the failure to dislodge the Germans...Blame, of course, had to be placed somewhere. The Army Commander and General Alderson wanted to remove both Generals Turner (the divisional commander) and Ketchen (commander of the 6th Brigade) but in the end - in the interest of not offending Canadian sensibilities - it was General Alderson who would go. On 28 May, he was relieved on orders from Ottawa, supposedly because the government lacked confidence in his ability to hold the Canadian divisions together. There is no doubt he was badly treated. His competence in the field, first as Division and then as Corps Commander, could not be questioned, and it is to him that credit is due for building Canada's field army from a mob of rank amateurs to one that was skilled and well-trained. The new Corps Commander, fortunately, was perhaps even more competent, and grew to be greatly respected by all Canadians.55
Lieutenant-General Julian Byng, who had commanded corps at Gallipoli and in France, arrived to take command of the Canadian Corps on 29 May. He would lead the corps into its most famous battle a year later. Author Tim Cook had a different assessment of the battle. He notes that the G.O.C. of the British 3rd Division was "negligent in handing over inadequately fortified lines to the relieving Canadians" but concedes that "under the terrible German bombardment and vicious trench fighting there was little his troops could have done." He continues:
Ultimately, however, Turner must be held accountable for his neglect of the situation throughout the battle. The 2nd Canadian Division was far from being the shock troops of 1918, and although it was to develop into one of the finest divisions on the Western Front, at St. Eloi it was ill-prepared and ill-led... ...Turner was certainly out of his depth as a Divisional commander, yet his incompetence was overlooked for fear of removing one of Canada's few heroic generals. After the St. Eloi battle the British command, although sacrificing Alderson for political reasons, realized that Turner was unfit to command front-line troops and cleared the way for Sir Arthur Currie to take command of the Canadian Corps. ...St. Eloi was a squalid affair in which the Canadians were trounced by both German commanders and troops. But it was not simply, as one historian has observed, a battle in which "the 2nd Division lost the ground a British division had painfully captured." There were many factors, especially the incompetence of both Canadian and British commanders, which deprived the inexperienced soldiers of the 2nd Canadian Division of a fair chance to defend its position. But just as the 1st Division's troops had a bloody inauguration into the Western Front, so those of the 2nd Division at St. Eloi displayed in defeat the determination and bravery that in time marked the Canadian Corps as one of the finest fighting forces on the Western Front.56
Ultimately, however, Turner must be held accountable for his neglect of the situation throughout the battle. The 2nd Canadian Division was far from being the shock troops of 1918, and although it was to develop into one of the finest divisions on the Western Front, at St. Eloi it was ill-prepared and ill-led...
...Turner was certainly out of his depth as a Divisional commander, yet his incompetence was overlooked for fear of removing one of Canada's few heroic generals. After the St. Eloi battle the British command, although sacrificing Alderson for political reasons, realized that Turner was unfit to command front-line troops and cleared the way for Sir Arthur Currie to take command of the Canadian Corps.
...St. Eloi was a squalid affair in which the Canadians were trounced by both German commanders and troops. But it was not simply, as one historian has observed, a battle in which "the 2nd Division lost the ground a British division had painfully captured." There were many factors, especially the incompetence of both Canadian and British commanders, which deprived the inexperienced soldiers of the 2nd Canadian Division of a fair chance to defend its position. But just as the 1st Division's troops had a bloody inauguration into the Western Front, so those of the 2nd Division at St. Eloi displayed in defeat the determination and bravery that in time marked the Canadian Corps as one of the finest fighting forces on the Western Front.56
Return to Static Warfare
St. Eloi was actively bombarded by both sides for two more weeks. The 2nd Canadian Divisional Artillery relieved the British 3rd Division's gun on 12-13 April. With preparations for the Somme offensive underway, ammunition for British heavy artillery was restricted and Canadian positions suffered more heavily than the Germans. Craters 6 and 7 were captured by the Germans on 19 April, but the enemy did not occupy them.
Thereafter both sides reverted to static warfare, glad to end fighting under conditions so indescribably miserable. Enemy records give the German losses in the recapture of the craters and the subsequent fighting as 483; between 4 and 16 April the Canadian casualties numbered 1373. ...The struggle for the craters left an important tactical question unsolved. The operations demonstrated that it was possible in trench warfare, given proper preparations and the help of surprise, to seize a limited objective. But they also proved the impossibility of holding out against the volume of observed artillery fire which such a narrow front invited. Future planners still had to decide the best width of front to attack-"small enough to ensure success but large enough to prevent the enemy's artillery making it impossible to hold the captured ground". St. Eloi was the 2nd Division's first fight, and from it the troops emerged with a sense of frustration. Fortunately this was only temporary, for the Battles of the Somme were approaching, and in September the Division was to prove its prowess and re-establish its reputation by its sterling performance at Courcelette.57
Thereafter both sides reverted to static warfare, glad to end fighting under conditions so indescribably miserable. Enemy records give the German losses in the recapture of the craters and the subsequent fighting as 483; between 4 and 16 April the Canadian casualties numbered 1373.
...The struggle for the craters left an important tactical question unsolved. The operations demonstrated that it was possible in trench warfare, given proper preparations and the help of surprise, to seize a limited objective. But they also proved the impossibility of holding out against the volume of observed artillery fire which such a narrow front invited. Future planners still had to decide the best width of front to attack-"small enough to ensure success but large enough to prevent the enemy's artillery making it impossible to hold the captured ground".
St. Eloi was the 2nd Division's first fight, and from it the troops emerged with a sense of frustration. Fortunately this was only temporary, for the Battles of the Somme were approaching, and in September the Division was to prove its prowess and re-establish its reputation by its sterling performance at Courcelette.57
During the fighting at St. Eloi, the remainder of the Canadian Corps occupied positions to their left, with the 1st Division in the centre of the Corps front and the 3rd Division farther north. The Corps sector extended from half a mile south-east of St. Eloi to a point 500 yards north-west of Hooge, on the Menin road. Activity in the 1st and 3rd Division sectors had been mainly shelling, patrolling and sniping on both sides, with attempts to improve positions. Two German mines were exploded on the 1st Division front on the night of 26-27 April, and an attack on the 1st and 2nd Divisions driven off.
While the month of May produced no great battles for any of the divisions in the Canadian Corps, there were nonetheless 2,000 casualties, again mostly due to continual artillery fire. The Germans continued to have the advantage as the British built up their guns for the coming Somme offensive leaving few surplus weapons for the rest of the front. During May 1915 Canadian troops first used wireless to control artillery fire. The "experiment ... was awkward and confused and nearly ended in tragedy, but it marked the beginning of a new system of control which gave more rapid and accurate fire."58
Mount Sorrel See main article: Mount Sorrel
During this quiet period, the Germans were preparing an attack aimed at the sector held by the 3rd Canadian Division, the high ground between Mount Sorrel and Hill 61 known as Observatory Ridge, jutting into the Ypres Salient for some 500 yards. While Allied intelligence had spotted warning signs of a possible assault, the presence of additional German troops had not been detected and no precautions were in place when on the morning of 2 June 1916 a heavy bombardment was brought down. Major-General Mercer, commanding the 3rd Division, was inspecting the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles with Brigadier-General Williams of the 8th Brigade and was killed by shrapnel while Williams was seriously wounded. Of 702 officers and men, just 76 of the 4th CMR survived. German infantry swarmed forward following the detonation of four mines at 1:00 p.m. and met little Canadian resistance. Mount Sorrel and HIlls 61 and 62 fell quickly, while PPCLI and 5th CMR were able to put up a stand in Sanctuary Wood and Maple Copse, respectively.
The new corps commander set out to recapture every bit of lost ground, and the 2nd Army agreed to provide all the guns in the Ypres Salient for support - 218 artillery pieces. General Currie's 1st Division prepared to smash the Germans with heavy gunfire first, then counter-attack. Planning was thorough, with detailed reconnaissance, aerial photographs, and artillery registered on targets. Units rehearsed their role in the upcoming attack.
On 12 June the entire German line was bombarded, and shells crashed down between Sanctuary Wood and Hill 60 for ten hours. For 45 minutes before Zero Hour, 1:30 a.m. on 13 June, a final barrage fell and the attack went in under a smoke screen in heavy rain. Light resistance was unable to stop the Canadians from regaining almost all of the original, battered front line. The cost of the fighting in June, including the initial German attack as well as the successful counter-attack, was 8,000 casualties.59
Interested readers may find Barbara Tuchman's The Guns of August useful. The work received the Pulitzer Prize in 1963 for general non-fiction.
Lotz, Jim Canadians at War (Bison Books Ltd., London, UK, 1990) ISBN 0-86124-641-1 pp.24-25
Dancocks, Daniel G. Welcome to Flanders Fields: The First Canadian Battle of the Great War: Ypres, 1915 (McClelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, 1988) ISBN 0-7710-2545-9 pp.36-37
Ibid, pp.60-66
Ibid, p.37
Lotz, Ibid, p.31
Dancocks, Daniel G. Gallant Canadians: The Story of the 10th Canadian Infantry Battalion 1914-1919 (The Calgary Highlanders Regimental Funds Foundation, Calgary, AB, 1990) ISBN 0-9694616-0-7 pp.102-132
Marteinson, John (editor) We Stand on Guard: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Army (Ovale Publications, Montreal, PQ, 1992) ISBN 2894290438 pp.103-104
Lotz, Ibid, p.25
For a full account see Duguid, A.F. A Question of Confidence: The Ross Rifle in the Trenches (Service Publications, Ottawa, ON) ISBN 1-894581-00-8
Lotz, Ibid, pp.28-29
Marteinson, Ibid, pp.105-106
Dancocks, Welcome to Flanders Fields, Ibid, p.134
Ibid, pp.133-134
Marteinson, Ibid, pp.105-116
Ibid, p.116
Bercuson, David J. The Patricias: The Proud History of a Fighting Regiment (Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., Toronto, ON, 2001) ISBN 0-7737-3298-5 p.66
Nicholson, Gerald W.L. Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War: Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914-1919 (Queen's Printer Ottawa, ON, 1964) p.79. The figure of 150 survivors comes from page 116 of Marteinson, Ibid.
Marteinson, Ibid, p.118
Messenger, Charles Trench Fighting (Ballantine Books Inc., New York, NY, 1972), ISBN 345-02456-7 p.52
Marteinson, Ibid, pp.118-121
Ibid, pp.122-125
Messenger, Ibid, p.9
Marteinson, Ibid, pp.126-127
Chartrand, René The Canadian Corps in World War I (Osprey Publishing Ltd., Botley, Oxford, UK, 2007) ISBN 978-184603-186-1 p.11
Marteinson, Ibid, p.128
Ibid, p.129
Dancocks, Ibid, p.65
Nicholson, Ibid, p.117
Lotz, Ibid, p.35
Marteinson, Ibid, p.133
Nicholson, Ibid, p.121
Nicholson, Ibid, p.119
Pegler, Martin Sniping in the Great War (Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK, 2008) ISBN 978-1-84415-755-6 p.147
Law, Clive M. Without Warning: Canadian Sniper Equipment in the 20th Century (Service Publications, Ottawa, ON, 2004) ISBN 1-894581-16-4 pp.16-22
Nicholson, Ibid, p.120
Ibid, pp.121-122
Marteinson, Ibid, pp.135-136
Ibid, pp.121-123
Lucy, Roger V. Tin Lids: Canadian Combat Helmets (2nd Ed) (Service Publications, Ottawa, ON, 2008) ISBN 0-9699845-3-7 p.5
Nicholson, Ibid, p.123
Singer, Horace C. (Edited by Carrell Knight) History of the 31st Canadian Infantry Battalion C.E.F. (Detselig Enterprises Ltd., Calgary, AB, 2006) ISBN 978-1-55059-316-7 p.94
Nicholson, Ibid
Singer, Ibid, pp.98-99
Singer, Ibid, p.99
Nicholson, Ibid, p.127
Marteinson, Ibid, p.136
Cook, Tim "The Blind Leading the Blind: The Battle of the St. Eloi Craters," Canadian Military History, Vol. 5, Iss 2 accessed online at http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol5/iss2/4 The historian that Cook refers to is Desmond Morton, quoting his book When Your Number's Up.
Nicholson, Ibid, p.128
Marteinson, Ibid, pp.137-138


text:
How to save energy and lower your bills this winter
Find out what actions you can take to get ready for winter and save money on your energy bills.
It all adds up.
Updated for winter 2024!
Find out how to get ready for winter with our energy saving tips.
Get ready for winter
Make sure your home is ready for the colder winter months by ensuring your heating system is running efficiently. These energy saving tips will help you save money on your energy bills and prepare your home for winter.
Energy conservation tips
Follow our helpful tips for effective ways to conserve energy in your household. These small actions could add up to big savings on your energy bills.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sensoria July 22/22
Written by BOMBSHELL RADIO on 07/29/2022
Listen to Sensoria every Friday on www.bombshellradio.com at 10 pm EST.
On this week's Sensoria with DJ Dreamdoctor, new tunes from Brooke R. Calder from Philly, Just Mustard from Ireland, Ghost Car from the UK, Ruined Conflict from Germany and a killer deep track from the new October Burns Black album. This and classic cuts from The Human League, Violent Femmes, The Sisters of Mercy and much more. We'll also play the last song ever produced by the late legend Martin Hannett.
Violent Femmes – Add It Up
Marsheaux – Get the Balance Right
Brooke R. Calder – Everybody Loves Dancing
The Human League – All I Ever Wanted
Ruined Conflict – Home
October Burns Black – Regress
Days of Sorrow – Wild World
Corpus Delicti – Atmosphere
The Sisters of Mercy – Alice
Just Mustard – Still
Ghost Car – Missing the Old Times
World of Twist – She's a Rainbow
Peter Murphy – All Night Long
Spoons – Love Can Be a Stranger


text: Founded in 1942, Sean Dolan's GAA Club is a community-based programme offering sporting activities and opportunities to people from The Creggan Estate and surrounding area. The Club is currently undertaking an ambitious building project which will include a 3G indoor hall and health and well-being hub to address the needs of some 250 young people throughout the year. But, until this is finished and up and running, they are creating a temporary hub in an existing room and urgently require chairs so they can run a series of workshops and other health awareness courses. Again, the Committee offered a grant of £700 in line with funding for other sporting organisations.


text:
Direct Line (DLGD.L) withdrew its final 2019 dividend on Wednesday and said it would make no changes to staffing until at least the autumn, as it weighs the damage that coronavirus shutdowns are having on the insurance industry.
The company, the UK's biggest motor insurer, said it had seen a falloff in claims for car accidents as motorists stayed in their homes, but that travel insurance claims were steadily rising, hitting 22 million pounds so far. (reut.rs/3bYTSl2)
"COVID-19 presents an unprecedented global challenge… It is too early to assess the impact of changes in customer behaviour that will arise given the broader consequences," Chief Executive Officer Penny James said.
Separately, insurer Hiscox (HSX.L), which underwrites a range of risks including fine art, classic cars, and kidnaps and ransoms, said the resolution to approve the 2019 final dividend of 29.6 cents per share will no longer be put to shareholders at the annual general meeting.
Its board also agreed not to propose an interim dividend payment for 2020, or conduct any share buybacks.
The pullback comes after Britain's Prudential Regulation Authority advised insurers last month to remain prudent in their approach to dividends.


text:
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What is Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis?
LWD or Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis is a genetic disorder, which is very rare. Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis is characterized by abnormal shortening of the lower legs and forearms and there is also abnormal misalignment of the wrist (also known as Madelung deformity of the wrist). Patients with Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis also have associated short stature and there also may be other additional symptoms.
The exact symptoms of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis and their severity can differ vastly from one patient to another. Patient's intelligence when suffering from is Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis is not affected.
What Causes Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis?
Genetic mutation is the common cause of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis. When there is any change in the gene, the protein element may be inefficient, faulty or absent. The organ systems of the body are affected depending upon the functions of that particular protein.
Who Discovered Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis?
Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis was discovered by Dr. Léri and Dr. Weill; hence the name of this disorder.
What Are The Other Names of Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis?
Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis is also known as Leri-Weill Syndrome, Leri-Weill Disease, Dyschondrosteosis, LWS and LWD.
What Are The Signs & Symptoms of Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis?
The specific symptoms of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis vary from patient to another. It is seen that females are more severely affected than males. The classic signs and symptoms of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis include mesomelic shortening of the limbs, Madelung deformity and short stature. Some patients suffering from Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis may obtain normal height and/or may not develop Madelung deformity.
Mesomelic shortening of the limbs is where there is abnormal shortening of the middle part of the arms and legs in association to the proximal or upper parts. This means that the forearms and lower legs are asymmetrically shorter than the upper arms and legs rendering them disproportionate to the trunk of the body.
In some patients with Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis, there may be abnormal bowing of the tibia or the shin bone and the radius and ulna (lower arm). Patient may also suffer from pain in the wrist, ankle or knee though this happens less frequently.
Patients with Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis may suffer from Madelung deformity which is more obvious around puberty. In Madelung deformity, there is shortening and bowing of the bones in the forearms along with dislocation of the ulna causing misalignment or abnormal deviation of the wrist. Usually in Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis, bilateral Madelung deformity is seen with both the wrists being affected. Patients with Madelung deformity have a limited range of motion of the elbows and wrists and/or can also suffer from wrist pain and changes in the appearance of the wrist.
Additional symptoms of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis consist of a highly arched roof of the mouth, short and thick middle bones of the hand, scoliosis and hypertrophy of the calf muscles.
How Is Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis Diagnosed?
A complete clinical examination and presence of the characteristic physical findings of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis confirms its diagnosis. It can be difficult to diagnose Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis as some of its symptoms become obvious after puberty. Imaging studies, such as x-rays, especially of the wrist, helps detect the characteristic changes of Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis in the affected bones.
In more than half of the cases, Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis can also be diagnosed with molecular genetic testing.
What Is The Treatment For Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis?
Treatment for Leri-Weill Dyschondrosteosis consists of supportive and symptomatic treatment. Patient and their family can also undergo genetic counseling. It is important to monitor the bone growth in patients suffering from Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis during the growth years.
Growth Hormone Therapy: For patients with Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis who have not attained puberty, growth hormone therapy can be done to increase their childhood and adult height.
Wrist Supports: For treating Madelung deformity in Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis conservative treatment such as wrist supports or splints can be used, especially during periods of acute discomfort. Ergonomic devices which help the wrist can also benefit.
Rest: Rest should be taken and patient should avoid straining the wrist to prevent pain from Madelung deformity in Leri-Weill dyschondrosteosis.
Surgery: Orthopedic surgery is needed for patients having severe Madelung deformity to reduce pain and improve mobility.


text:
We have listed the most frequently asked questions and their answers for you.
Verification of your previous education
Frequently asked questions
Am I admissible with my non-Dutch previous education?
Applicants who apply with a non-Dutch diploma must meet a number of requirements in order to be eligible for admission to our degree programmes.
VU Amsterdam reviews all applications with a non-Dutch diploma individually due to their distinctive nature. Therefore, the only way to determine whether you are eligible for admission is by submitting an official application through Studielink and providing all required documentation in the application portal of your personal VU dashboard.
Further information about the requirements and application procedure can be found on the admission requirement page for Bachelor's and Master's programmes. -
How can I verify my non-Dutch diploma?
When you apply through Studielink with a non-Dutch previous education, Studielink will inform you that your diploma cannot be verified automatically. It will request you to send a certified copy of your diploma to VU Amsterdam. VU Amsterdam will verify your diploma.
Unless stated differently in your admission letter, you can send your document by post to:
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Student Administration
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam
The NetherlandsPlease do not send us the original documents as we are not responsible in case any documents get lost in the process, neither are we able to return the documents or provide copies of the documents in the future when the documents are needed for other purposes.
For some students it is possible to hand in their required certified documents digitally. More information on the requirements and guidelines can be found on this webpage.
What is a certified copy of a diploma?
A certified copy means a copy of your diploma - so not the original diploma - that has an original stamp and signature provided by the awarding institute (your school or university) as proof that it is an identical copy of the original document. Please note that only the original certified copy is accepted – we will not accept scans or copies of a certified copy because their authenticity cannot be verified.
You must present the original diploma when you wish to have the copy certified. A competent authority applies a stamp, signature and date to authenticate the copy. The copy can be certified by:
- The educational institution that awarded you the diploma
- VU Amsterdam Student Desk (when you wish to study at VU Amsterdam)
Please note: If your diploma is not issued in English, German, Dutch, French or Spanish, you must also submit a Dutch or English translation by a sworn translator.
Certified digital documents
A certified digital document is an electronic copy of a student's degree certificate, academic transcript or other graduation document, the content and authenticity of which can be securely and reliably verified.
Some students may hand in their required certified documents digitally. There are a few requirements. In general, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam currently recognizes and accepts certified digital documents for the academic year 2024-2025 in the following ways/formats:
- Documents shared via the secure electronic system of the issuing university
- Documents shared via a third-party electronic system if this system is clearly mentioned on the website of the issuing university
- Documents that include a verification code or link to be used on the website of the university to verify authenticity and content
- Documents that carry a valid digital signature from the issuing university
More information on the requirements and guidelines can be found on this webpage.
Please note that VU Amsterdam has the right to reject the digital document(s) and/or request a hard copy at any moment in time.
Accepted languages
If the authenticity of your digital document needs to be verified on the website of the university, we are only able to do so if the instructions are in one of the following languages: English, German, Dutch, French or Spanish.
Unsure if your digital documents meet the above requirements?
Please submit them regardless. We will review the documents, and get back to you if we are unable to accept them.
Accepted digital documents per country
If you completed your higher education in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain or the United Kingdom, make sure to read the relevant section for any additional information and further guidelines on this page.
What is the examination date of my previous education?
The examination date, also referred to as the 'graduation date', is the date stated on your diploma. This means that the examination date is not the same as the date on which you are awarded your diploma, as diplomas are often awarded after the examination date.
Will you receive the diploma of your previous education (only) after 1 September?
A certified copy of your degree must be turned in to VU Amsterdam by 31 August (for starting date 1 September) and 15 July if you are applying for a programme that uses a selection procedure (Numerus Fixus). If you have met all the requirements to graduate before 31 August but are still waiting for the diploma certificate to be issued, alternatively you can ask your university to provide a statement of graduation.
This statement needs to state that you have met all the requirements to graduate before the 1st of September. The confirmation of graduation must be the original letter (on the institution's stationery) and signed by a competent officer, stating the officer's name and position.The letter must state the date of issuing, the degree/diploma obtained, the official graduation date (the examination date) and the date on which you will receive your diploma. VU Amsterdam's Student Administration reserves the right to reject a statement if the document does not meet our criteria.
The certified statement of graduation can be handed in at the student desk in the main building of the VU, or sent by postal mail to the following address:
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Student Administration
De Boelelaan 1105
1081 HV Amsterdam
The NetherlandsIt is also possible to have the educational institution that awarded the statement send it to us by e-mail directly to email@example.com.
Maybe you were looking for this as well?
Do you have any questions?
Please contact the Student Desk.


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When it comes to elementary students, it's no secret that they are fond of games, as they are often integrated into the curriculum.
The beginning of the school year is no exception.
As a teacher, utilizing icebreaker games for elementary students is an excellent way to set a positive, motivating, and inspirational tone in the classroom.
The following icebreaker games, well-suited for lower and upper elementary students, provide an opportunity for students to get to know each other in a fun and relaxed manner.
Icebreaker Games for Elementary Students
1. Participate In a Scavenger Hunt.
Start your elementary icebreaker games with a fun scavenger hunt!
Create a list of items commonly found in the classroom or your school (e.g., a pencil, a ruler, a book).
Divide students into small teams and give them the scavenger hunt list. They collaborate to find the items on the list within a certain amount of time.
See scavenger hunt game.
2. Make Colorful Connections.
Give each student a piece of colored construction paper (different colors).
They must then find other students with the same color paper, introduce themselves and share something about themselves with their color group.
3. Become a Talk Show Host.
This is arguably one of the most exciting icebreaker games for upper elementary students.
For this fun activity, students imagine themselves as talk show hosts and prepare a set of questions they would like to ask their classmates.
They may use pencils or pens as makeshift microphones.
Once ready, they find a partner.
With the 'microphone' in hand, one student acts as the talk show host and asks her partner the prepared questions.
The 'microphone' is positioned near the partner's mouth as if he is answering.
This exchange continues back and forth until both students have had a chance to play the role of the host and guest.
Afterward, they switch partners and repeat the process for several rounds.
4. Play Matchmaker.
Prepare cards with pictures or drawings of various objects or animals in pairs (e.g., sun and moon, peanut butter and jelly, computer and mouse).
Hand out the cards randomly to each student, and they must find their match by looking for the person with the corresponding card.
5. Do a Birthday Lineup.
In this icebreaker game, elementary students form a line based on their birthdays.
Doing so requires them to work collectively to arrange themselves in chronological order according to their birthdates.
See if students can complete this task before the birthday lineup timer runs out!
6. Play Categories.
Call out a category. Students then work together to categorize themselves based on the given criteria.
For example, you could ask students to categorize themselves by birthdays, the number of siblings they have, a certain teacher they had last school year, or what mode of transportation they utilize to get home after school.
The category possibilities are numerous.
7. Collaborate to String a Story Together.
Have students sit in a circle.
The first student starts a story with one sentence.
The next student adds another sentence, and so on, until a complete story is created, going around the circle.
8. Play "What's in the Bag?".
Fill a bag with various objects (e.g., a toy, a pencil, a rubber band).
Each student takes a turn reaching into the bag, feeling the object without looking, and describing what he/she thinks it is.
After everyone has had a turn, reveal the objects and see how close students were in their descriptions.
9. Race to Alphabetize.
Divide students into groups of four or five.
Each group participates in a race to alphabetize themselves based on various criteria.
For instance, they may alphabetize themselves by their first names, followed by their last names.
Alternatively, they may arrange themselves according to their birthdays or alphabetize by their favorite fruits or the colors of their eyes.
10. Create a Name Train.
Ask students to sit in a line or a circle.
The first student says her name aloud and chooses an adjective that starts with the same letter as her name (e.g., "Productive Patty").
The next student repeats the first person's name and adjective and then adds his own.
Continue until every student has added his or her name phrase.
11. Make Venn diagram Comparisons.
In this fun icebreaker game, elementary students work with a partner to jot down on sticky notes all the ways they are alike and different.
To add fun to this activity, allow students to stick the Post-It notes on themselves.
They will then switch partners and start the process again.
Final Thoughts On Elementary Icebreaker Games
These fun icebreaker games for elementary students are sure to bring smiles and a sense of camaraderie among classmates as they start a new school year.
They help to lay a solid foundation for a successful school year.


text:
Single coupling piece H-1-BK in black for circular tube with a diameter of 28 mm. Material: steel.
Write an evaluation
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text:
Late rally falls short as DePaul drops another game to No. 25 Villanova 71-64
DePaul has lost three straight for the first time since the 2012-2013 season. After Wednesday night's 71-64 loss to No. 25 Villanova at Wintrust Arena, the Blue Demons find themselves with their backs against the wall.
Unlike many games so far this season, DePaul commanded the first quarter. They controlled the pace of the game early and dominated the paint, as Morrow and senior Jorie Allen each had 8-points all under the basket.
Allen did not see another shot until late in the third quarter after shooting 4-of-4 in the first. Her next basket came under four minutes in the fourth when she made DePaul's first three.
Morrow notched a double-double, but shot 12-of-34 in a night where she struggled to score. Junior Darrione Rogers' performance was one she's likely to want to forget. Tallying her first point in the third quarter from a free throw, Rogers went 1-of-10 from the field with five turnovers and a plus/minus of minus nine.
DePaul's late fourth-quarter comeback started with its defense when Morrow and senior Anaya Peoples combined for six steals, leading to transition baskets.
Senior Kendall Holmes and Allen knocked down back-to-back threes, which were DePaul's only two of the game as it brought Villanova's lead to within six points.
Costly turnovers resulted in the Blue Demons falling short once again. This is the first time Doug Bruno and his DePaul team have lost three-straight Big East games since the 2007 season.
DePaul donned their red alternate uniforms for the first time this season, paying tribute to the late former DePaul assistant coach Maggie Dixon while also raising awareness and funds for the American Heart Association.
Dixon coached at DePaul from 2001-2005 before passing from complications due to an enlarged heart in 2006 at the age of 28.
Prior to Wednesday's game, sophomore Aneesah Morrow and Villanova's Maddy Siegrist were both named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Midseason Watch List. The list was announced by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
As DePaul's hopes for a potential NCAA Tournament window drastically narrows, the Blue Demon's will need to stack wins to close the season, and give it all they can to try and win the Big East Tournament come March 3.
DePaul (10-7,3-3) will host Xavier (7-10,0-8) on Saturday Jan. 14, in a must win game to close out its seven game home stand. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CST and can be seen on FloSports.


text: There is a known issue that when your (Windows) username contains non-ascii characters ("Koolitööd" in your case). Unfortunately the only workaround that I know of at this point is to either create a new user with an ascii-only username, or go into the registry and change the TEMP path to a path that does not contain any non-ascii characters. I would not really recommend the latter, because there is a chance of breaking things.


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Gold Plated Pisces Necklace with Cubic Zirconia Pendant
A gold-plated pendant necklace for loveable Pisces.
Show off your star sign with a personalised pendant necklace from our Zodiac Collection.
Our Pisces chain necklace is crafted from genuine gold plating and encrusted with cubic zirconia crystals, a personal everyday piece perfect for our fellow water sign.
Sport your own, or gift one to a friend during Pisces season. On the lookout for some accompanying pieces for your horoscope? Explore our Pisces Zodiac Collection for more.
- Material: Genuine gold plating and cubic zirconia crystals
- Chain length: 45cm
- Pendant size: 1xm x 0.5mm