By Canadian Centre for the Great War
Canadian Centre for the Great War
Canon Frederick George Scott [frontispiece] (1922)Canadian Centre for the Great War
“I saw not only the bursting shells, but the bursting oil drums with their pillars of liquid fire, whose smoke rose high in the air.”
Canon F. Scott in The Great War as I Saw it, 198.
Lens-Vimy-Avion (1917)Canadian Centre for the Great War
Hill 70 was the first battle for the new Canadian Corps Commander, Lieutenant-General Arthur Currie, and tough test for the Corps after their victory at Vimy. The strategy used a three-stage advance, with very little time between each phase.
Pictured: Trench Map Lens-Vimy-Avion, 1917. Gnr Jerred Mansfield fonds, Collections CCGW/CCGG.
Gas respirator in pouch (1916/1918)Canadian Centre for the Great War
The Corps attacked at 4:25am under a creeping barrage and smoke screen, by the end of 16 August, Hill 70 was under Canadian control. German counter attacks with mustard gas made holding the objective awful work.
“Sunday School Memorial”Canadian Centre for the Great War
Private John Ashworth was an English immigrant working in Three Rivers, Quebec, when he enlisted in 1915 with the 14th Battalion.
He was killed in action during German counter attacks on Hill 70, on 18 August, 1917.
Pte. J. Ashworth - “Sunday School Memorial” [close-up]Canadian Centre for the Great War
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Canadian Wounded at Lens on way to First Aid Post. September 1917. Canada. (1917-09)Canadian Centre for the Great War
Currie sent the 3rd and 4th Divisions into the city on 21 August, where they were halted in the maze of fortified houses and cellars. In an uncharacteristic decision, Currie decided to pivot to the Green Crassier on the outskirts of the city, sending in only one battalion – the 44th. The attack was called off on 25 August.
[Image] Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-001820
Col. Adamson and Lieut.-Col. Stewart, PPCLI. Battle of Passchendaele, November 1917. Canada. (1917-11)Canadian Centre for the Great War
“The gas sticks to the men’s clothing who then go into the dugouts and gas the men next to them”
Lt Col. Agar Adamson to his wife, Mabel, 22nd August 1917.
Artillery map for the Lens area, correct to 11 May 1917. Canada. (1917)Canadian Centre for the Great War
Artillery map for the Lens area, correct to 11 May 1917. Canada. Dept. of National Defence, 1st Field Survey Company, Royal Engineers. Canadian War Museum
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"Chemin des Canadiens" near Lens
Design A. Chan
Image of Agar Adamson courtesy Library and Archives Canada. Original caption: Col. Adamson and Lieut.-Col. Stewart, P.P.C.L.I. Battle of Passchendaele. November, 1917.Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-002095
Map for Harassing Fire courtesy Library and Archives Canada and the Canadian War Museum. Original citation: Artillery map for the Lens area, correct to 11 May 1917. Canada. Dept. of National Defence, 1st Field Survey Company, Royal Engineers. Canadian War Museum
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