Louis Riel: Opinions

Frequently teaching grade seven history class means that I hear the name "Louis Riel" on a regular basis. It makes sense; he's an important part of our history, his blood makes him a rare double-whammy in the sense that he's both French and aboriginal (the textbooks really stress having high representation of both) and he's a symbol for Canada's stand-up-for-the-little-guy attitude. But...

He's a little more controversial than he may seem. This is a far more nuanced issue than most of what you'll see, typically showing Riel as a picturesque hero that can do no wrong against a massive, evil entity. While he's justly seen as a crusader for equal rights, there are plenty of issues that arise that take him down a couple notches. I believe it's right to look into those.

But why?

Take a look at Christopher Columbus. He's been hailed as a hero in the States for so long, until relatively recently when people started remembering some of the terrible stuff he's done. Previously, only the positives were remembered, a bit of revisionist history that had him only as a great explorer who found the New World and... that's all. Never mind the other stuff.  Riel is the same way but to the opposite extent. He's remembered as a champion of the minority, but any negatives are forgotten or pushed to the side to better fit the narrative we wish to put forth. History shouldn't take sides. All facts should be presented and opinions should come through once everything's on the table. We can't laugh at Fox News in the south for only showing one side and then do the same here because ours sends a positive message.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like Riel. But let's go through a little bit here.

The whole Thomas Scott execution... just, or not?
The book I read for this blog and the previous three, "Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont" in the Extraordinary Canadians series, while well written, was about as biased as a book could be. To soften the blow of the execution, Thomas Scott was called a dog, some wretched human being that had to be put down due to his behaviour.

Well...

He was undoubtedly a belligerent, racist jerk. There's no denying that. But lets keep in mind the circumstances: he's still locked up, by all means he shouldn't be able to escape under their watch a third time, he has no weapons in there (I mean, he's in jail after all), and he was put to death for defying the provisional government. Execution seems an overly harsh penalty. We can't just bump off people we don't like just because we really don't like them.

Just as a side note, I find this whole event very strange. Not only is this an incredibly poor decision as I made clear in the other blog posts, but it's wildly out of character for Riel. Louis was big into not spilling any blood through this rebellion, at least as little as possible. In fact, that belief is what caused Dumont to have so many difficulties mounting an army, supplying them, and using appropriate tactics once there were no other options. Why was it then that he broke and allowed the execution? That guy must have been really just spectacularly obnoxious. It's kind of funny in a morbid, sad way - the guy goes down in history as being so horribly annoying they had to kill him. And nowadays the reaction to it is "well... yeah. He had it coming."

Some of Riel's ideas were... well, crack-pot like. 

Riel certainly had his strange moments, that's for certain. He would sometimes go around naked (nothing to hide in front of God, sure, but please, hide a little in front of the general public), he wished to rename the days of the week (looks like someone's got a case of the "Christ Aurores") as well as believing that the resurrection of an American politician would somehow help his cause (the book didn't go into greater detail on this but I really wish it did). It's a little more difficult to support him when you start hearing about some of his plans, let alone the whole divine prophet thing. There's a reason he spent two years in an asylum, after all.

That being said, I can understand the reason for his popularity now. In many ways he was well ahead of his time, fighting for equality among Canadians regardless of race - surely a worthy cause. For that, he's commendable, and perhaps the Metis people just needed what he most certainly was; a charismatic, charming leader that without doubt believed wholeheartedly in his convictions.

Is the Canadian government the big, evil entity that it seems?

Well... kind of.

John A. and Co. don't exactly come out of this sparkling clean. Time and time again the Metis asked for fairly reasonable claims: a decent plot of land they actually own, a means to divide the land to make it fair for their people, and a reasonable set of basic human rights for them and theirs. A little acknowledgement at the very least would have stymied the necessity of a revolt. Surely, that looks bad on Johnny Mac. I won't argue that.

However...

MacDonald is put in a very difficult position here. The Americans are going to take the west if he doesn't move first. Not only does he need to get settlin' out there, but he has a very strict time limit in which to do so. Failure would mean the likely collapse of his whole country not too far down the line. Lets not forget that Riel himself actually hoped for American expansion as he believed that would help his cause. Cut the guy a little slack. He's between a rock and a hard place on this one.

As for attacking a small community of Metis with the full might of an early ages Canada? Think of the circumstance. The first group of Canadian foot-soldiers went west to respond to the execution of an English speaking man. I'd say that's fair, at that point. There's blood, you have to respond. The second followed the Frog Lake Massacre. It has massacre in the title, so I believe that's just ground for government intervention once more. They made plenty of mistakes, that's for certain, but their use of force, specifically, was justified.

OK, OK, so here's the big one. Is Louis Riel a hero?

Yes.

He fought for the rights of a disenfranchised group and stood up to a larger power he had no chance of defeating. Through and through, he worked selflessly for the Metis, right up until the very end where he quite possibly sacrificed his life in denying the insanity charge and pushing for a different defense because otherwise it would make his cause seem less worthy. Louis theoretically may have even avoided capture had he tried to escape but he turned himself in for leniency for his people. He was ages ahead of his time in what are now common Canadian ideas of equality and racial harmony. Hats off to Louis Riel. He deserves his place in history.

The purpose of this blog isn't to tarnish Riel's legacy, but rather to show that with all coins there are two sides. MacDonald was not some ruthless dictator, but a man having to deal with battling two vastly different forces; a great, imposing giant to the south and an aggravating colony to the west. Something had to give. As for Riel himself, yeah, he was probably more than a little crazy (or looney - like our coin! Pun! Yes!) but his ideals weren't. Except for the whole changing the names of the days of the week, and the New Rome in Saskatchewan thing.

So what should Riel's legacy be, o humble Idiot Historian?

Well, pretty much what it is. A great leader that fought a good fight. I just wish it wasn't always painted as a black and white narrative, where the Canadian government is an evil force that means to squash any resistance that dares say anything against them, always stepping on the weak and disenfranchised. They're still just people here, not monsters versus heroes. I guess it's just my way of saying I'm growing weary of how we learn our history only through how our government and people have done so many things wrong. Just look to Trudeau - he's probably apologizing for something historical as we speak.

Well, once he's done with the whole elbow thing.

Louis Riel: Part 3 - Downfall and Treason

In the wake of the Frog Lake Massacre, Canada sends its might to squash the rebellion. The Canadian forces splintered into three groups; one to take out Big Bear and Wandering Spirit, another for Poundmaker, and the leader of the force, Frederick Middleton, hoping to take in or take out Louis Riel. Gabriel Dumont hoped to harry the incoming forces with hit and run tactics, but Riel didn't want him to resort to guerrilla tactics thinking that was below their cause. If he had been allowed, it would certainly have found a great deal of success; the men being sent to stomp out the rebellion were fairly fresh soldiers, not having seen a lot of combat and unfamiliar with not only the terrain but how to survive well outdoors. A young and inexperienced fighting force, regardless of being well supplied and having better weaponry, would have difficulties against the forces of Dumont who are good at everything that has to do with guerrilla warfare - quick movement, knowledge of the terrain, and experience in their weaponry. Nevertheless, they sat back and waited.

Canadian forces attacking at the Battle of Batoche.
Disciplined soldiers, they practiced the "walk in one really
long line" formation.

They met the first wave of Canadian forces at Fish Creek, hoping to assault them with the element of surprise. However, as disciplined as Dumont was, he and his small army of native and Metis soldiers were still liable to make mistakes. His men saw a cow wandering on the path and decided to chase after it (from what I can tell, just for fun) and left tracks that the Canadians saw. If that wasn't enough, Dumont also chased after a scout which alerted the opposition as well. To be fair to Dumont, he's still injured from being shot in the head, so cut him a break. He would occasionally pass out from the pain, but he still managed to not only fight in the battles but lead them.

Middleton's forces had far more soldiers than the Metis but were unaware of that fact. To pile on, 50 of the 137 abandoned the Metis at the first sounds of gunfire. Nevertheless they held on for hours due to Middleton being unable to gauge just how many Metis were against them. Somehow, after hours of fighting, only four Metis were killed and ten on the other side. Blame unreliable weaponry, I suppose.

Frederick Middleton, looking like he's gunning
for a position as Kaiser Middleton.

For the next assault the Canadians came with a concerted force of 850, along with a gatling gun and four cannons. Coming up against a force of only 200 Metis, they're certainly the favourites. The plan was to attack Batoche in central Saskatchewan, drawing Gabriel out with a steamer full of supplies sent down the river while they attacked the town in the meantime. The ruse succeeded, drawing Gabriel away from the force while they started firing on Batoche. Eventually Gabriel returns and the fight begins in full, Gabriel keeping them at bay with midnight raids that keep the enemy from getting any rest as well as lighting the vast prairie grassland on fire in order to obscure the gatling gun's vision. You've got to hand it to Dumont; he's fighting insurmountable odds, holding on with barely any bullets and keeping them back with using the land itself. His quick thinking worked well, but in the meantime the town was basically left in rubble due to the cannon and gatling gun fire. Middleton, in spite of outnumbering and outgunning the Metis, hesitates in the final assault and the fighting stretches out over a weekend. The priests, however, came back to bite Louis. They held up the white flag and actually came to help the Canadians, pointing out rifle pits that were well disguised. Finally, one of his officers gets fed up and charges with his men, routing the Metis and sending them scattered into the wilderness.

Dumont and Riel both flee, but neither of them know where the other has run off to. The Metis start surrendering in groups, hungry and tired and no longer able to defend themselves. Riel eventually decides to turn himself in in the hopes that it will grant leniency to his people. Dumont, meanwhile, went to the U.S. where he was caught - but quickly released. MacDonald had enough on his plate with deciding what to do with Riel, so he let Dumont slide.

Riel was then brought out east to be tried for treason - and the odds were pretty stacked against him right off the get go. Not only was he tried as a subject of the Queen (so basically someone living in Canada) he was also tried as an alien (someone from outside of Canada) at the same time. This was, somehow, allowed. How they were going to try to free him on the defensive side of the courtroom was up for debate; Riel wanted to defend on the grounds that he was fighting on behalf of a people ignored by the Canadian government where his lawyers wanted to plead insanity (they certainly had a case). Riel didn't want the latter because that would nullify everything he's fought for. Saying he's been doing everything he has been due to him being a nut wouldn't exactly help out his people.

Metis prisoners following the fall of Riel. Every last one
followed the "old prospector" fashion style.

Just before the jury left to decide Riel's fate, the judge gives a rather one sided statement on the way out: "not only must you think of the man in the dock, but you must think of society at large. You are not called upon to think of the government at Ottawa simply as a government. You have to think of the homes and of the people who live in this country. You have to ask yourselves: can such things be permitted?". Well, why not just say "he's guilty, let's move on." Naturally, he was found guilty of treason and sentenced to hang.

John A. did have the option to pardon him, however. He was facing a great deal of international pressure to spare Riel, mostly for two reasons; one, he was a political prisoner that didn't actually fire a single shot, and two, he had a lot of French allies due to his lineage. However, the election was coming up and the votes came predominantly from the English speaking side, and one that would definitely prefer to put Riel down. MacDonald decided against pardoning him, famously saying (well, relatively famously, but famous as far as early Canadian history quotes go) "he shall die though every dog in Quebec bark in his favour!".

He was hanged shortly after. The rebellion, with all the blood and vitriol that fueled it, fizzled out with the loss of Riel and Dumont. As for his legacy, well, at least he's remembered as a better Canadian than Avril Lavigne.

Louis Riel: Part 2 - The Second Rebellion

Fourteen years have passed since the first rebellion. (I wanted to start with that because it sounds so much like the first line for a trailer to a video game sequel.) Since Louis Riel's exile, the Metis have fallen on hard times. (That no longer sounds like a trailer.) The crop yield has been poor, the buffalo are lower in number than ever and mostly moving westward, and the number of European settlers is steadily rising. (We're well past the trailer and well into textbook territory now.) With the railroad coming, that number will only go up and up until they're vastly outnumbered. Sitting back and waiting won't work.

John A. MacDonald offered a deal for them, but it was one that wouldn't really work out that well. The Manitoba Act said they could have 1,400,000 acres (which sounds great!) but the plots would not be choice ones, and would be distributed by a lottery (no longer quite so great). The problem with the lottery system is it would be administered in the English way, not the French one - that would mean that most of the land plots wouldn't have access to water as they went by a square plots system rather than long strips that connect to the river, and thus most land zones would lose most of their value.

You know Dumont's manly musk is so
strong you could bottle it.

In comes Gabriel Dumont. He's the quintessential tough-as-nails cowboy type; leader of the buffalo hunt, a great shot with a rifle, respected by the whole population, and an unofficial leader of the Metis both politically and militarily. A true master of survival and living off the land, he would make Mantracker look like some pampered city folk. This is the man that goes to recruit Louis, bringing him back to the fold. I have a soft spot for Gabriel, because as far as Canadian historical figures go, he's got to be one of the top ten coolest. He must spend half his time debating what title is cooler: "Outlaw General" or "Master Woodsman". Or "Rebel Leader"! Oh, man!

Seeing his people in distress, Dumont convinces Riel to come back, who at the time was working as a teacher in the United States. His return is greeted with cheers and hope, at least from the common public. Louis finds an unexpected enemy; the church. Riel considers himself a prophet who will lead the New World to become great, the "new Rome" being in Saskatchewan of all places (well, that didn't pan out). Upon finding so many followers for his cause he began to usurp much of the political power the church held which understandably upset the Catholic priests who had previously been the guiding hand of the community. The confrontation escalated so high they threatened to brand him a heretic, which, to be fair, is the direction most self-proclaimed prophets find themselves in. Down the line Riel would be excommunicated from the church.

Chief Poundmaker, also known as
Pitikwahanapiwiyin. His friends called him
Pete.

With Riel coming to power and the urgency of the circumstance forcing him to do something, he had to decide what exactly that something is going to be. He considered recreating a provisional government but that would be taken much more seriously this time around; they were on Canadian land now, not HBC territory, meaning any rival governing body would be treated as treasonous and put down swiftly without any political fallout for ol' Johnny Mac. Some believed that the reason why MacDonald kept prolonging any deals with the Metis was because a revolt would serve very well for him. He could step in with a righteous Canadian fist of justice and take back the land from the rebellion without much of an thought, putting the frustrating Metis out of commission.

Regardless of what they were planning, the Metis of Red River were clearly... well, planning something. But more nefariously. I suppose you could call it plotting. Anyways, the police came in to sweep them out. The Metis got word of this and realized that in order to shoot at anyone hoping to send them out of their land, they needed something to shoot with. Guns and ammo were low on supply and Dumont raided an English speaker's store, taking his wares and keeping him as prisoner. Leading from the town of Batoche, he raids more stores and gathers followers as he goes. Dumont is an excellent leader, able to get the upper hand on his enemies through his abilities in tracking and general outdoorsy talents, and if there's one man to stand against the tide of Canadian forces coming to clear him out it's him. Still, he needed more weaponry and knew how to get it: a nearby fort would be easily taken and would provide them with all the supplies they needed. However, there was one thing that stood in the way. Louis Riel.

Riel and Dumont held the same goals in mind (a unified Metis culture, separate from the eastern Canadian forces) but wanted to go about it in entirely different ways. Riel wanted as little bloodshed as possible, a problem that will continue to hamper Dumont throughout the campaign. This was just the first example, Riel urging Dumont to steer clear of the fort. Dumont listened to Louis, perhaps because of the strong influence Riel had in the community, or perhaps because he also believed him to be the prophet he claimed himself to be. It's a shame his plans didn't pan out. It would be cool if Saskatchewan became the "New Rome" he wanted it to be. Instead, we get this.

Wikipedia describes this as a "romanticized version" of the
battle at Duck Lake.

ro-man-ti-cize
verb
"deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion; make
(something) better or more appealing than it really is"

In what world, Wikipedia?

Eventually the police approach the only moderately well supplied Metis forces at Duck Lake. Although the police took the first shot, Dumont's men won handily. Bear in mind that Dumont's men are Metis, well trained in hunting and thus probably pretty darn good with a rifle. Even if they're outmanned and outgunned, they'll still prove a formidable force. Meanwhile, Riel? He's galavanting around on a horse carrying a cross, open to fire the entire time but somehow avoiding it. As for Dumont, he got shot in the head, knocked unconscious on the battlefield, and inexplicably survived. It summed up the two characters nicely; Louis, a man completely devoted to his beliefs and his understanding that he's a chosen one, and Gabriel, so tough that a bullet in the head is more of a hinderance than a finishing blow. Both of them, undoubtedly courageous.

The aboriginals nearby weren't too sure if they were to join after the victory at Duck Lake. Riel seemed to want what they wanted; a freedom of movement on the lands west of Canada and a right to uphold their beliefs and culture. However, he was still following the white God, which wasn't really cool in their books. From a purely practical perspective, inciting the wrath of the Canadian government was a risky move, and one that would likely prove dangerous down the road. It splintered the natives; three major leaders, Poundmaker, Wandering Spirit, and Big Bear all saw it differently. Big Bear was the most reluctant, Wandering Spirit the most willing to go on the offensive.

Wandering Spirit took a number of his soldiers and attacked the town of Frog Lake about a week after the battle at Duck Lake. Meant to take supplies, prisoners were rounded up but shooting began causing the deaths of nine settlers. This prompted the Canadian government to start sending soldiers, more than just the local police, to take out the rebellion once and for all.

Louis Riel: Part 1 - The First Uprising

In 2004, CBC ran a country-wide poll through email, phone and mail (to target the young, middle aged and elderly, respectively) to create a top fifty list for a television show called "The Greatest Canadian". There was a wide range of honourees - most were legitimate candidates like prime ministers, inventors, and the predictable hockey player now and then. Then came the infuriating picks that comes with the territory with internet polling. Avril Lavigne probably doesn't deserve to be up there with John A. MacDonald, Lester Pearson and Brett "the Hitman" Heart, but I digress. The reason I brought it up is John A. is number eight on this list, while the topic of this blog post, Louis Riel, is number eleven.

You just know Riel shampoos and conditions
to get that kind of volume.

Number eight on the list of greatest Canadians had number eleven executed. It speaks to how controversial a character Riel can be. It's easy to paint Riel as a heroic figure, fighting against the large, imposing evil that is Canadian government in 1869 (well, it's large and imposing if you're a small community of Metis) but it isn't so cut and dry. MacDonald had his reasons for having to push west as hard as he did, and Riel made some significant missteps along the way that are very hard to defend.

But, before we get too ahead of ourselves, lets paint the background picture. Most of this happens in and around the community of Red River in nowadays southern Manitoba, starting just after Canada became a country. The Metis had been living there in and amongst native groups for over a century now, believing the land to be their own. Canada, at this time a mostly eastern coast land, hopes to move west and hold the land for themselves. Their claim is that the king of England gave it to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1670, and the HBC is selling the land to the Canadian government.  The thing is, Canada really needs this deal to go through. America, shooting the west full of Manifest Destiny, will soon be setting their sights northward. A Canada surrounded on every side by an angry, power-hungry America would fall in short order. (If you want to know more, read my blog about John A. MacDonald's fight to build a railroad out west - it's been called "passable" by my father.)
Of course since both groups of people believe they have a case for the land they're inevitably going to clash over who has the stronger claim (or the stronger arm).

As for the town of Red River, in 1869 it was a thriving, vibrant community. Holding twelve-thousand people, half of them French-speaking Metis and the rest composed of mostly English-speaking Metis and European settlers. The Metis people themselves are an interesting stock; not quite French, not quite native, and not really accepted on either side, they had become their own hybrid culture of the two. Frequently bilingual, trilingual or more (don't forget that there were a number of native languages, not just one) they developed their own mixed language called Michif. Hunting the buffalo and enjoying living off the seigneurial system of farming from New France days (basically everyone gets a piece of the coast, rather than square plots that may or may not have access) the Metis had developed peaceful, happy lives for themselves. That is, until the Canadian government started sending surveyors to check out the lands west of theirs, planting themselves firmly in Red River.
It was pretty clear what they were doing. The surveyors would look at the land and begin to parcel it out in the English fashion (notably not the seigneurial system of old) and the Metis began to get wise that they're probably going to try to kick them out pretty soon.

Enter Louis Riel. Oldest of eleven children, Riel was well educated, having returned from schooling in Montreal. Able to speak with both the surveyors and his Metis people, he makes an impassioned speech to the latter and days later goes to confront the former. He sends them packing. MacDonald was actually warned that surveying within eyesight of the Metis would cause some troubles, but he went ahead with it anyway. That would prove to be an error in judgement.

Riel's Provisional Government. The beardless man at the top right must
have been the subject of endless ridicule amongst the otherwise hairy gentlemen.

Knowing that their land was being threatened by a takeover from the Canadian government Riel and his people set up the Metis National Committee. Welcoming anyone who would join them, they attacked Fort Garry, a symbol of Hudson's Bay Company authority and power, taking it over without any blood being spilt. This proves to be an issue for Canada; the HBC doesn't have a standing army to send after them and the government is too worried about the political ramifications of attacking to dislodge them. For a while, they sat and thought this one over.

Upon realizing that they might be staying for quite some time, the Metis set up a provisional government. Not everyone agrees to the new idea, however, and the dissent came from a predictable source; English settlers who didn't like the idea of a French/Native mix leading them, and especially not ones that are Catholic of all things. Their plan probably could have used some work, though. They only had around fifty people in what they called the Canada Party to hold against Riel's sizeable forces. They were quickly surrounded and gave up shortly after, becoming prisoners of the new Metis provisional government.

Meanwhile, John A. decides he'll try to fight this battle politically instead of with weapons. After a failed attempt at sending French Canadians who didn't have a lot of power, an HBC representative named Donald Alexander Smith tried to smooth things over. Riel responds with a list of rights for the Metis that have to be honoured. Things look like they're on the up-and-up. That is, until the Canada Party decided they'd stir up a little more trouble.

When someone says "he was killed by firing squad", I usually
don't picture it as one guy shooting another from a foot away
while he's lying down.

Twice in a month they had broken out (how, I don't know - perhaps the honour system for prisoners isn't an effective one?) and attempted to stage an uprising before getting captured again. All the while they're in there the prisoners are belligerent, spouting racial abuse and curses at their Metis captors, most of it coming from one man in particular - Thomas Scott. Scott wasn't the leader of the group, but certainly the most aggravating. Leadership belonged to Charles Boulton whom they decided by their courts as worthy of execution for staging an uprising, breaking out of prison, staging another, and then repeating steps two and three. Admittedly, he was kind of asking for it. Canadian negotiators stepped in and managed to get him off the hook and sent him back east, however. As for Thomas Scott, though, it's a different story. Continuing his tirades, the jailers finally got fed up. They put him on trial mostly for being a thorn in the side of the Metis, killing him on the grounds of "well, he's being mean". Scott, unlike Boulton, didn't get the same negotiations and was promptly executed.

It's hard to look at this as anything other than a massive mistake on behalf of Riel. It allowed MacDonald to rally behind Scott's death, calling it unjust and cruel, giving him enough political backing to send the Wolseley Expedition to quell the uprising and put an end to Riel's provisional government. Riel, likely fearful of the wrath that will surely be brought down upon him, flees to the United States and is banished from Canada. Garnet Wolseley, leading the expedition, recaptures Fort Garry and puts an end to the Metis threat - at least for now. It will be fourteen years before they hear from Riel again.

Lester B. Pearson

I've delayed writing this blog entry on Lester B. (I feel if we had met we'd be on a first name basis). It's not that I didn't want to, but I didn't quite know how to approach it. He's not the most shocking or interesting character; he didn't run up any major scandals, didn't say anything outrageous or divisive, and when you think of Canada's well known Prime Ministers of the past - which I believe exists to some extent, perhaps - he's not really one you think of. However, he completely deserves to be. If politics were sports, Pearson would be your stay-at-home defender; not particularly flashy, not one for hogging the limelight, but a reliable player that will quietly bring home the wins without much fanfare. In the wake of America's crazy politics, what we have here is what you really want out of a politician: someone who gets things done, moves the country forward, and does so without fighting every second person on the road to doing so. The best politics is probably a little dry. My father, upon recommending me Pearson's biography, told me he's his favourite P.M.. That means a lot coming from the guy who can sweep the board on our darn near impossible Canadian trivia board game we own. He's absolutely no fun to play with.

There is so much Prime Minister in this room right now I
literally can't even.

So, after that terrible introduction that must have scared away any would-be readers, it's probably best to talk about the man.

He, like many others, saw the first World War as a means of adventure and signed up the moment he turned eighteen. His post was rather easy, working as a quartermaster on the eastern front, and eventually managed to transfer to become a fighter pilot on the western side. Apparently a fortunate posting in at least the relative safety as a quartermaster role was something he saw as a negative, as it didn't really give that whole war "feel" that one, somehow, craves at that time period. The training for fighter pilots should be about a year, but the constraints of the war pressed it into a three-week span. (During that training, his commanding officer believed the name Lester not befitting a fighter pilot and renamed him "Mike" - a name that stuck for the rest of his life, and even became the title for his memoirs.) Subsequently, Pearson crashed his plane and as a result his nerves were a wreck, causing his release back home. While he did serve time oversees, Pearson never invoked his war record in later years in politics, believing he didn't really earn the same reputation others would have during the time as he wasn't close enough to the fighting.

Pearson, front right, showing those at Oxford there
is more to life than this "football" they play. He dominated
the British hockey players as he would use a stick rather than
his feet.

It wasn't the last time he was in Europe, though. After a long stretch of schooling in the University of Toronto and Oxford, as well as a stretch of sports in playing semi-professional baseball and playing on Oxford's hockey team (thus making him somehow more Canadian than he was before) he decided he'd try his hand at politics. He was given a job in London prior to World War II, and quickly realized that Canada was lacking a voice on the world stage. Pearson went through the admirable task of changing that, showing that Canada worked with Britain and not for Britain after the war officially broke out. Even though we were Britain's kid he felt it was time we became a big boy country, more than willing to fight our own battles. Well, sort of. Our then Prime Minister Mackenzie King was more accepting of a subordinate role, an ideal that irked Pearson.

Strong enough to handle Suez; cute
enough for a bow-tie.

Upon his return he was quickly shipped off again and stationed in America where he served to work for a different but quite similar idea. America at the time of World War II saw us as simply a part of the British union, and Britain saw us as their subordinate. Pearson sought to change that mentality, bringing more autonomy to our nation. That would be the hallmark of Pearson's pre-Prime Minister political life; pushing for Canadian recognition on a world stage. After the war he continued that fight while helping to rebuild Europe, spurring him on to become one of the most recognizable Canadians in the world - a title now belonging to, most likely, a Justin, Trudeau or Beiber.

In this motion Pearson was very successful. The early 1940s to the late '50s was said to be the golden age of Canadian diplomacy, and while that may be the least exciting golden age of all time, it did wonders for how the world saw us. He helped create NATO just prior to moving to elected office and becoming the Liberal party's Secretary of State for External Affairs for the following nine years. There, he would be the president of the UN for a year, participated in the Colombo Plan to help take the southern hemisphere out of poverty (a whole hemisphere!), worked in Korea to slow down the Americans that were maybe getting a little overeager, and as the icing on the diplomacy cake, came to a brilliant solution that appeased darn near everyone in the Suez Canal crisis. Lester Pearson was essentially a diplomatic rock star. His work for the Suez Canal ordeal won him a Nobel Peace Prize, placing a Canadian face amongst the other laureates, such as the unforgettable Elihu Root and Auguste Beernaert! And don't think I've forgotten about you, Ernesto Teodoro Moneta!

Pearson created our nation's symbol, giving us all something
to shed a patriotic tear over. *sniff* If you're not saluting
right now, shame on you.

Things went downhill afterwards (albeit briefly) when he tried to step up his political game and become Prime Minister. He took the leadership of the Liberals in 1958, and tried to push for a motion of non-confidence in the Diefenbaker Conservatives. The latter quickly moved to an election in which they crushed the Liberals, taking a record 208 seats. However, politics having more of a stick-to-your-man style back then, Pearson was allowed to stay as the leader of the Liberals until he was elected as P.M. on his third attempt in 1963. If his work was great outside of Canada before than, now was the time to turn it inwards.

Pearson spearheaded much of what makes Canada, Canada. The Canada Assistance Plan, the Canada Pension Plan, the Guaranteed Income Supplement and Medicare all came during Pearson's reign. He even helped to slow the tide of rising Quebec unrest (mind you, "rising Quebec unrest" has been happening since before Canada became a country). He gave Quebec some autonomy over their affairs, making them more willing to stay within Canada. Through that he also pushed for bilingualism, another cornerstone of Canadian life (otherwise, I would never have known that grapefruit in French is pamplemousse). I would argue his greatest achievement, and it couldn't have come under a different Prime Minister, was the creation of the flag. While many spoke against it claiming it was too far of a step away from the British, Pearson was all for a national symbol, and through him the the maple leaf was chosen. He did a tremendous amount, and it wasn't like he was in there for that long, either - a five year stretch and he did all this.

In our centennial year Pearson decided to leave politics and retire, passing the torch to Pierre Trudeau. He passed away in 1972 at the age of 75. If there's a better Prime Minister than him, let me know. That's a tough act to follow.

Canada in World War I: Part 4 - The Somme

Moustaches did little to protect the soldiers, but nevertheless many
still grew them.

The Battle of the Somme embodies everything that was horrible about World War I. The purpose of the assault was little more than to push through the German ranks, breaking the trench war stalemate and thus relieving the French who were losing countless troops over in Verdun. Casualties built up incredibly fast throughout the campaign on both sides, pushing men to their limits in a bloody battle of endless shells and bullets. This sounds like regular WWI stuff here (as terrible as that sounds) but what makes the Somme unique is the grandness of the scope mixed with the ultimate futility of attacking just to wear down your opponent.

It had all the makings of a titanic battle before it even began. The Germans were well entrenched, having been there for two years and anticipating the attack well in advance. Their tunnel system was so vast it was more an underground city than a trench, and with the defensive advantage the Germans would hold on as long as they could to slaughter as many forces as possible. From the British perspective (it was a British and French assault coupled with those under British rule, Canada obviously included) they were planning to bomb the Germans out with sheer firepower and force of numbers. Up until that point it would be the largest British assault ever, and the numbers surely reflect that.

There was nothing necessarily wrong with the plan but it certainly lacked originality. To break the German defensive they would bomb it - but since it was well fortified and across a wide area, they had to compensate. The solution would be to bomb it harder. 1,732,873 shells (I'm a little confused how they had it counted to the shell) would bombard a nearly 25 kilometre length and 7 kilometre deep stretch. While it surely must have damaged the psyche of the German line as well as killing hundreds (perhaps thousands?), the bombing didn't have the desired effect. Barbed wire was still pretty well everywhere across the battlefield causing a delay in the assault. Typically a delay means that troops further back can be brought to the front to relieve those who had died in the shelling, and when the British troops charged a short time later it was nothing short of a catastrophe.

It's a good thing they have those bayonets as they'll
somehow find a use for them.

In what would prove to be the single highest total of losses for British troops in a day, 120,000 assaulted the far-from-weak German position. Barbed wire funneled troops into tight spaces for raking machine gun fire to cut them down quickly and effectively. The cost of only some slight gains was a stunning 38,000 wounded and 19,000 dead. That's in one day. To put that in perspective, Canada initially sent over 30,617 as their entire army. This was a monumental loss of life in exchange for such little damage on the other end.

A month later in September 1916 the Canadian forces linked up to begin the second major offensive in the Somme since the mess of the July 1st assault. Fortunately this time around their planning was a little stronger, introducing two new major changes to battlefield strategy; the creeping barrage and the tank. The former was created because the artillery and infantry rarely worked in conjunction with each other. The idea was to shoot just in front of the infantry, weakening the immediate space in front of them and then waiting to continue the barrage once they took the new territory. The guns would then clear out the next section after a short number of minutes so the Germans wouldn't have time to run up and meet them in the trenches after the last artillery shell landed (typically ninety metres every three minutes). The Canadians proved to be masters of this tactic. As for tanks, they weren't immediately very effective. Only fourty-nine were used in the Somme, seven of which were given to the Canadians. To make sure they held a place in the war and weren't just a massive heap of useless metal, they were used sparingly at first to gauge their effectiveness. Early on, they didn't help all that much either. The heat in the tanks rose to fourty degrees Celsius, exhaust built up in the interior, shells would destroy it, visibility was limited and mechanically they were fairly unreliable. However, when you see a giant, moving pile of high powered weaponry rolling towards you with seemingly no way to stop it there's a psychological element that comes into play. You know, if World War I wasn't yet terrifying enough.

Canada hired the best real estate agents to auction off the newly
taken land. "Craterview Road" was a tough sell.

When the second major assault commenced the Canadians were ordered to take the village of Courcelette. Calling it a village, however, was a flattering term; it was at this point in the war so completely destroyed by artillery shells one could hardly call it a village - not even a hamlet! There was little glory in this form of warfare; taking an already blown up village hardly seemed like a victory, and their orders in doing so were to take no prisoners until the objective was taken resulting in a number of callous executions. Nevertheless, the Canadians fought incredibly well through plenty of close-quarters bayonet battles. The Canadians then held their position against seventeen separate counter attacks, taking 7,230 casualties but securing their position in four days of defense. This assault was mostly a failure, but not from the Canadian perspective - they did their part. The German army listed the first and second Canadian divisions as two of the top eight in the entirety of the British Expeditionary Force.

How, by the way, were bayonets still used? At what point is it more effective to run up and stab someone rather than shoot them from a distance? This isn't a kung-fu movie where the weapons get kicked out of each everyone's hands and go flying across the room.

Anyways. The battle was far from over. Thiepval Ridge was next up on the list, a kilometre out of Courcelette. To soften it up the Canadians began a three-day artillery barrage. The battle raged back and forth, and quickly logistics became a serious issue for all sides. Humanity was getting a knack for technology, meaning they were exceptional at getting supplies, ammunition, shells and machines the thousands of kilometres from home to the front in a very timely manner. The problem was getting it that last couple of hundred metres from the back of the line up to the front, as it wasn't as easy as walking up and dropping it off on the doorstep. As a result the soldiers carried many of the supplies on their person, sometimes as much as sixty pounds worth. That's a shocking amount considering people were so tiny back then, the average soldier weighing in at a slim 120-140 pounds.

In addition to being a fierce fighting force at the Somme, the Canadians
still managed to look incredibly cool. I mean really. Look at those guys.

The next three days taking Thiepval Ridge were high in casualties on both sides. The Canadians continued their push, taking more ground as they went but lost 10,000 in that month at the Somme. The Germans lost 135,000. Sadly, their strongest trial lay ahead.

Named Regina Trench by the soldiers, presumably to give it a homey feel to a place of ceaseless bloodshed, their next target stretched three kilometres and was yet to budge in spite of previous assaults. Taking it would be a monumental task; located on the edge of a ridge, artillery had difficulty in hitting the target as it was easy to come up short or go beyond. Worse yet, the Germans had full strength divisions behind the lines as they had just shored up their reinforcements on the line. After bombing what they could, Canadians were able to take the trench but were unable to hold it. They took it again, but arrived at the same fate. On October 8th they tried again with casualties piling up. Finally, they decided they would fire as many shells as were needed until they found the sweet spot and hit the trench directly. The Germans began to be so worn down they no longer sent men to put up barbed wire. One defender describes it: "We hover more or less in danger of death, and have no longer any chance of getting out... May it all just come to an end: how, I don't care..."

On October 21st they take the trench after a great amount of artillery fire. By then there were hardly any defenses after having been bombed so hard it barely resembled a trench. After moving further and taking Desire Trench, it would be the end of the battle for the Canadian forces in the Somme. 24,000 casualties were Canadian, one of four in which were deaths. 84,000 Canadians fought. On November 19th the weather became so terrible the battle was called off in what seems like an unceremonious end to a battle that caused a shocking amount of death and destruction in what was essentially a battle of attrition. Over a million casualties occurred at the Somme Offensive.

Fortunately for Canada, they had learned a great number of lessons and the trial by fire of the Somme hardened them into an elite fighting force. Things get better from here on out.

Canada in World War I: Part 3 - Inexperience Shows

After the success (albeit a distinctly bloody success) at Ypres the Canadian army fell into hard times. Well, they were always in hard times... it's trench warfare after all, but these hard times were in the sense that not only were they throwing men into the meat grinder that is taking small sections of territory by charging through barbed wire and machine gun fire, but they also stopped winning for a time. Being forced to push forward in spite of incredible odds against them (and oftentimes a distinct lack of planning) sounds admirable, but this isn't the movies - you might make one shock victory work on occasion, but nine times out of ten if you're not planning the battle well enough your soldiers will lose. The following battles showed the weakness in the Canadian forces; limited communication between headquarters and the troops, and an artillery that often didn't hit the mark. These problems would be worked out eventually, but after Festubert, St. Eloi and Mount Sorrel - three places where Canadian loss of life did not come hand in hand with victory as it had at Ypres.

Battle of Festubert: 
The Canadian soldiers were still reeling from the Second Battle of Ypres when they were forced to march to Festubert in May, 1915. South of the Ypres salient, the walk there forced many soldiers to collapse under the weight of exhaustion due in part to the distance but also because of the toll the previous battle had taken on them. Unfortunately, it was far from a welcoming party that would be waiting for them once they arrived; what would follow was a bloodbath of limited success and needless loss of life due to poor planning from up high.

In desperate need of soldiers the
Canadian army began a beaver recruitment
campaign. While ferocious and distinctly
Canadian, a lack of opposable thumbs made
weapon firing a difficult ordeal.

Festubert was not a glorious battle. Many of the soldiers felt the fighting was simply for fighting's sake, being forced to take points on a map that hardly matched up to how it looked in reality due to so much of the area being bombed into oblivion. The attacks they threw at the targets came at poor times, often during daylight hours that would often spell certain death. Although the Canadians made the furthest forward into the enemy lines (pushing into a small area of trees and claiming it, thereby renaming it "Canadian Orchard") it was still what could only be described as minimal.

The Brigadier Arthur Currie was disappointed in the organization and purpose behind the attacks. They were told to attack a point called K5, a heavily defended point in the German defence that was almost indistinguishable on the map as they only really knew it was there from crawling through mud and barbed wire to see the place. Why they had to attack that felt baffling to the men leading those in the front lines, but, sadly, orders were orders; if you were told to attack, you did so. Richard Turner, the Brigadier that at Ypres had fallen back to a trench and thus left the flanks open in an attempt to save his men was also upset at the mismanagement of the men at headquarters.

Turner was a complex figure; on one hand, he showed himself to be lacking in leadership, often getting many men killed under his watch. When looking back on his decision making it's often quite poor, sometimes egregiously so. However, you cannot question his devotion to his troops and to the cause; often his mistakes were due to honest attempts to save as many as he could, and he got the position in the first place due to his courage and valour in the Boer War. From what I can tell, Turner was a great soldier - brave and honest, always willing to stand up for his men - but perhaps not the greatest commander.

Anyways.

The plan to take K5 fell on the Canadian troops again. A high level of artillery bombardment was ordered to take place, hopefully dismantling the German defences to soften them up for a ground assault. However, they could see quite clearly the bombardment failed to hit where they hoped it would, meaning machine gun nests and barbed wire was still all around the battlefield. Currie attempted to delay the assault due to the near impossible attacking conditions, but found no such help from on high. The assault went through, but it was hopeless; the only way through to K5 was through a thin communication trench, and when the Germans figured out the Canadians were pouring through that one space they placed the greatest focus on that point, slaughtering the Canadians as they went through the same area on repeat. The assault completely failed, and while a subsequent assault pushed them forward at least slightly, it was too late; the battle was a loss, and many Canadian lives were thrown away pointlessly.

Battle of St. Eloi:
It was almost a year since the last major operation for the Canadian troops. In April 1916 (1916 would prove to be a truly awful year, just for humanity as a whole) the Canadians would go to fight five kilometres south of Ypres. The Germans held a high ground position named The Mound, ideal for artillery barrages on the Canadian and British troops. The goal was to take The Mound, allowing for a means to spread out from that point as the high ground was of critical importance. However, it's quite clear where the point of assault would commence, and therefore the Germans would be ready and waiting for them.

Just men! Stay at home, dames!
The only skirts we need are the
Scottish Highlander divisions!

Attacking by walking up The Mound would be darn near to suicide (although that's never stopped them before!). The solution to this was the idea, if you can't attack above ground, attack below it. British soldiers and engineers tunneled underneath the hill and blew the whole thing to smithereens. As a side note: consider how terrifying war must be, being attacked from what's in front of you in the enemy soldiers and what's above you in the artillery shellfire, but the whole time you're thinking "well, at least the ground isn't going to kill me!" Well... that didn't pan out. The explosions they set off were massive, causing the creation of seven colossal craters where there once were soldiers and trenches. The largest was a staggering 55 meters wide and 20 meters deep (and for American readers.. you're probably not reading Canadian war history anyway). The explosions opened up a new battlefield, and unsure of how to respond, both sides threw men into the holes, desperately trying to defend them as they considered them to be new trench territory - very loosely defining the word "trench".

Richard Turner attempted to convince the command that taking the craters was useless, but his words fell on deaf ears. Canadian and British troops stormed in, battling over the newly exploded areas. The new terrain posed a number of significant difficulties; with the lay of the land entirely changed, no clear battle lines could be drawn. Communication suffered as it was a mess trying to get messages between the front lines in the craters and the base where the artillery would be firing. Worse yet, the Germans had the clear advantage of having the high ground to better see where their soldiers and the enemy were situated. To further confuse the Canadians, the holes were consistently changed sizes by being exploded even further by shellfire. Suddenly there were more than just the seven originals - and who knows who held what?

Soon the bottom of the craters, early in the battle mostly held by Canadian and British forces, were slowly taken over. The men would die and roll to the bottom, causing for massive pile-ups of corpses. Occasionally a shell would hit the bottom of those craters, creating a grotesque explosion of corpses, raining flesh and blood on the soldiers still alive to defend them. Even for war... man.

The situation never improved. Most battles were won or lost by artillery and with bad weather not allowing any sight of the battlefield shells frequently fell well wide of the craters or, worse yet, fell on friendly Canadian forces believing they were held by Germans. The later happened disturbingly frequently as they just couldn't figure out who was holding what. Most of the separated groups were torn to shreds as they could never be reinforced as the main army didn't even know they were still out there and alive. A lack of reconnaissance made the battle impossible, and the result was a rout. The Canadians fell back with their heads low and their reputation sorely wounded - but don't blame the soldiers. The operations were rarely lost by the soldiers themselves, but rather a lack of cohesion between artillery and the front line and damaged communication lines resulting in horrible decisions by the HQ.

As a result, someone had to take a fall. At first it appeared Richard Turner would take the fall but due to a number of backroom political dealings (in part due to his lack of support for the Canadian Ross Rifle as it was replaced by the British Lee-Enfield) General Edwin Alderson got the boot. To be fair, he was dealt a horrible hand. As the rope in a tug of war between British command and Canadian interests he simply couldn't make both sides happy, ultimately leading to his being kicked to the curb. His replacement, however, proved to be a phenomenal choice - if not immediately. Julian Byng, a well respected Brit with a storied military history, took the reins and began to slowly add discipline to the rowdy colonials that were the Canadian forces.

Mount Sorrel: 
So we're back to the Ypres salient. Considering the horrors of the previous expedition there you could only imagine how terrible the troops must have felt about the return. Their role this time was to defend a position of high ground that was critical to the success in the area. The Germans would be attacking it soon in an attempt to draw forces away from the Somme, a massive assault that will cause the deaths of countless soldiers on both side for little territory (more about that terrible battle of mud, rain and blood coming up next blog - nothing but fun on the Idiot Historian). To open up the assault, the Germans poured countless shells into the Canadian trenches, totalling the largest bombardment to date. Some of the most forward battalions suffered a ninety percent casualty rate by the time the Germans followed in and cleared them out.

"Get into Khaki NOW!" later became an Old Navy
slogan.

The only bright spot on the butchery was from one of the most respected, veteran forces in the Canadian military holding a position against all odds and holding on. That particular battalion was the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry - perhaps the least intimidating name for a tough-as-nails force of hardened soldiers ever. (Perhaps My Little Pony will name a red and white horse named in their honour!) With few men still alive and running out of ammunition, it was an incredible feat of selfless bravery to fight on in their weakened and compromised state - a German officer later spoke of them, saying "the resistance of the officer and some men who remained to the last in a portion of an almost obliterated trench was magnificent." If there's one thing about the World Wars that gets my patriotic blood flowing (I've discovered my blood cells are red and white, I kid you not) it's when the enemy forces speak highly of the bravery of the Canadian troops.

Regardless of the PPCLI's heroic last stand, it was hard to ignore the fact that the Canadians had lost in several battles lately. They had to counter attack, mostly due to pride. However, pride can be a dangerous force (see Napoleon, Hitler, America in 1812, and sports movies featuring highly skilled teams against underdogs) and the attack commenced without artillery properly ready to fire, as well as a lack of proper scouting. It was essentially a suicide mission; they were shelled and gassed, thrown into chaos and cut to ribbons. The disorganized counter fell to pieces.

Days later a second counter attack (at that point does it qualify as an attack?) came through again, but this time with organization. Planes could see the lines and a heavily bombardment preceded the assault. An artillery barrage with infantry support proved much more effective when working in conjunction, with 218 highly powered artillery weapons fighting against them (not all Canadian). The four days of shelling gave Currie the opportunity to attack an exhausted force under the cover of darkness and the German line fell under the weight of a Canadian led bayonet charge.

Mount Sorrel resulted in no significant changes in territory but 8,700 Canadian casualties. For World War I, that seems to be the norm.

Canada in World War I: Part 2 - The Second Battle of Ypres

Ypres, for the Germans, was as difficult to take as it was to pronounce. The last major Belgian centre standing against the advancing German army, the city was a major spot of warfare due to its strategic importance. Immediately adjacent to ports critical to supplying the Western Front, it wasn't something that could be readily given up. The French, British and Belgian forces would fight tooth and nail to keep it. And fight tooth and nail they did.

"They're over there!"
"We know, Jim. Sit down."

I believe it's safe to assume pretty well any trench was going to be a tough place to be. Let's for a moment forget the fact that the place was getting bombed, shot at and showered with shrapnel. It was also cold, frequently muddy and wet (causing the oh-so-terrible "trench foot" ailment of which I strongly urge you to refrain from google image searching) and full of rats. Worse yet, those rats were gorging on the fallen; soldiers freshly (or worse yet, not so freshly) killed by artillery shells, gunfire or otherwise. All of this you can expect in the average trench, but when it's one of critical importance and a place of frequent battle, you can take all that and amp it up tenfold. The trenches at Ypres were of an unimaginable condition. One soldier described traversing the place: "we were walking on oozing bodies in the bottom of the trench. There'd be a hand or a foot sticking out of the trench in front of your face".


This is what the Canadian forces, yet to be truly tested, would be sent into. It would prove to be a great source of Canadian pride. Well, that is until we no stopped learning Canadian history properly.

Day 1: 

In the battle of Deadly Chlorine Gas vs. Thin Cloth I'd be
betting on the former, but apparently it helped.

On April 22nd the Germans changed the face of warfare to something much uglier than it already was. Considering just how awful the situation was in World War I, that's quite the feat. Defying Hague Conventions (the handy guide of the Do's and Do-Not Do's of World Wars) the Germans utilized, for the first time ever, gas as a weapon. They released 160 tonnes of chlorine gas (as I understand it was in a liquid form for transportation purposes, if you're wondering how they measured that) into the defending French line. It caused a large number of casualties, and those it didn't kill or wound were instantly forced to retreat. While a scummy tactic, it was wildly successful. Now, with a hole to fight through in the lines, the Germans would capture or close off a vast number of Canadian, British and French forces.

Out of desperation, the Canadian forces charged into the dissipating gas. If the haphazard, spur of the moment defense didn't hold, the French and British would be forced to blow up the bridges leading to the Ypres salient and effectively cutting off two French divisions and three Canadian ones.

The place to make the stand was at Kitcheners Wood, a spread of oak trees northeast of the city of Ypres. It was a spot of high ground over the other Canadian forces, which meant giving it up would allow the Germans to bombard the remaining army from above, a much more strategic and effective position. This would be the first major Canadian operation, made with low levels of intelligence (the intel kind, not stupidity). The plan was to storm the woods, charge in blindly, and force Fritz out of the trenches with bullets and bayonets. They would be doing this without knowing what was on the other end against an enemy that was properly dug in and prepared for an attack. The only hope for surprise was to attack at night, as the defenders were quite certain the assault was on its way.

Soon enough, 1,600 Canadian troops stalked towards the German lines. Stealth was of the utmost importance, as every second was critical. For every moment the defenders didn't know they were coming meant fewer shots fired by the time they got there. Staying quiet could literally mean life or death. That being said, it's darn near impossible to bring over a thousand men to another waiting army without them noticing (perhaps if they pretended to gift a gigantic horse?) and eventually flares illuminated the fields. Machine guns, artillery and small arms tore through the Canadian forces. Any form of command was left in shambles as officers as well as front line infantry were killed, meaning many of the pockets of soldiers fighting towards the trench were forced into finding new, temporary leadership under the most competent man who happened to be there at the time. With a lack of telephones or lights to help with cohesion, direction was difficult. However, they managed to retake the lost land as well as regaining some previously taken British artillery. It wasn't without cost, though - two thirds of those that stormed the trench ended up as casualties.

That number, two thirds, is really shockingly high. It's a testament to the change in quality of weaponry over the course of the century prior to the first World War. When writing on the War of 1812, the guns were so poor that in spite of occasionally fairly large battles (relatively, at least) not that many would be shot. But when you go from firing with a musket that shoots once every second fortnight to a machine gun that fires literally multiple times a second, warfare changes.

See? No doors. No anything, really, but also no doors.

In spite of the victory at the woods, there was another German assault coming at Mauser Ridge. If they succeeded, they would be knocking at the door of Ypres (although the consistent bombing probably left a precious few doors standing there, to be fair). The Canadians basically had to block the advance with whatever force they could muster. Due to inadequate command from the higher ups (which will be frustratingly common for the next several blog posts) they decided to attack over flat ground with inadequate artillery support instead of simply digging in and letting the Germans come to them, taking the defenders' advantage. In spite of a lack of coordination with the French who had seemingly just left without really telling the Canadians all that much about it (surprise, there were a lot of angry Germans) they managed to hold. With only twelve hours since the gas attack, the Canadians lost over 2,100 men. They did, however, earn the respect of both the Germans and the rest of the allied forces. One prisoner told the Canadians "you fellows fight like hell".
I bet the British said "jolly good show", or something.

Day 2:
The following day saw more fighting, finding limited reinforcements due to every reserve battalion now being sent to the front. Outnumbered, outgunned, and weakened by the constant fighting, the Canadians along with British forces managed to hang on. Many hadn't eaten or slept in two days, occasionally falling asleep standing up or face first in the dirt.

Day 3:
By the start of the third day the defenders were holding with twelve battalions plus their British allies against twenty-four German ones. With few reinforcements, they were left to fight on outnumbered against what they knew would be a monumental attack coming in short order. It was 4 a.m. when the second gas attack came, and to stay alive many men would urinate on cloths to hopefully prevent it from seeping into their lungs. The gas attack wasn't as powerful this time around, but it fell to the bottom of the trenches where, typically, the wounded were kept. The gas mostly killed the already weak, subjecting them to a much more painful and terrible death than they would already likely receive.

By 6:30, many attacking forces had broken through. A tenacious Canadian defense, however, managed to stay and defend to the last many times over. The Germans advanced cautiously and in groups, fearful of the remaining gas, and those that stayed cut their numbers down drastically due to their apprehension in following the cloud of poison. With little communication and few commanding officers, small groups of men would fight until out of ammunition or the crappy Ross rifles would inevitably jam, proving that not only were the Canadians a force to be reckoned with, but would keep fighting even if they were sure to be defeated.

Mostly.

Richard Turner, a brigadier, ordered his men to retreat to the safety of a trench further back in the line. He was the only one to do sure, meaning that he left the British and Canadians on his flank to be attacked on multiple fronts. Now, before we place blame, he had been gassed, shelled, and pushed to the point of exhaustion and told to keep him and his men in a meat grinder he didn't believe was winnable. He also wrongfully believed it was an order from command.

While Turner may not have won the
battle at Ypres, he sure had a
winning smile.

Meanwhile, one of those flanks was led by Arthur Currie. Desperately needing reinforcements, he raced back to a line further back and pleaded with the command to supply him with more men. This was really out of the ordinary, but his men had defended five frontal assaults that day, were low on ammunition, and were almost in sight of a number of British soldiers that were milling about instead of being ordered to support them. If he were to retreat, it would mean the British would be completely left open and sure to be annihilated. Regardless, the British general Douglas Haig (who had a strong feeling of resentment towards the Canadians whom he saw as weak) told Currie to return to the front without his men. However, sometime after he left he must have changed his mind as the British did support them a short time after.

Turner, on the other hand, initially refused to return for fear of the lives of his men. He was almost relieved of duty, but due to the fact that, first, there was no one to replace him, and second, it would be poor form to kick out a man who had previously earned a Victoria Cross, he stayed on. All told, the Canadians held but the wounded, captured or dead numbered in at 3,058.

Day 4:
No matter how valiant the British and Canadians fought, a retreat was inevitable. Having most of their groups blasted apart, small patches of men would form up and go together regardless of which battalion they belonged to. This would soon be a part of how much of the Canadian forces would fight over the next few years - damaged, but quickly responding by grouping together with whomever was around them.

Fortunately, the French and British forces finally arrived in full, supporting the retreat and ensuring that the salient was held. In a time that spanned a little over half a week, a massive total of men were killed. However, the Canadians had earned a great deal of respect as soldiers that would hold on strong regardless of the opposition against them. It was at the salient (but not this fight) that John McCrae would write "In Flanders Fields".

Canada in World War I: Part 1 - Rowdy and Undisciplined

If there's a war you don't want to be in, it's probably World War I. Sure, its thrilling sequel gets more attention due to the fact it had more casualties, is more recent (which typically means more relevant), and has a much better good vs. evil story. (Say what you want about the Nazis, but from a purely historical interest standpoint they made the best villains; a strong, frightening accent and language, uniforms made by Hugo Boss with the most evil of colour schemes, and a plan for world domination.) But for sheer horrible wartime conditions, there is nothing I've come across - and correct me if I'm wrong here - that sounds like a worse wartime situation to be in as a soldier than being sent to participate in trench warfare. Through that, with the backwards fighting style of sprinting into machine gun fire, the multitude of diseases and otherwise caused by the trenches, and the near constant concussive blasts of high powered explosives, Canada went from being a colony to a country with spilled blood, grit and courage.

So, how did we get there? 

When the war began we were very much a British colony. With our large-and-in-charge father Britain and sassy mother France going to fight it out with Germany and Co. over in Europe, it was our duty to step in and provide whatever support we could. However, since we were still a self-governing body, it was up to us to decide just how many men we were going to send their way. We certainly wished to help Britain, but at the same time didn't want to cripple our fledgling population and economy - plus, who knew how many would show up to answer the call? Canada, after all, had a population that was 65% rural and many thought that the war had more of a "big city" feel to it, and continuing the work on the farm was of greater importance. Also, who would think of World War I and think "yeah, I'm in"? Well, as it turns out, a heck of a lot.

A picture of Valcartier, the largest military base in Canada
at the time. It's probably bigger than it looks here. This angle
puts it slightly above "hobo shanty town."

Canadians were exceptionally excited, eager to go to war for whatever reasons they may have had. Some wished for adventure, others felt a strong sense of duty, some needed the guaranteed albeit small stream of income, and others were actually British and had just recently settled in Canada. The prevailing thought was that they wouldn't be there for very long; it would be a quick trip, they'd kick some German keister, be lavished with praise and head on back. So many men felt this way and turned up at the recruitment armories that they were turning men down left right and centre. They would have to meet the standards for a good soldier, and if they didn't, they'd get the boot. You would need to have good lungs, good teeth (I mean, why not?), high arches (no flat footed weirdos mutants in our army), be between the ages of 18-45, and have a minimum height of 5'3". Pass those tests and you've got a shot. Unfortunately for the recruitment centres, electronic recordings wasn't yet a thing, and that many people attempting to sign up flooded their system. That meant that a number of people would get rejected, take a look at the proper requirements, return to the back of the line and lie their way through the next time; they could claim previous military status, or older men could dye their hair (but they had to make sure they remembered to dye your chest hair too - really - it was a thing).

As for the types of men that were chosen, Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia and Defense, decided to shirk recruitment recommendations and build the military with a mostly civilian force. Sending the 30,617 chosen to a newly created military base called Valcartier, it was about as ragtag as a group could be; they showed up in suits, bowler hats, uniforms of their local militia, and many of them had to begin training in such, as uniforms were not as of yet distributed. It didn't help that Hughes himself was a bit on the crazy side, frequently interrupting training, demoting people at random, and shrugging off the need to have experienced soldiers take the lead on instruction to create a cohesive force. By military standards Valcartier was a mess; the men were insubordinate, more brawlers than soldiers, and typical military stuff (saluting, spotless boots, doing pushups while being called a "maggot" and so forth) was mostly dismissed as nonsense. Practical jokes were common and typically if there was a major problem it would be settled by a fistfight.

The brave men leaving Toronto for battle in Western Europe.
I mean, I know Toronto is expensive, but this?! Hiyo!!!!

Canadian military equipment proved to be little better. The famous Ross Rifle, proudly Canadian made, would frequently jam on rapid fire exercises. Also, the bayonet would have a nasty habit of simply falling off. The uniforms themselves, with much of the gear distributed in Europe once they got there, was not created all that well either. An ammo pouch on the front made it difficult to crawl and the goatskin they were given for warmth frequently still had the blood or flesh of the animal on it. 

Nevertheless, in spite of everything, the Canadian forces set sail with the men, artillery, and seven thousand horses, carried across the waters by ocean liner. Arriving at Salisbury Plain, a military camp quite near to Stonehenge, they were given a week before more training would continue. During this time they drank: a private described the unruly force as thinking "of nothing but drinking and getting into all the trouble they can." Some of that trouble came in the form of loose women; 1,249 (keep in mind only 30,617 came over) picked up a venereal disease during that time. Eventually they allowed booze in the camp, mostly to slow the tide of rampaging Canadians causing a ruckus across Britain.

One of the Canadian battalions. Or perhaps a division.
No, a unit! That's not right... Anyways, here's a group of
Canadian soldiers.

As for the conditions in the camp, well... the training was effective but the weather was brutal. Pounding sheets of rain hammered the men day after day, making training a muddy, sick, unpleasant experience. However, the awful conditions helped to toughen them up, and the difficulties served as a bonding time for the inexperienced force. It's beautifully summed up by this lieutenant and former war correspondent:

"On Salisbury Plain, chastened by suffering, saddened by yearnings for home, wounded to the quick by misunderstandings with our English instructors, torture by the vilest winter climate on earth, often prostrated by sickness of the body, or by deeper sickness of the spirit, out of all of this man-breaking and heart-breaking we were being hammered and wrought into an army unit. Out of hell fire, came an Iron Division for service in an Iron War."

It wasn't long before Canadians got their first test in battle. After the training was complete, they were sent to the western front to support British soldiers in trying to break the unbreakable; trench warfare had begun, and it was up to the Triple Entente's forces (the Russians, British and French) to break the line. Defenses wouldn't hold; the Germans had broken into France and had already stormed through Belgium, meaning a defensive position would be in Germany's favour. 

After shadowing experienced British soldiers for some time, they got their first real taste. The initial deaths, through exploding artillery fire or snipers, shook the men to the core. They weren't mentally prepared, but to be fair, how could one be? Their first major battle to test their nerve came at Neuve Chappelle on March 10th, 1915. Basically, the Canadians were used as a diversion force to ensure the Germans couldn't mass a large number where the British, with their Indian allies, hoped to attack. They lost one hundred men, but did their duty. 

In spite of the inferior rifles, sloppy training, frequent insubordination and liquor issues, the Canadian army would soon prove to be one heck of a formidable fighting force. Suffice to say, I bet no one saw that coming.