Volunteers Needed!

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Volunteers Needed!
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More Troops Needed

• Following the battle of the Somme, Canada was in
  desperate need to replenish its supply of
  soldiers however, there were very few volunteers
  to replace them.
• The government looked to conscription (forced
  military service) as a means of obtaining more
  soldiers.

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Conscription Crisis of 1917

• Almost all French Canadians opposed conscription
  they felt that they had no particular loyalty to
  either Britain or France.
• Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden announced that
  he would be introducing the Military Service Act
  which passed on August 29, 1917 allowing him to
  invoke conscription.

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Sympathy

• The government was making an effort to be
  sympathetic toward those who refused to take part
  in military service. Many communities set up
  local tribunals.
• If a man refused to serve he was put in front of
  a panel of judges.
• Many people believed that if men were not willing
  to give service against the enemy, then the only
  choice for them was between civil or military
  prisons

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Wartime Elections Act

• In preparation for an election mainly on the
  issue of conscription (mandatory military
  service) the government changed the election
  rules.
• Canadian women had close relatives over seas were
  able to vote for the first time.

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The Battle of Vimy Ridge (1917)

• The victory at Vimy was a defining event for
  Canada, considered by many to be a significant
  event in Canada's progress to full independence
  from Britain.
• The seven-kilometre long Vimy Ridge in northern
  France, near Arras, held a commanding view over
  the surrounding countryside.
• Why is this type of location important?

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Earlier Attempts

• Previous unsuccessful French and British attacks
  had suffered over 150,000 casualties.
• On April 09 1917, British High Command ordered
  the Canadian Corps to capture the position as
  part of a larger spring offensive.

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Preparation is Key

• Lieutenant-General Sir Julian Byng, the Canadian
  Corps commander, ordered new tactics for the
  coming assault.
• Small units and individual soldiers were given
  much more information about the battle.

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Taking Vimy Ridge

• A tremendous artillery barrage, which included
  improved techniques for counter-battery fire
  against enemy guns, would smash German positions
  and isolate enemy troops in their dugouts.

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Victory at Vimy!

• An estimated 15,000 Canadians rose from the
  trenches and advanced towards the ridge in the
  first wave, with thousands more behind them.
• Despite hard fighting all across the front, the
  Canadians captured most of the ridge on April 9th
  1917, and the remaining portions of it by the
  12th.

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Casualities

• Over four days of bloody fighting, the Canadians
  had overrun Vimy Ridge at the cost of more than
  10,600 killed and wounded.