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In May, we mark the 65th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day.  The article copied below appeared in the official Government programme prepared for the 25th anniversary in 1970:

Twenty-five years ago active hostilities ended in Europe for Canada and her allies.  In September 1939, along with France, Poland and the other Commonwealth countries, Canada had entered the conflict to preserve freedom throughout the world.

Before the struggle had ended more than a million Canadians had joined the forces.  By the time the battles were finished, nearly 45,000 had laid down their lives.

Young Canadians came to the defence of their country.  They joined the Navy, the Army and the Air Force.  They wrote new names into the Canadian history books, like Ortona, Athabaskan, Croft, Dieppe, Gray, Merritt and Mynarski.

Between 1939 and 1945 the Royal Canadian Navy grew from a tiny force of less than 2,000 to more than 100,000.  It eventually provided the main escort forces for the Atlantic convoys to Britain.  Its minesweepers cleared the approaches to the Normandy beaches, its motor torpedo boats harassed enemy shipping all along the coasts of France, Belgium, Holland and Denmark; its escort vessels sank and assisted in sinking 29 German and Italian submarines and its destroyers made the long voyage around Norway’s North Cape escorting the Murmansk convoys.

The Canadian Army began moving its troops overseas within weeks of the outbreak of World War II.  The 1st Division, under General A.G.L. McNaughton, was in Britain by December 1939 and the Canadian Army in Europe gradually, but steadily, built up to five divisions.

Units from the 2nd Division made the landing at Dieppe in 1942.  In 1943 the 1st Division and the 1st Canadian Army Tank Brigade landed in Sicily as part of the Eighth British Army.  After the Allies invaded Italy in late 1943 the headquarters of General H.D.G. Crerar’s 1st Canadian Corps and the 5th Canadian Armoured Division joined up with the Canadians already there.  It was in the fighting in Italy that, for the second time in a quarter-century, a Canadian Corps moved into action.

By June 1944, when the Allies breached the enemy defences in Normandy, Canada had the elements of an army overseas.  The 2nd Canadian Corps, under Lieutenant-General G.G. Simonds, fought its way out of Normandy, north through France, across Belgium and into Holland.  It was here that finally the Canadian troops overseas were united in operations under one commander – General Crerar.  The 1st Canadian Corps had returned from Italy and joined up with the 2nd Canadian Corps already in Holland.  The final achievement was the liberation of Holland.

The Royal Canadian Air Force also experienced phenomenal growth as a result of World War II.  By 1945 nearly a quarter of a million had seen service in the RCAF either at home or overseas.

Canadian pilots flew Hurricanes and Spitfires in the Battle of Britain.  They flew with the night-fighter squadrons in Beaufighters and Mosquitoes.  The RCAF bomber crews took the war to the enemy in the four-engined Halifax and Lancaster bombers.  The coastal command crews backed up and supported naval escort operations from their Catalina and Sunderland flying boats.

All this while Canada’s home front was making its own contribution to the grinding struggle for peace.  Ships, tanks and planes were rolling off Canadian assembly lines as the country made a fantastic adjustment to the industrial requirements of the modern war machine.

Please find below more “Snapshots of War” from my continuing series:

Korea, May 28, 1951.  The Lord Strathcona Horse tank “Chippewa” supports B Company, Second Battalion, Royal Twenty Second Regiment.

This was a bren gun position atop a Korean Mountain. The soldiers are from the famous Van Doos of Quebec.

This remarkable photo shows a PPCLI Company moving in single file across a paddy field. The picture looks almost the same turned upside down.

The RCAF role in Korea was to provide Transport. In this picture, we see members of the Van Doos arriving at Haneda Air Force base from an RCAF North Star.

As most are aware, on February 18th, Canada’s last known First World War veteran, Mr. John Babcock, passed away at the age of 109, signifying the end of an era. 

Mr. Babcock was 15 when he lied about his age and joined the 146th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in World War I.  After the war, he moved to the United States and served in the U.S. Army from 1921 to 1924.  At the time of his death, Mr. Babcock resided in Spokane, Washington. 

As a result of his passing, Canada is taking the opportunity to commemorate a generation past – to honour all those that served their country during the First World War.  This is an historic event in Canada’s military history.

Today, in honour of the achievements and contributions of Canada’s First World War servicemen and women, national commemorative ceremonies are being held across Canada, as well as in France and England.�

The Capture

At half past five on the morning of Easter Monday, April 9th, 1917, the guns and mortars opened up.  The assaulting troops – some lying in saps and shell holes close to the enemy line, others in tunnels and trenches further back – moved forward in the cold northwest wind and chilling sleet which swept the countryside on that momentous day.

The task? Capture the craters and forward trench system of the Germans! The German troops, however, had been instructed that they must hold their positions “to the last man and the last round.” Those who took part in the battle said afterwards that, for the most part, this order was literally obeyed by the Germans.

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There was hand-to-hand fighting at many points along the front.  The German counter-barrage of the artillery was still deadly, but many of their guns had been put out of action by the Allies’ bombardment.  Possibly the strongest points in the German defences were the concrete strongholds containing machine guns.  These had to be disposed of by the attackers, before progress could continue.

No man’s land – between the main Canadian and German trenches, was a mass of shell holes, craters and churned up soil.  The Canadians made good time, against still opposition and in 35 minutes the “black” line was secured.  The second advance – from the “black” to the “red” objective – was carried out between 6:55 and 7:10 a.m. in the morning – a distance of about 700 yards.

Here the First Canadian Infantry Brigade passed through the Second and Third Divisions, and at 9:55 a.m. proceeded to the capture of the “blue” objective – a further 1100 yards inside the German lines.  This they accomplished by 11:00 a.m. – and by 1:00 p.m. they had passed over the skyline and down the slope to capture the “brown” objective, establishing themselves and the bottom of the Eastern slope of the Ridge by 5:45 p.m.  This was a little over 12 hours since the attack began!

In the right centre of the Canadian Corps front, the Second Canadian Division carried out its part.  The “black” line was captured and consolidated, the Arras-Lens road crossed and Thelus Village swept over.  Moving forward at mid-day, the Canadians in this sector made a further advance of nearly a mile clearing the German second position and the village of Farbus, and penetrating to the railway embankment.

On the front of the Third Division – 1400 yards wide of the start and increasing to 2000 yards as it crossed the central position of the Ridge at La Folie Farm - the havoc caused by the artillery was so complete that the enemy was unable to offer any serious obstacle to the irresistible infantry assaults.

As elsewhere, the first phase entailed a crossing of mine craters at the front line and the maze of shattered trenches behind them, which were scattered with torn entanglements and deep and watery mud.  As elsewhere the resistance was quickly overcome and the first objective reached by 6:00 a.m.  The second, and in this sector the final phase which entailed the capture of a mile of the crest of the Ridge including La Folie Farm and other strong points was completed by 7:34 a.m. – a penetration of 1200 yards in two hours!!

The assault of the Fourth Canadian Division, against German front lines and the crest of the Ridge 500 yards distance, was aimed at capturing Hill 145 and covering the northern flank.  With these accomplished the subsidiary summit – “The Pimple” – would be secured the next day by a separate operation of the Tenth Brigade.

This Fourth Division, on the left, made good progress, cleared most of its area and established a flank on the North and by 3:00 p.m. the forward system of trenches had been cleared with bomb and bayonet.  As darkness fell, the last of the enemy was driven from Hill 145 – the very crest of Vimy Ridge.

Much has been written about the phenomenon which occurred about half past ten in the morning of that sullen Easter Monday.  Suddenly, a blaze of sunlight came through the dark curtain of snow clouds.  To the astonished Germans it disclosed endless waves of Canadians, some advancing steadily over the Ridge.  Thus for a fleeting moment was revealed the final issue of the Vimy Battle.  The Germans saw that the Ridge was lost.

This burst of sunlight pointed out to the Canadians, as well, that the battle was being won by them.  The German defences were so dislocated and demoralized that their pre-arranged counter offenses were doomed to fail.  There was still much heavy fighting to be done but this sudden burst of sunlight – coming as it did at mid morning – has been credited with giving the Canadians added encouragement in this vital battle.

The next day – the 10th of April – saw the consolidation completed, with the Canadians digging trenches and machine gun pits, and stringing barbed wire entanglements.

The condition of the captured ground, which had assumed the consistency of thick porridge, mixed with strands of wire, stakes, trench boards and sandbags, was described as an area where the victorious Canadians could hardly find footing – but dig in they did.

The strength of the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Vimy Ridge was 170,000.  Of these 97,184 were Canadians, of all arms and from every province of Canada.  Every man was a volunteer.  The remainder of the Canadian Corps consisted chiefly of the attached 5th British Division and over 30,000 troops of the Royal Artillery.

The Canadian casualties for the 2nd week alone of April were 11,297.  In the battle the Germans were driven completely from the Ridge.  Some 4,000 prisoners were taken but there was no accurate record of German casualties.