Today's Itinerary and Activities
This day we went back in time to the Canadian Army’s arrival on the Western Front, marching to the frontline with 1st Canadian Division. In the morning we examined Canada’s role in the Second Battle of Ypres. In the afternoon we headed south of Ieper to consider the massive expansion of Canada’s force on the Western Front and their forgotten battles of 1915 and 1916 including the St. Eloi Craters and Mount Sorrel. At 8:00pm we participated in the Menin Gate ceremony and laid a wreath for the soldiers we are commemorating. Ben led us in this evening's seminar, discussing whether moral or ethical considerations matter when introducing a new weapon in war.
What stands out as significant to you about the second battle of Ypres? |
Muddy Blindness Some surprise Hell Gas
Toehold Innovation New technology Mud Standing fast Poison gas Alfred James Field Breath Realignment Gas Gas Veterans |
Where we are |
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An analogy |
Think of history as a house. Rather than tearing down what came before, we look to add to it, to expand on what exists. Think of history in this way when trying to explain to students that new evidence adds new questions, more nuance to the story.
History textbooks tend to remove the language of argument, they use the language of certainty, so students learn that there is one story. This is why we need to study historiography - to see that historians understand histories from different perspectives and that there are arguments. History education offers a great deal in terms of life skills for students - in life they are going to have differences of option with others who have different information about a problem. Doing history and using evidence to determine what is the most likely is good practice for students to be able to engage in informed, reasoned discussion. |
Canada as unprepared, and other myths
The Canadian army is not raw and unprepared entering the First World War - there is no evidence to suggest this. Training manuals from 1904 on suggest that the Canadian army was not caught by surprise, but have been training with new military technology and strategy since the Boer War. There are 8000 Canadian-born combat veterans in the regular army and active militia, many who are too old to fight, but are advocating for Canadians to have new equipment. We also have a new immigrant population from Britain with prior military service. The image of Canada as a military culture is not a popular one, but
The vision for an independent voice for Canada is growing - we don't have control over our foreign policy but are independent, becoming a partner nation and a growing voice in a Commonwealth alliance. We are aware that Germany at this time is hostile towards their neighbours - German expansion threatens the peace won in the 1800s.
Another misconception is that Canadians were unprepared in 1914, which is why we didn't enter the war until 1915. In fact, the evidence tells us that we have never mobilized a force as fast as we did in 1914, including the war in Afghanistan and the Second World War - within 30 days we have troops in Valcartier. It is important to note that this is refresher training and common arms training - these are not brand new recruits in 1st Canadian division. Needs at the time include further training on new technology, more radio telephones for the field, and more draft horses to tow heavy artillery, but common arms training is the most pressing. Even today, it takes nearly a year for a battalion to train to be prepared to fight together.
The vision for an independent voice for Canada is growing - we don't have control over our foreign policy but are independent, becoming a partner nation and a growing voice in a Commonwealth alliance. We are aware that Germany at this time is hostile towards their neighbours - German expansion threatens the peace won in the 1800s.
Another misconception is that Canadians were unprepared in 1914, which is why we didn't enter the war until 1915. In fact, the evidence tells us that we have never mobilized a force as fast as we did in 1914, including the war in Afghanistan and the Second World War - within 30 days we have troops in Valcartier. It is important to note that this is refresher training and common arms training - these are not brand new recruits in 1st Canadian division. Needs at the time include further training on new technology, more radio telephones for the field, and more draft horses to tow heavy artillery, but common arms training is the most pressing. Even today, it takes nearly a year for a battalion to train to be prepared to fight together.
Photo Gallery
In this region, people live in village centres and farm outwards rather than living on their farms in the Roman style of living, with the road network along the ridges so they don't flood. This way of life controls how the war is fought - control of villages controls the roads and villages serve as bases. Civilians are always a factor in military planning in the First and Second World Wars.
When the gas attacks come, civilians are working in the fields, living in towns as residents or refugees from other towns. All of these people are subjected to German artillery and gas, and the civilian component becomes a humongous logistical problem for Allies. The legacy of the war remains in this region in the form of toxic chemicals leeching into the soil where crops are grown, causing illness and birth defects, as well as ordinance that remains buried in the fields. The civilian experience in Europe affects the civilian perspective in Canada - after the reports in the news in Canada of German atrocities, volunteer enlistment spikes. There is no evidence that Canadian papers censored news coming back from the front, in fact we can see that it is the opposite, there is a great deal of information coming back from the front. |
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Classroom questions
How does the geography of a region determine how a battle is fought?
In planning for a war, it is assumed that soldiers will die. Do they have to suffer?
How much room is there for ethical judgements when looking back on a war?
At what point do we have to step away from a militarily effective strategy if it means causing unnecessary suffering to soldiers? Do we have to?
Who do you hold responsible? The guys who released the gas, the guys who transported it, the guy who gave the order, the guy who gave the guy the order to give the order?
What does the neutrality of Belgium represent for Europe?
Is the Menin Gate ceremony still relevant today?
How can civilians be equally represented in our study of the wars when there is less widely available evidence than for the military perspective?
What are the social implications for Canada when men with no high school education and limited literacy are given leadership and skills training and return home?
Is peace possible in 1916?
In planning for a war, it is assumed that soldiers will die. Do they have to suffer?
How much room is there for ethical judgements when looking back on a war?
At what point do we have to step away from a militarily effective strategy if it means causing unnecessary suffering to soldiers? Do we have to?
Who do you hold responsible? The guys who released the gas, the guys who transported it, the guy who gave the order, the guy who gave the guy the order to give the order?
What does the neutrality of Belgium represent for Europe?
Is the Menin Gate ceremony still relevant today?
How can civilians be equally represented in our study of the wars when there is less widely available evidence than for the military perspective?
What are the social implications for Canada when men with no high school education and limited literacy are given leadership and skills training and return home?
Is peace possible in 1916?