Using their rifles, bayonets and hand grenades, the Canadians were involved in grisly close-quarters warfare “in which the town was cleared of the Germans who had fortified themselves in what remained of the buildings.” “Although the early armour was anything but reliable, many Germans surrendered and the Canadians soon captured their objectives,” noted VAC.īy nightfall of September 15, the Canadians were in Courcelette. However, the tanks initially still had the desired effect. The newly-developed vehicles were unreliable and broke down easily, and while they repelled small arms fire, they could be damaged or destroyed by shell fire. Heavy and slow, the British Mark 1 Male Tanks weighed in at 28 tons each and crept along at ½ mile per hour. Library and Archives CanadaĢnd Canadian Division Captured Courcelette “This barrage,” according to “Canada and the First World War” by the Canadian War Museum, “was not meant to destroy the enemy trench systems… but to drive defenders into their protective dugouts.”Īfter vicious battles fought by soldiers and tanks, horse-drawn ambulances rescued the wounded. On the morning of September 15, the Canadians moved “behind a creeping barrage, a technique where an artillery bombardment was coordinated to land just slightly ahead of the advancing troops,” according to “Canada Remembers – the Battle of the Somme” by Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Seven armoured tanks rumbled and roared along the French battlefield. General Haig attempted to put all 49 of his available tanks into the theatre, but he was foiled by vehicles not yet readied and many requiring repair other tanks broke down on the way to the battle. Setting the enemy off-guard, British Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Sir Douglas Haig introduced the tank to the battle scene of the Somme near the town of Courcelette. The Canadian troops’ mission was to take two trenches, nicknamed “Sugar” and “Candy,” and to capture the beet-sugar refining factory. The Canadian Corps moved from the battlefront at Ypres Salient in time to join the offensive at Courcelette.
Two months later, the Allies were still mired in fighting without much ground gained for the enormous losses. The first day of the offensive is recognized as one of the most horrific in British military history with casualties numbering some 58,000 men, according to “Battles – Battle of the Somme, 1916” on First World War. On July 1, 1916, the Battle of the Somme began.
(Newfoundland joined Confederation on March 31, 1949.) The British army included volunteer battalions from several other countries, including Australians, New Zealanders and the Ist Newfoundland Regiment. The German Army invaded France in August 1914, and the French and British were attempting to regain occupation of the northern region. The Battle of Courcelette was part of the World War I Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916.
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