by Vanessa Cowley

Created on: December 06, 2008

Canadian soldiers were a vital part of the allied forces of World War I. Entering in 1914 as a Dominion of the British Empire, and emerging four years later as a nation , with a sense of national identity as defined by their distinctive presence on the front. Recognized by the Germans to be a fierce corps and a dangerous enemy, the Canadians made their presence felt in the battlefields of war.

As the First World War progressed, the superior training and performance of the Canadians became increasingly obvious, noticed by friend and foe alike. These rough frontiersmen had a physical advantage over their British compatriots who grew up in the polluted English cities. The Canadians, particularly those from the West, had a rugged upbringing on farms and homesteads, which made them fitter, tougher fighting men, well adapted to the rigors of military life.

The Canadians were notably different in their ability to sustain heavy casualties and retain their efficiency, whereas the British troops suffered a debilitation from heavy losses, particularly if they lost heavily in officers. Many have speculated that the different attitude of the Canadians is what made them better soldiers. Within and between the ranks there was a better flow of ideas, both up and down, compared to the British "status quo", which meant that your rank was determined by your social status rather than your abilities. There was a sense of sharing displayed by all ranks in the Canadian forces, carrying with it an abundance of new ideas. They were also renowned for taking quick action when a situation arose, whether or not there was a commanding officer to give the orders. If something needed doing they would do it, whether their officer was alive or not, and with no sense of acting above their station' or trying to keep in with the bosses'. This was often viewed by the British generals to be a case of poor discipline and tried to break up the Canadian divisions and distribute them among the British.

But the Canadians would not be broken up, unlike the Australians, who were also noticed to have a distinctive fighting capacity but were broken up into smaller companies interspersed within British divisions, the Canadians remained as a fighting unit, forging a sense of nationhood amongst the soldiers. In the winter of 1916/17, four divisions of Canadian soldiers were moved into a small north eastern French village, Arras, in preparation to form a key part of a massive allied offensive on the front along Vimy Ridge.

On the morning of Easter Monday, April 9th, 1917, the four Canadian divisions, with the first British corps to the north and the 51st Highland division the south, surged forward under the war's greatest artillery barrage, to seize their objective within a few hours, in an offensive that was expected to drag on for several weeks. This success would be the catalyst that identified Canada as a nation separate from the British in the eyes of the world. Within Canada, the feeling was one of pride in these soldiers who had distinguished themselves and gained recognition for their country.

Canada entered the First World War as a junior partner to the U.K., but emerged a nation in her own right, with her own vote in the League of Nations. These boys and men who had given up their lives to fight for their country, had also helped to define it by helping to establish an image separate from that of Mother England, and forge a sense of nationhood among its people

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