Category: Heritage

Lest We Forget: Vimy Ridge, 100 Days

Image result for pics of poppiesLest We Forget………………………………..Never

Vimy Ridge and the 100 Days

Vimy Ridge:

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army. The battle, which took place from 9 to 12 April 1917, was part of the opening phase of the British-led Battle of Arras, a diversionary attack for the French Nivelle Offensive.

The objective of the Canadian Corps, led by Canadian General Arthur Currie, was to take control of the German-held high ground along an escarpment at the northernmost end of the Arras Offensive. This would ensure that the southern flank could advance without suffering German enfilade fire. Supported by a creeping barrage, the Canadian Corps captured most of the ridge during the first day of the attack. The village of Thélus fell during the second day of the attack, as did the crest of the ridge, once the Canadian Corps overcame a salient against considerable German resistance. The final objective, a fortified knoll located outside the village of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, fell to the Canadian Corps on 12 April. The German forces then retreated to the Oppy–Méricourt line.

Historians attribute the success of the Canadian Corps in capturing the ridge to a mixture of technical and tactical innovation, meticulous planning, powerful artillery support and extensive training, as well as the failure of the German Sixth Army to properly apply the new German defensive doctrine. The battle was the first occasion when all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated in a battle together and it was made a symbol of Canadian national achievement and sacrifice. A 100-hectare (250-acre) portion of the former battleground serves as a memorial park and site of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.[5]

100 Days

The code word used by the Canadians for security at this battle was “Llandovery Castle” a Canadian hospital ship carrying both Canadian wounded and Canadian Nursing Sisters. The ship had been torpedoed and sunk in June of 1918.

Again led by General Currie and without using preliminary artillery but using tanks (effective early but out of commission later), the Canadians moved forward at 4:20 am on August 8, 1918. By 1:15 pm the Canadians had more than achieved their objectives. The German lines had been breached and the Canadians had pressed 13 kilometres into German held territory. The cost was high, with almost 4000 Canadians killed or wounded but the results were impressive; roughly 27,000 German casualties and approximately 5,000 taken prisoner. The “Flanders deception” had worked flawlessly. A German POW had expressed amazement that the Canadians had been his foe, as he was told by the high command that all the Canadians had been moved to Belgium. During the next 2 days, the Germans had been pushed back an additional 24 kilometres, 4 German divisions were “on the run” and 10,000 more prisoners taken by the Canadian forces. This victory had liberated 25 French towns and villages and put a stop to the German efforts to split the British and French armies. The German Spring Offensive had been stopped and the tide of the war reversed.

Image result for pics of the canal de nordImage result for pics of the canal de nord

The result of this Canadian action is best verbalized by Germany’s Erich von Ludendorff, the general quartermaster of the German army, referred to this battle as the “black day of the German army”.

The Kaiser ordered an initiation of Peace negotiations. Over the next few months and by the 09th November 1918, the Canadian Corp with the help of the Australian Corp advanced all the way to Mons. On the 11th November it was all over. By my reckoning the Canadian Corp and the Australian / New Zealand Corp won the First World War. Unfortunately they were all part of the British Army so they never received the recognition they deserved. The Brits took all the glory………………..never again.

Canadians entering Mons. Where it all began and ended.

Canada’s real national anthem!Image result for pics of canadian flag

 

 

Australian’s Waltzing Matilda. Not their Anthem but it should be.

And of course New Zealand

Check out my books by clicking on the links at the top of the page. Kurofune in particular is a historical work of fiction that centers on the Pacific War.

One of many reviews of Monk’s Orchard:

“I have just finished reading this novel by John Morrison. Like his other books, this was an impressive and enjoyable read.In this book, the author chooses a theme so different from his first novel. This alone is impressive ;that he can range to themes so vastly different. His character development is again strong and the great amount of historical research that he has done is evident. Using a narrator to span the generations is an interesting and effective literary device. Let us hope that Mr.Morrison has more equally interesting novels in store for us.”

 

SJ…………………………………………………..Out

Lest We Forget: Battle of the Atlantic

Image result for pics of poppiesLest We Forget……………………………………………………..Never

Battle of the Atlantic

Image result for pics of the battle of the atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic was Canada’s longest military engagement of the Second World War, lasting from September 1939 to May 1945. This battle was bravely fought by the men and women of the Canadian Merchant Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force. More than 4,600 courageous service men and women lost their lives at sea.

Image result for pics of the battle of the atlantic

Royal Navy too……………

The name “Battle of the Atlantic” was coined by Winston Churchill in February 1941.[9] It has been called the “longest, largest and most complex” naval battle in history.[10] The campaign started immediately after the European war began, during the so-called “Phoney War“, and lasted six years, until the German Surrender in May 1945. It involved thousands of ships in more than 100 convoy battles and perhaps 1,000 single-ship encounters, in a theatre covering millions of square miles of ocean. The situation changed constantly, with one side or the other gaining advantage, as participating countries surrendered, joined and even changed sides in the war, and as new weapons, tactics, counter-measures and equipment were developed by both sides. The Allies gradually gained the upper hand, overcoming German surface raiders by the end of 1942 and defeating the U-boats by mid-1943, though losses due to U-boats continued until war’s end.

Image result for pics of the battle of the atlantic

The Germans failed to stop the flow of strategic supplies to Britain. This failure resulted in the build-up of troops and supplies needed for the D-Day landings. The defeat of the U-boat was a necessary precursor for accumulation of Allied troops and supplies to ensure Germany’s defeat.

Victory was achieved at a huge cost: between 1939 and 1945, 3,500 Allied merchant ships (totalling 14.5 million gross tons) and 175 Allied warships were sunk and some 72,200 Allied naval and merchant seamen lost their lives.[1] The Germans lost 783 U-boats and approximately 30,000 sailors killed, three-quarters of Germany’s 40,000-man U-boat fleet.[2]

 

Congrats to the US Marine Corps’ 245 anniversary – Nov 10th

Check out my books by clicking on the links at the top of the page. Kurofune in particular is a historical work of fiction that centers on the Pacific War.

One of many reviews of Monk’s Orchard:

“I have just finished reading this novel by John Morrison. Like his other books, this was an impressive and enjoyable read.In this book, the author chooses a theme so different from his first novel. This alone is impressive ;that he can range to themes so vastly different. His character development is again strong and the great amount of historical research that he has done is evident. Using a narrator to span the generations is an interesting and effective literary device. Let us hope that Mr.Morrison has more equally interesting novels in store for us.”

 

SJ………………………………………………..Out

Lest We Forget……….Pearl Harbour

Image result for pics of poppiesLest we forget……………………………………………Never.

Continuing with remembrance. For our American Friends:

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships* had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft destroyed.

The attack at Pearl Harbor so outraged Americans that the U.S. abandoned its policy of isolationism and declared war on Japan the following day — officially bringing the United States into World War II.

You have to click a few times to get this going.

The Naval Hymn.

Check out my books by clicking on the links at the top of the page. Kurofune in particular is a historical work of fiction that centers on the Pacific War.

One review of Monk’s Orchard:

“I have just finished reading this novel by John Morrison. Like his other books, this was an impressive and enjoyable read.In this book, the author chooses a theme so different from his first novel. This alone is impressive ;that he can range to themes so vastly different. His character development is again strong and the great amount of historical research that he has done is evident. Using a narrator to span the generations is an interesting and effective literary device. Let us hope that Mr.Morrison has more equally interesting novels in store for us.”

 

SJ…………………………………….Out

Lest We Forget: The Pacific War

Image result for pics of poppiesLest We Forget…………………………………………………….Never!

Again: For our American Friends and Allies

The Pacific War: For this page, primarily Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Saipan (Wikipedia)

Guadalcanal

The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan.

The Guadalcanal campaign was a significant strategic combined arms Allied victory in the Pacific theater. Along with the Battle of Midway, it has been called a turning point in the war against Japan.[10] The Japanese had reached the peak of their conquests in the Pacific. The victories at Milne Bay, Buna-Gona, and Guadalcanal marked the Allied transition from defensive operations to the strategic initiative in the theater, leading to offensive operations such as the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and Central Pacific campaigns, that eventually resulted in Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II

Tarawa: The Front Door to the Japanese mainland:

Image result for Pics of Tarawa\

The Battle of Tarawa was a battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that was fought on 20–23 November 1943. It took place at the Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts.[3] Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Americans died in the fighting, mostly on and around the small island of Betio, in the extreme southwest of Tarawa Atoll.[4]

The Battle of Tarawa was the first American offensive in the critical central Pacific region. It was also the first time in the Pacific War that the United States faced serious Japanese opposition to an amphibious landing.[5] Previous landings had met little or no initial resistance,[6][N 1] but on Tarawa the 4,500 Japanese defenders were well-supplied and well-prepared, and they fought almost to the last man, exacting a heavy toll on the United States Marine Corps. The U.S. had suffered similar casualties throughout the duration of other previous campaigns, for example over the six months of the Guadalcanal Campaign, but the losses on Tarawa were incurred within the space of 76 hours.

Saipan: An Island of Tears

Image result for Pics of the battle of SaipanThe Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was launched. The U.S. 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and the Army’s 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Infantry Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito.

1,000 Japanese civilians committed suicide in the last days of the battle by fears such as American mutilation of Japanese war dead. Some Japanese people living beside the cliff jumped from places which were later named Suicide Cliff and Banzai Cliff. These would become part of the National Historic Landmark District as Landing Beaches; Aslito/Isley Field; & Marpi Point, Saipan Island, designated in 1985. Today the sites are a memorial and Japanese people visit to console the victims’ souls.

There were other: Iwo Jima, Okinawa (Ryukus) but I thought these three lesser known battles would represent the US Military sacrifices during the Pacific War.

Of course the Marines could go nowhere without the US Navy:

Image result for pics of us battleships in the Pacific War

Finally, one song I truly love – even if I am a Canadian.

Thanks!

Check out my books by clicking on the links at the top of the page. Monk’s Orchard is my latest. Here is just one review:

“I have just finished reading this novel by John Morrison. Like his other books, this was an impressive and enjoyable read.In this book, the author chooses a theme so different from his first novel. This alone is impressive ;that he can range to themes so vastly different. His character development is again strong and the great amount of historical research that he has done is evident. Using a narrator to span the generations is an interesting and effective literary device. Let us hope that Mr.Morrison has more equally interesting novels in store for us.”

 

SJ……………………………………………….Out

Lest We Forget: The Great Escape

Image result for pics of poppiesLest We Forget………………………………Never

 

From the Royal Canadian Air Force Web Site:

You may have heard of the Great Escape. You may have seen the 1963 Hollywood movie starring Steve McQueen as a United States Air Force officer named Virgil Hilts – the “Cooler King”. And if you’ve seen the movie, you may think that the story is a British and American story.
But it’s not. It’s a British and Canadian story. There were no Americans in the North Compound at Stalag Luft III near Sagan (now Zagan), Poland, when the mass breakout occurred. Rather, most of the officers in the compound were members of the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). Others hailed from nations such as Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Belgium and France.

The idea to build tunnels to break out of Stalag Luft III was conceived by RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bushell in the spring of 1943. One of his most important co-conspirators was RCAF Flying Officer Wally Floody from Chatham, Ontario, who has become known as the architect of the Great Escape.

Flying Officer Floody worked in the mining industry at Kirkland Lake, Ontario, which gave him the expertise he needed in the prison camp to survey, design and engineer the tunnels. According to his obituary, his role in the project was so highly valued that the camp’s leaders forbade him to join an earlier escape attempt with a delousing party.

“We need you for the tunnels,” he was told.

Shortly before the breakout, he was moved to a nearby camp – Beria – along with several other key figures on the escape committee. The German guards had become suspicious, but they didn’t find “Harry”. Flight Lieutenant Floody thus survived the war; he gave evidence at the Nuremberg Trials, founded the Royal Canadian Air Force Prisoners of War Association and later became an advisor on the film set of “The Great Escape”. King George VI also made him an officer of the Order of the British Empire for his “courage and devotion to duty”.

THE ESCAPERS

Home Run
Sergeant Per Bergsland, RAF (Norwegian)
Second Lieutenant Jens Müller, RAF (Norwegian)
Flight Lieutenant Bram “Bob” van der Stok, RAF (Dutch)

Executed

Flying Officer Henry “Hank” Birkland, RCAF
Flight Lieutenant Edward Gordon Brettell, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Leslie George “Johnny” Bull, RAF
Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Michael James Casey, RAF
Squadron Leader James Catanach, RAAF
Flight Lieutenant Arnold George Christensen, RNZAF
Flying Officer Dennis Herbert Cochran, RAF
Squadron Leader Ian Kingston Pembroke Cross, RAF
Sergeant Haldor Espelid, Royal Norwegian Air Force
Flight Lieutenant Brian Herbert Evans, RAF
Lieutenant Nils Fuglesang, Royal Norwegian Air Force
Lieutenant Johannes Gouws, SAAF
Flight Lieutenant William Jack Grisman, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Alistair Donald Mackintosh Gunn, RAF
Warrant Officer Albert Horace Hake, RAAF
Flight Lieutenant Charles Piers Hall, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Anthony Ross Henzell Hayter, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Edgar Spottiswoode Humphreys, RAF
Flying Officer Gordon Arthur Kidder, RCAF
Flight Lieutenant Reginald “Rusty” Kierath RAAF
Flight Lieutenant Antoni Kiewnarski, RAF (Polish)
Squadron Leader Thomas Gresham Kirby-Green, RAF
Flying Officer Wlodzimierz A Kolanowski, PAF (Polish)
Flying Officer Stanislaw Z. “Danny” Krol, RAF (Polish)
Flight Lieutenant Patrick Wilson Langford, RCAF
Flight Lieutenant Thomas Barker Leigh, RAF
Flight Lieutenant James Leslie Robert “Cookie” Long, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Romas “René” Marcinkus, RAF
Lieutenant Clement Aldwyn Neville McGarr, SAAF
Flight Lieutenant George Edward McGill, RCAF
Flight Lieutenant Harold John Milford, RAF
Flying Officer Jerzy T. Mondschein, RAF (Polish)
Flying Officer Kazimierz Pawluk, RAF (Polish)
Flying Officer Porokoru Patapu “Johnny” Pohe, RNZAF
Pilot Officer Sotiris “Nick” Skanzikas, Royal Hellenic Air Force (Greek)
Lieutenant Rupert J. Stevens, SAAF
Flying Officer Robert Campbell Stewart, RAF
Flying Officer John Gifford Stower, RAF
Flying Officer Denys Oliver Street, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Cyril Douglas Swain, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Henri Albert Picard, RAF (Belgian)
Lieutenant Bernard W. M. Scheidhauer, Free French Air Force
Flying Officer Pawel “Peter” Tobolski, Polish Air Force (Polish)
Flight Lieutenant Arnost “Wally” Valenta, RAF (Czechoslovakian)
Flight Lieutenant Gilbert William “Tim” Walenn, RAF
Flight Lieutenant James Chrystall Wernham, RCAF
Flight Lieutenant George William Wiley, RCAF
Squadron Leader John Edwin Ashley Williams, RAAF
Flight Lieutenant John Francis Williams, RAF

Returned to Stalag Luft III

Flight Lieutenant R. Anthony Bethell, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Bill Cameron, RCAF
Flight Lieutenant Richard S. A. “Dick” Churchill, RAF
Wing Commander Harry Melville Arbuthnot “Wings” Day, RAF
Major Johnnie Dodge, British Army
Flight Lieutenant Sydney Dowse, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Bedrich “Freddie” Dvorak, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Bernard “Pop” Green, RAF
Pilot Officer Bertram “Jimmy” James, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Roy B. Langlois RAF
Flight Lieutenant H. C. “Johnny” Marshall, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Alistair T. McDonald, RAF
Lieutenant Alastair D. Neely, Royal Navy
Flight Lieutenant T.R. Nelson, RAF
Flight Lieutenant A. Keith Ogilvie, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Desmond Lancelot Plunkett, RAF
Lieutenant Douglas A. Poynter, Royal Navy
Pilot Officer Paul G. Royle, RAF
Flight Lieutenant Michael Shand, RAF (the last to emerge from “Harry”)
Flight Lieutenant Alfred B. Thompson, RCAF
Flight Lieutenant Ivo P. Tonder, RAF
Squadron Leader Leonard Henry Trent, RNZAF
Flight Lieutenant Raymond L. N. van Wymeersch, RAF (French)

With files from Sara Keddy, editor of The Aurora newspaper, 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia. Recommended reading: The Great Escape: A Canadian Story by Ted Barris

 

 

SJ…………………………………….Out