Canada's Hundred Days: the Return of Mobility
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Magic Lantern Slides 4 General Paul Manson 5 Book review by Allan Bacon 6 Captain C. N. Mitchell 7 The 100 Days Campaign 9 August 2018 Volume 29, Number 3 Hill 70 10 Heritage Fair 11 Canada’s Hundred Days: Stars in My Eye 12 Mail Call 14 The Return of Mobility AGM 16 Dr. Craig Leslie Mantle line, and in many cases, their grave. ment. It degenerated into stalemate Trenches are synonymous with But the Great War was not always when one side failed to gain a pos- the First World War; they are the so static. During the opening battles itional advantage over the other. stereotypical image of that conflict. of 1914, when the Germans tried to Mobility on the battlefield Stretching continuously from the knock France out of the war with the returned in March 1918 when the North Sea to the Swiss border, both Schlieffen Plan, when Britain’s con- Germans launched Operation sides carved furrows in the ground, temptable little army fought a fight- Michael (or the Spring Offensive) in separated by varying distances of ing retreat from Mons, and when the an attempt to break the Allied line contested space or No Man’s Land, opposing armies raced northward and again in August some months which for soldiers served as their to the sea hoping to outflank one later when the Allies returned the home, their firing position, their start another, the war was one of move- continued on page 3 A Mk IV male Tank passing 8th Canadian Field Ambulance in Hangard, France during the Battle of Amiens, August, 1918. O.2967 PA-002888 Library and Archives Canada 2 The Friends of the Canadian War Museum President’s Message 1 Vimy Place Ottawa, ON K1A 0M8 Dear readers, welcome to the Tel: 819.776-8618 August edition of The Torch; I trust that Fax: 819.776-8623 you all have been enjoying a relaxing www.friends-amis.org summer. As you know, for your benefit, E-mail: [email protected] each edition of the Torch is now cast in a particular theme. Judging by the posi- President tive response to the May edition, this is Cmdre (Ret’d) R. Hamilton a popular approach and I believe that Vice-President the theme of this edition “The Last 100 Capt (N)(Ret’d) Louise Siew Days” will be of great interest. The editor Past President has done a particularly commendable BGen (Ret’d) L. Colwell and professional job in presenting this Secretary for your enjoyment. Brenda Esson As autumn approaches, we look forward to a busy period as we continue Treasurer the preparations for our signature event “The Eleventh Hour” a gala pro- Cdr. (Ret’d) John Chow gram for Saturday, 03 November 2018. Building on the successful model Director at Large of our April 2017 event, the aim is to support the Canadian War Museum Douglas Rowland (CWM) through building constituency and strengthening financial pos- Directors ition. The project team representing the Friends, the CWM and the Can- Mr. Robert Argent, Mr. Allan Bacon, tata Singers of Ottawa (CSO) continues to meet on a regular basis and Maj ((Ret’d) Thomas Burnie, Mr. Larry the formal campaign to solicit sponsor support is well underway. Online M. Capstick, LCol (Ret’d) Robert Farrell, ticket sales went active in late spring and we are looking for your support Col (Ret’d) Jarrott W. Holtzhauer, to help fill the seats (all of them!). Maj.((Ret’d) G. Jensen, Ms. Heather Mace, In June, we held our Friends annual general meeting (AGM) dur- Maj ((Ret’d) Jean M. Morin, ing which the membership was briefed on the highlights of the past Mr. Wayne Primeau, Mr. L. Robinson year, given a glimpse into the CWM way ahead and joined in congratu- lating our volunteer of the year, Charles Bradley! They then approved Board of Advisors our financial position and selected the board of directors (BOD). In my Mr. Jeffrey Chapman, remarks to the membership I summarized the results of the SWOT Maj. (Ret’d) Walter Conrad, Mr. J-G Perron, analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) which had Ms. Marie-Josée Tremblay, been conducted earlier in the year. This analysis revealed that the LCol (Ret’d) Brad White greatest challenge facing the Friends is to remain relevant to the CWM. In this regard, the selection of CWM projects which need the support of The Torch (ISSN 1207-7690) the Friends is of fundamental importance. Editor/Content: Ed Storey I am pleased to advise that through joint Friends/CWM consultation, Editor/Layout: Ruth Kirkpatrick three projects have been chosen for our support; the Mons armoured Photographer: Bob Fowler car project for November 2018; the CWM historical conference, Janu- Mailing Team: Anthony Farrow, ary 2019; and the World War Two Supply Line project which will begin Piotr Nowak, Gordon Parker to ramp up in the current fiscal year. If I may make particular mention of the Mons armoured car project, this unique CWM artifact called an Printed by: Lomor Printer Ltd., “Armoured Autocar” was bought in 1914, used throughout the FWW and 250 City Centre Avenue, Bay 134 participated in the armistice parade in Mons Belgium in November 1918. Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7 It has been restored to fully operational condition and with the support Ce Bulletin est aussi disponible of the Friends will take its place with Canadians in the 100th anniversary en Francais parade in Mons in November 2018. I am very proud that the Friends have been able to make this worthwhile contribution. continued on page 3 August 2018 3 continued from page 1 favour. Luckily for Canada, its sol- 20 percent of Canada’s total losses by the end of the war the Corps was diers arrived on the continent too for the entire war! Decisions taken truly at the “top of its game”, making late to participate in the early bat- earlier to introduce conscription, to a name for itself as the “Shock Army tles of movement and were largely maintain twelve battalions in each of the British Empire”. spared from the German onslaught division while the British reduced When it was all over, the Can- at the beginning of the war’s final theirs to nine, and to break-up the adians could be justly proud of year. The powerful Canadian Corps, 5th Canadian Division in England all their accomplishments: they had however, played an important role ensured that the Corps had the hit- engaged and defeated 47 differ- in what would ultimately prove to be ting power of a small army (in organ- ent German divisions (or elements the series of battles that concluded izational terms) and remained one of thereof); took thousands of German the First World War and that has the most powerful on the Western prisoners; and liberated numer- since come to be known as the Hun- Front despite its losses. ous towns and cities that had been dred Days. The operational tempo during occupied since the beginning of the Starting at Amiens on 8 August this period was unrelenting. When war, much to the relief of the long- and ending at Mons on 11 Novem- one battle finished, planning and suffering citizens. The Canadians, it ber 1918, the Canadians fought preparation began in earnest for the must be remembered, did not defeat consecutive set-piece battles that next, something that challenged the the Germans single-handedly, but continuously drove the Germans endurance of frontline soldiers and with their allies, especially the Brit- back. Whereas earlier in the war the ingenuity of staff officers. Like ish and Australians, they helped gains were measured in yards, now Vimy before it, battles such as Cam- bring the First World War to an end. they were measured in miles. This brai, Arras, the Canal du Nord, the rapid and significant advance, cov- Drocourt-Quéant Line and Valen- Dr. Craig Leslie Mantle is the ering a total distance of some 83 ciennes involved all-arms cooper- director of research and senior miles (as the crow flies), was excep- ation – the infantry fought alongside editor at the CDA Institute, an tionally costly. During these three the artillery that fought alongside the Ottawa-based not-for-profit fo- months, the Corps incurred nearly engineers and so on in a coordin- cussing on defence and security 46,000 casualties, approximately ated manner. It could be said that in a Canadian context. continued from page 2 In closing, I again urge you all to propose articles for or suggest possible contributors to Tthe Torch. The Torch is a key communications vehicle; with- out exaggeration it is the prin- cipal window on the Friends; it helps present who we are and what we are about to a broad readership. Please give it your full support. Yours aye, Robert Hamilton Canadian Automobile Machine Gun Brigade Armoured Autocars on display at Rockcliffe, Ontario in September, 1914. Library and Archives Canada 4 Magic Lantern Slides By: Ed Storey The magic lantern was an early type of image pro- shows were the equivalent of our modern “Nova” or the jector employing pictures painted, printed or produced “Discovery Channel” – illustrated lectures on subjects photographically on transparent plates (usually made of of popular interest like Travel, Science, and Art, using glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. It was photographic lantern slides to create interest and excite- mostly developed in the 17th century and commonly ment. In addition to this “moral entertainment” as the used for entertainment purposes and was increasingly Victorians called it, there were shows that emphasized applied to educational purposes during the 19th century.