Montreal and the Battle of Ypres 1915 One Hundred Years

The author notes that the Second Battle of Ypres (22-25 April 1915) was the Canadian Army's first action in the Great War and, arguably, its greatest battle, setting the tenor, style and esprit de corps that would carry it through to 1918. Notorious for the first use of poison gas, the bloody defensive contest savaged the 1st Canadian Division via conventional weapons - in forty-eight hours, 6,035 soldiers — one in every three — became casualties. The battle rocked Canada and had a particularly devastating effect on Montreal. Two famous city regiments were involved in the battle - the newly formed 14th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force (The Royal Montreal Regiment) was from Westmount, above and below the tracks, and the 13th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force (The 5th Royal Scots Highlanders), a powerful, already-famous regiment patronized by Montreal’s Scottish elite. Newspapers published photographs and eyewitness reports for the two weeks following the battle of Ypres. The Montreal Star and Gazette featured daily montages of the killed. Most regularly featured were officers of the 13th Battalion. Of the twenty-seven original officers of the Battalion, only seven were not killed or wounded in the battle. The author outlines the roles played by these Montreal Battalions during the battle.

Canadian Military History

Vol. 24

no. 1, Article 11

343-359

Winter/Spring 2015

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