HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-11-05, Page 33:.3
Reolond Valve Spotter. November 5. 1986
Pogo 3
Lest We Forget
What should We
remember?
(NC) — Records tell of "specific
campaigns and battles and of many
individual acts of courage which
turned the tide of war. They note
the skillful strategies and the bril-
liant leadership. All these must be
remembered. But other aspects of
war must also be included in our
histories. With every battle over this
century, extremes of temperature,
mud, mutilation, mind -numbing fa-
tigue, fear and death were daily
realities. While most of us have not
experienced these hardships we can
try to understand what the combat -
tants experienced and learn from the
survivors.
The First World War
1914-1918
In the First World War, the
Canadians' first major battle was
later seen as one of the most crucial
battles in history. At Ypres, April
22, 1915, the Germans used poison
gas for the first time in war. As 145
tonnes of chlorine gas drifted over
the trenches, the Canadian troops
held and stopped the German ad-
vance. The casualties here and at
the later battle near St. Julien were
enormous. In 48 hours, one of every
three Canadians was killed. Some
of those who survived left records
of the aftermath of these fearful
days.
"The room was filled with
dying and badly wounded
men; trampled straw and
dirty dressings lay about in
pools of blood. The air, rank
with the fumes of gas, was
thick with the dust of flying
plaster and broken brick, and
stifling with the smoke from
the burning thatch."
As the commanders of the period
persistently applied more men,
more guns and more ammunition,
the conflict developed into a war of
attrition with opposing sides strug-
gling to hold out longest against de-
struction."
In April 1917, the Canadians
helped turn the tide of battle when
(NC) — Pte. M.D. White, of Grassland, Alta., occupies a vantage
point from which to observe any enemy movements while men of
his unit move Into a new position. Near Collo D'Anchise, Italy, 26
Oct. 43.
they won a major victory at Vimy soldiers were participants in the un -
Ridge. This triumph too had its successful defence of Hong Kong
cost: more than ten thousand cas- against the Japanese; 290 Cana-
ualties in six days. The war con- dians were killed and 493 wounded.
tinued for more than a year but fi- Those who survived the fighting
nally on November 11, 1918, the were imprisoned and many did not
Armistice was signed aqd the Cana- survive the brutality they exper-
dians took part in the triumphant ienced while in captivity. For the
entry into Mons, in Belgium. majority, the daily diet was rice — a
Throughout this conflict, Cana- handful for each prisoner. Occa-
dians proved that they could pull sionally, a concoction of scavenged
their weight, and by their effort potato peelings, carrot tops, butter -
earned for Canada a new place cups was brewed. The effect was
among the nations of the world. obvious:
The Second World War
1939-1945
For almost six years, Canadians
ught valiantly on battlefronts
a ound the world. More than one
million men and women enlisted in
the army, the navy and the airforce.
They were prepared to face any or-
deal for the sake of freedom. When
the war was over, more than 45,000
had given their lives. On the home
front as well, Canadians were active
as munitions workers, as civil de-
fence workers, as members of vol-
untary service organizations and as
ordinary citizens doing their bit for
the war effort.
In December 1941, Canadian
"Sidney Skelton watched the
900 -calorie -a -month diet
shrink his body from 145 to
89 pounds. And whenever a
group of prisoners could
bribe a guard into giving
them a piece of bread, they
used a ruler to ensure every-
one got an equal share. "
In August 1942, the attack upon
Dieppe was launched. Canadians
made up almost ninety per cent of
the assault force. The raid was a dis-
aster:bf a force of 4,963 Canadians
3,367 were casualties, only 2,210 re-
turned to England — the remainder
were dead or were prisoners of war.
Lucien Dumais gives the following
description of the beach after the
landing:
The beach was a shambles,
and a lot of our men from the
second wave were lying there
either wounded or dead.
Some of the wounded were
swimming out to meet our
flotilla and the sea was red
with blood. Some sank and
disappeared. We stood by as
they died, powerless to help;
we were there to fight, not to
pick up the drowning and the
wounded. But the whole
operation was beginning to
look,like a disaster."
Canadians continued to play a part
as the war continued. They partici-
pated in the conquest of Sicily in
1943 and in the advance up the Ital-
ian peninsula. On June 6, 1944,
Canadians were in the front lines of
the Allied forces who landed on the
coast of Normandy. Here, all three
Canadian services shared in the as-
sault. In Normandy, the fighting
was fierce, and the losses were
heavy. Of the approximately 14,000
Canadians who landed, there were
1,074 casualties of which 359 were
fatal. As the Allied forces pushed
their way across Europe, it was evi-
dent that the war would continue
into 1945.
In May 1945, victory in Europe a
reality and V -E Day was celebrated
by millions. Still ahead lay the final
encounter with Japan. Then on
August 6, 1945, the Americans
dropped the first atomic bomb on
Hiroshima. Three days later, a sec-
onb bomb destroyed Nagasaki. On
August 14, 1945, the Japanese ac-
cepted the Allied terms of uncondi-
tional surrender and the Second
World War was over.
The Korean War
1950-1953
With scarcely a rest from war,
Canadian soldiers were again orga-
nized in 1950 to uphold the ideals of
the United Nations Organization
against aggression by North Korean
forces. By 1951, they were also at
war with the People's Republic of
China. In Korea, the Canadians
were participants at Kapyong, 'at
Cahil-li, in the advance across the
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Imjin River, and in the patrolling of
the Chorwon Plain. When the hos-
tilities ended in 1953 Canadians
stayed as part of the peacekeeping
force.
The conditions in Korea were
often difficult, Variable weather,
rough terrain, an elusive and skill-
ful enemy — combined with casual-
ties, illness and limited medical
facilities — were the common ele-
ments. The winter of 1951 brought
the realities into focus for the Cana-
dians. At this time they were living
twenty-four hours a day in trenches
which provided some protection but
little comfort. As one soldier re-
called, the weather aggravated what
was already a demoralizing exper-
ience:
"Rain was running down my
neck, my hands were numb,
and 1 never seemed to be dry.
Kneeling in the snow, or ad-
vancing in the rain, my knees
and the front of my legs be-
came wet. Then the damp-
ness soaked right through
and the skin underneath be-
came tender and raw."
Altogether, 26,791 Canadians
served in the Korean Conflict and
another 7,000 served between the
ceasefire and the end of 1955. Cas-
ualties numbered 1,558 of which 516,
.were fatal. While Canada's contri-
bution formed only a small part of
the total United Nations effort, it
was larger in proportion to her
population than most of the nations
which provided troops for the inter-
national force. It also marked a
new stage in Canada's development
as a nation. Canadian action in
Korea was followed by other peace-
keeping operations which have seen
Canadian troops deployed around
the world in new efforts to promote
international freedom and maintain
world peace.
From all of these records of wars,
the observations of the individuals
who took part stand out as remind-
ers of the true nature of conflict.
War has many faces but few' of
them are pleasant. Through know-
ledge of the realities, we may work
more diligently to prevent them
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