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Canada

Detail from the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge: the figure of Canada Bereft, or Mother Canada, looking down at a casket below her, mourns her dead. In the distance are the slag heaps of Lens and the Douai Plain.

Detail from the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge: the figure of Canada Bereft, or Mother Canada, looking down at a casket below her, mourns her dead. In the distance are the slag heaps of Lens and the Douai Plain. © 2013, John Shea

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Canada responded quickly to Britain's need for additional soldiers. On October 14, 1914, a convoy of 31 ships that had left Canada on October 3, joined by two from Newfoundland and another from Bermuda, arrived at Plymouth, England, soon to be deployed to France.

By the end of 1915, 150,000 Canadians had volunteered for service, and four divisions had fought on the Western Front, including at Ypres.

Canadians fought in the Battle of the Somme in 1916, as did men of Newfoundland, a separate British colony.

The French had made two unsuccessful attempts in 1915 to dislodge the Germans from the high ground of Vimy Ridge in the Second and Third Battles of Artois. On April 10, 1917, four Canadian divisions took it on April 12, 1917 after four days of combat. In the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Canadians suffered 10,062 casualties, including 3,598 dead.

Later in 1917, Canadian forces took part in the Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres.

In 1918, due to national politics and divisions between French- and English-speaking Canada, the country sent no additional troops.

Canada is a country.

A sample pie chart graphic

Statistics for Canada (1)

Type Statistic
Population 7,206,643

Some people from Canada (1)

Last Name First Name Full Name Role
Bishop William Billy Bishop

Some books about Canada (1)

Title Author Last Name Author First Name
Canada, a Modern Study Cook Ramsay