Canada in the Great World War

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Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. They had, it is true, taken part with Imperial troops in offensive engagements 'and had on their own account made many raids into the enemy's lines, but these operations were all of an offensive-defensive character. The Germans during the first two years of the war had such a preponderance of guns, machine guns, trench mortars, and other essential war material, that the Allied armies could do little more than dent their line. To force them from the strong positions they held between the North Sea and the Alps was for the time being impossible. This defensive warfare had tried the citizen soldiers of Canada to the limit, but when, in the late summer of 1916, they moved from the Ypres salient to the Somme area, they had that soldierly bearing and battle confidence that belong only to veterans. Second Ypres, Festubert, Givenchy, St. Eloi, Sanctuary Wood, and Hooge had given the discipline, resourcefulness, courage, and dash that made many of the older battalions admirable shock troops.