World War 1: Timeline - Canadian Military Heritage Project

1914

July 29 ~ Britain warns Canada of deteriorating situation in Europe.
Aug 02 ~ Canada offers Britain troops for overseas service.
Aug 05 ~ Britain declares war. Canada is automatically at war.
Aug 06 ~ Britain accepts Canada’s offer of troops.
Aug 19 ~ The first volunteers begin to arrive at Valcartier camp.
Sept 04 ~ Approximately 32,000 men have assembled at Valcartier.
Oct 03 ~ 1st contingent Canadian Expeditionary Force sails for England.
Oct 14 ~ 1st contingent C.E.F. arrives in England.
Dec 21 ~ Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry arrives in France. The first Canadian unit committed to battle in the Great War.

1915

Feb 07 ~ 1st Canadian Division begins moving to France.
Mar 03 ~ 1st Canadian Division is made responsible for 6000m of front near Fleurbaix.
April 01 ~ 1st Canadian Division is moved north to the Ypres Salient.
Apr 22 ~ Battle of Ypres. First use of poison gas against French.
Apr 24 ~ Battle of St.Julien. First use of poison gas against Canadian troops.
May 05 ~ Lt-Col John McCrae of the Canadian Expeditionary Force composed the well-known poem In Flanders Fields.
May 18 ~ Battle of Festubert.
May 25 ~ Second Canadian Division formed in Canada.
June 15 ~ Battle of Givenchy.
Sept 19 ~ Newfoundland Regiment lands at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli.
Nov 16 ~ Canadian’s launched their first trench raid at Riviere Douve.
Dec 20 ~ Newfoundland Regiment evacuated from Suvla Bay
Dec 25 ~ 3rd Canadian Division formed.

1916

Apr 06 ~ The Battle of St.Eloi Craters.
Jun 02 ~ Battle of Mount Sorrel. Major General Mercer killed.
Sept 15 ~ Battle of Courcelette. First use of the tank and the rolling barrage.
Sept 26 ~ Battle of Thiepval Ridge.
Nov ~ Sir Samuel Hughes Minister of Militia and Defense is sacked by Prime Minister Borden.

1917

Apr 09 ~ The Battle of Vimy Ridge.
June 11 ~ Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden introduced a Military Service Bill.
Aug 15 ~ Battle for Hill 70. First use of mustard gas against Canadians.
Oct 26 ~ The Battle of Passchendaele
Aug 29 ~ Conscription became law in Canada.
Nov ~ Prime Minister Borden’s Unionists win a majority in the federal election.
Nov 20 ~ The Battle of Cambrai.
Dec 06 ~ The Halifax Explosion. French munitions vessel Mont Blanc explodes in Halifax Harbour killing almost 1600 people.

1918

Jan ~ Conscription now in force.
March 21 ~ German Offensive begins.
March 30 ~ Canadian Cavalry attack at Moreuil Wood.
Aug 08 ~ The Battle of Amiens. The beginning of what is known as Canada’s Hundred Days.
Aug 26 ~ The Battle of the Scarpe.
Sept 02 ~ The Battle of the Drocourt-Queant Line.
Sept 27 ~ The Battle of the Canal Du Nord and Cambrai.
Nov 02 ~ The Canadian Corps capture the town of Valenciennes in its last major battle of the war.
Nov 10 ~ The Canadian Corps Reached the outskirts of Mons.
Nov 11 ~ At 10:58am Private George Price of the 28th Battalion is killed by a sniper. Two minutes later at 11:00am the armistice came into effect. The war was over.