World War 1: Timeline

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.

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