In 1914, in what many called "The Great War," Canada joined Britan and her allies in a fight that was supposed to be the war to end all wars.
On June 28, 1914, in the city of Sarajeva in Bosnia, an assassin's bullet sent waves that shook the world. A Serbian nationalist shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne.
Austria-Hungary, convinced the killing was a plot by the Serbian government, turned to Germany for help. They declared war on Serbia. The war spread. Russia and France entered the fray, with Britain following suit.
In those days, when Britain was at war, so was Canada. The Canadian government, under the leadership of Robert Laird Borden, rallied to the cause. Soon after the start of the war in 1914, 33,000 troops landed in Britain and, in a few months, were in the thick of battle.
Canadians served their country well on the battlefields in France and Belgium. They took part in the battle of Ypres in 1915, where one of the weapons was poison gas. As the war drew to a close in 1918, Canadians saw action in battles at Amiens, Cambrai and Mons.
According to The Canadian Great War Home Page, 595,000 Canadians were enlisted. Of these, over 60,000 died, 35,666 in action, the rest from wounds or disease. Another 155,000 were wounded and 3,575 became prisoners of war.
"The Great War"
World War I, called the Great War, was said to be the war to end all wars. If only that could have been true. Many good men from all parts of the world lost their lives during the confrontation.
Canada honors its dead from World War I, World War II and other wars on November 11, Remembrance Day. The poppy became the symbol of our remembrance of our veterans. Why the poppy? Because of a poem written by a Canadian soldier who served in the medical corps. The poem was called "In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Feilds
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae
In every city and many towns, war memorials honor our dead who were killed in battle. They are there to jostle our memories "Lest we forget."
