Editing Canadian Corps (section)

== History ==
[[Image:New Names Canadian WW1 recruiting poster.jpg|left|thumb|A Canadian [[recruiting poster]]]]
[[Image:Ghosts of Vimy Ridge.jpeg|right|thumb|Painting:"Ghosts of Vimy Ridge"]]

Although the corps was within and under the command of the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War I)|British Expeditionary Force]], understandably there was considerable political pressure in Canada, especially following the [[Battle of the Somme]], in 1916, to have the corps fight as a single unit rather than have the divisions dissipated through the whole army.<ref name = Legacy>Weir, E. "Using the Legacy of World War I to Evaluate Canadian Military Leadership in World War II." ''Journal of Military and Strategic Studies.'' Fall 2004, '''7'''(1) 7. Retrieved on 2010-05-24.</ref> The corps was commanded by [[Lieutenant General]] Sir [[Edwin Alfred Hervey Alderson|E.A.H. Alderson]], until 1916. Political considerations<ref>notably pertaining to the [[Ross Rifle]] controversy</ref> caused command to be passed to Lieutenant-General Sir [[Julian Byng]]. When Byng was promoted to a higher command during the summer of 1917, he was succeeded by General Sir [[Arthur Currie]], the commander of the 1st Division, giving the corps its first Canadian commander. Currie was able to reconcile the desire for national independence with the need for Allied integration. He resisted pressure to replace all British officers in high-ranking positions, retaining those who were successful until they could be replaced by trained and experienced Canadians.<ref name = Legacy/> British staff officers made up a considerable part of the Corps – although by 1917, 7 of 12 infantry brigades were commanded by Canadians trained during the war, British regulars were the staff officers of the divisions and British officers held two-thirds of senior appointments across the infantry, artillery and Corps headquarters with only four of the most senior appointments being Canadian. Among the British officers were [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Alan Brooke]] (at the time a major of the [[Royal Artillery]] who planned the artillery barrages for Vimy Ridge and later) and [[Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside|William Ironside]]. Both eventually became Field Marshals and held the position of Chief of the Imperial General Staff.<ref>''Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment'' edited by Geoff Hayes, p97-99</ref>

The Canadian Corps captured [[Battle of Vimy Ridge|Vimy Ridge in April, 1917]], in a daring attack that was a turning point in the war, and as Currie called it, "the grandest day the Corps ever had".<ref>Berton, P. (1986). ''Vimy.'' Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. p. 292. {{ISBN|0-7710-1339-6}}.</ref> During the [[German spring offensive]] of the spring and summer of 1918, the Canadian Corps supported British and French soldiers while they held the Germans back.<ref name=LERM>
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.lermuseum.org/ler/mh/wwi/springoffensive.html
 |title=Spring Offensive
 |publisher=Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum
 |year=2001
 |access-date=2010-05-24
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208094854/http://www.lermuseum.org/ler/mh/wwi/springoffensive.html
 |archive-date=2009-02-08
 }}</ref> Between August 8 and 11, 1918, the corps spearheaded the offensive during the [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]]. Here a significant defeat was inflicted on the Germans, causing the German commander-in-chief, General [[Erich Ludendorff]], to call August 8 "the black day of the German army." This battle marked the start of the period of the war the French later named "[[Canada's Hundred Days]]". After Amiens, the Canadian Corps continued to help lead the vanguard of an Allied push that ultimately ended on 11 November 1918 at Mons where the British Empire had first met in conflict with Imperial German forces in 1914.<ref name=VAC>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/firstwar/canada/canada15
 |title=Canada's Hundred Days
 |publisher=Veterans Affairs Canada
 |date=2004-07-29
 |access-date=2010-05-24
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526080745/http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history%2Ffirstwar%2Fcanada%2Fcanada15
 |archive-date=2009-05-26
 |url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

At the end of war the Canadian 1st and 2nd Divisions took part in the occupation of Germany and the corps was eventually demobilized in 1919.<ref>Library and Archives Canada (2008-11-07). [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/firstworldwar/025005-2800-e.html Armistice.] Canada and the First World War. Retrieved on: 2010-05-24.</ref> Upon their return home the veterans were greeted by large and welcoming crowds all across the country.<ref name=VAC/> Total fatal battle casualties during the war was 56,638, 13.5% of the 418,052 sent overseas and 9.26% of the 611,711 who enlisted.<ref>Statistics Canada (2009-08-07). [https://www65.statcan.gc.ca/acyb02/1947/acyb02_19471126002-eng.htm Number of casualties in the First World War, 1914 to 1918, and the Second World War, 1939 to 1945]. Source: Canada Yearbook, 1948. Retrieved on: 2010-05-24.</ref>

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