The “Back-Bone” of German Resistance: Advance near Arras and the Breaking of the Drocourt-Quéant Line
Following a successful victory at Amiens, the Canadian Corps now turned its attention towards the northern hinge of the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line, the Drocourt-Quéant Line. Unlike Amiens, where Canadians could rely on the element of surprise and an ill-prepared German defense, the Arras sector, and more specifically, the D-Q Line, was fully manned and […]
Listening to 1918: Popular Songs on Canada’s Home Front
As we commemorate the centenary of the First World War’s final year and attempt to better understand Canadian wartime views and experiences, music offers us a way of ‘hearing’ the past. The lyrics, music, and cover art of popular songs reflected the changing attitudes of Anglo-Canadians on the home front between 1914 and 1918. In […]
Gault's Light Infantry: Raising the Patricias in 1914
For over a century, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry has been one of the most celebrated regiments in Canadian history, in part for its earned reputation as “first in the field.” [1] Privately founded and raised by Montreal businessman A. Hamilton Gault, the regiment would bear the name of the Governor-General’s daughter, Princess Patricia. In an […]
A Christmas truce on the Western Front
In an otherwise devastatingly violent and inhumane war, the Christmas truce was a series of widespread and spontaneous truces that arose along the Western Front in 1914. Becoming one of the most famous and romanticized events of the First World War, it is said that enemies met in no man’s land, exchanged gifts, took photographs, and […]
Passchendaele, 100 years already!
On November 11th of each year, the fields surrounding the Menin Gate are covered with poppies to commemorate the sacrifice of the many British and Commonwealth soldiers who died on the field of honour in Flanders, Belgium. It was the Third Battle of Ypres, which took place between July 31st and November 10th, 1917, more […]
Surrendering on the Battlefield: How did soldiers negotiate their survival?
Surrendering on the battlefield was considered one of the most dangerous acts on the battlefield of the First World War. Dropping your weapons and raising your arms, a surrendering soldier was at the complete mercy of his captor. In what Canadian historian Tim Cook describes as the “politics of surrender,” [1] surrendering soldiers were left to […]
Explore the CCGW Catalogue
The CCGW Catalogue offers online access to the collection at the Canadian Centre of the Great War. In its current beta form, it allows access to the Great War Portraits Online collection. An ongoing digitization project that began in Fall 2016, Great War Portraits Online offers visitors a glimpse into our vast collection of World […]
