OTD Military History
Published 23 Jun 2023The grave of General Sir Arthur Currie in Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec. Arthur Currie was the commander of the Canadian Corps from June 1917 to the end of World War 1. Appointed as the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University in 1920, he held that position until his death in 1933.
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October 8, 2023
The Grave of Canada’s Greatest General: Sir Arthur Currie
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August 8, 2023
How the Battle of Amiens Influenced the “Stab in the Back” Myth
OTD Military History
Published 7 Aug 2023The Battle of Amiens started on August 8 1918. It started the process that caused the final defeat of the German Army on the battlefield during World War 1. Many people falsely claimed that the German Army was not defeated on the battlefield but at home by groups that wished to see German fall. One person who helped to create this myth was German General Erich Ludendorff. He called August 8 “the black day of the German Army”.
See how this statement connects to the stab in the back myth connects to Amiens and the National Socialists in Germany.
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November 11, 2022
Mark Knopfler – “Remembrance Day”
Bob Oldfield
Published on 3 Nov 2011A Remembrance Day slideshow using Mark Knopfler’s wonderful “Remembrance Day” song from the album Get Lucky (2009). The early part of the song conveys many British images, but I have added some very Canadian images also which fit with many of the lyrics. The theme and message is universal… “we will remember them”.
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Canada, the Great War, and Flanders Fields
The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered
Published 3 May 2021Canadians would distinguish themselves in the Great War, and the words of Canadian John McCrae would come to, perhaps more than any other, encapsulate the sacrifices of the soldiers of that war. The story of one of the most important poems about war ever written deserves to be remembered.
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April 23, 2022
Spring 1917: Why the Allies Failed (WW1 Documentary)
The Great War
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The Allied 1917 Spring Offensive masterminded by French general Robert Nivelle was supposed to end the stalemate on the Western Front and bring a decisive breakthrough. But the German Army also knew they couldn’t win the war on the offensive and thus prepared a new type of defensive system: The Hindenburg Line.
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John Ozment, James Darcangelo, Jacob Carter Landt, Thomas Brendan, Kurt Gillies, Scott Deederly, John Belland, Adam Smith, Taylor Allen, Rustem Sharipov, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Marcus Bondura, Ramon Rijkhoek, Theodore Patrick Shannon, Philip Schoffman, Avi Woolf,» SOURCES
Cook, Tim, “Storm Troops: Combat Effectiveness and the Canadian Corps in 1917” in Dennis, Jeffrey & Grey, Peter (eds), 1917: Tactics, Training and Technology: the 2007 Chief of Army’s Military History Conference, (Canberra: Australian History Military Publications, 2007)Coombes, David, Bloody Bullecourt, (Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2016)
Doughty, Robert T, Pyrrhic Victory: French Strategy and Operations in the Great War, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2005)
Doughty, Robert A, “How did France Weather the Troubles of 1917?” in Dennis, Jeffrey & Grey, Peter (eds), 1917: Tactics, Training and Technology: the 2007 Chief of Army’s Military History Conference, (Canberra: Australian History Military Publications, 2007)
Farr, Don, A Battle Too Far: Arras 1917, (Warwick: Helion & Company, 2018)
Foley, Robert T, “The Other Side of the Wire: The German Army in 1917” in Dennis, Jeffrey & Grey, Peter (eds), 1917: Tactics, Training and Technology: the 2007 Chief of Army’s Military History Conference, (Canberra: Australian History Military Publications, 2007)
Lupfer, Timothy T, “The Dynamics of Doctrine: The Changes in German Tactical Doctrine During the First World War” Leavenworth Papers, No. 4, Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, (Fort Leavenworth, KS: 1981)
Nicholls, Jonathan, Cheerful Sacrifice: The Battle of Arras 1917, (London: Leo Cooper, 1990)
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January 28, 2022
How a holiday camp accidentally helped save eight steam engines – Butlin’s Steam Engines
Train of Thought
Published 22 Oct 2021In this video, we take a look at how a British holiday camp managed to help save some very rare express engines, possibly by accident …
This video falls under the fair use act of 1976
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December 30, 2021
The Story Of Sir Arthur Currie: From Gunner To General | The Great War With Norm Christie | Timeline
Timeline – World History Documentaries
Published 28 Dec 2021Military historian Norm Christie presents a four-part series examining the First World War from a Canadian perspective. As he begins his journey through the historic battlefields of France and Belgium, Christie focuses on the career of General Sir Arthur Currie, a soldier who rose through the ranks from humble gunner in 1897 to lead the Canadian Corps to several victories during the conflict which began in 1914.
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Note: The original YouTube title said “from Gunman to General”. Perhaps in British usage, “gunman” is a variant of “gunner” (an artilleryman), but in Canadian usage the word “gunman” almost invariably means armed criminal or terrorist, and while Sir Arthur’s career had its difficulties, he was never a criminal.
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December 20, 2021
Ross WWI Sniper Rifle w/ Winchester A5 Scope
Forgotten Weapons
Published 23 Aug 2021http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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The standard Canadian sniper’s rifle of World War One was the MkIII Ross fitted with a Warner & Swasey “musket sight” purchased from the United States. However, armorers in the field did create sniping rifles using other scopes — in particular the Winchester A5. The A5 was a popular commercial rifle scope at the time, and it found its way onto military rifles for many nations — I have seen examples on Lebel and SMLE rifles as well as of course American Springfields and this Ross.
The A5 was a 5x magnification scope with external adjustments. We don’t know when this example was built into sniper configuration, but it’s provenance is solid (this sort of thing would be relatively easy to counterfeit). Personally, I would much prefer a Winchester A5 over the Warner & Swasey pattern…
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From the comments:
Cole Harris
1 hour ago
The famed Francis Pegahmagabow used a Ross during his service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during WWI. While the Ross was considered a pretty terrible service rifle because of reliability/durability concerns, on the range it was a superb rifle that he used to great effect. I don’t know if he used irons or not, but he built quite a reputation for marksmanship with the Ross.
If you’d like more information about Francis Pegahmagabow, The Great War channel did a bio special about him and more recently Sabaton wrote a song called “A Ghost in the Trenches” about his military service.
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April 12, 2021
Tom Longboat: The “Bronze Streak to a Wildfire”
The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered
Published 6 May 2019Tom Longboat has been called Canada’s first professional athlete. But amid his setting records and gaining accolades, he served his country in the Great War and fought discrimination. His life is history that deserves to be remembered.
This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As images of actual events are sometimes not available, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.
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March 31, 2021
“Rosalie”: Trench Art SMLE with a Most Improbable Story
Forgotten Weapons
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Henri Lecorre was a French immigrant to Canada who enlisted in the 22nd Regiment of the Canadian Army in April, 1915. He had a knack for carving things in his rifles, which he started right in basic training, with a Ross rifle he named “Josephine”. That got him sternly rebuked by his Colonel, but he would take up the habit again in 1916 when he arrived in France and began to see combat. At this point the Canadians were issuing SMLE rifles, and Lecorre named his “Rosalie”, after the French bayonet’s nickname.
Lecorre served through 14 major campaigns, and carved each name into his rifle as the years of the war dragged on. He was twice caught and punished for destruction of government property and fined for the cost of the rifle, although he managed to avoid more serious punishment both times. He only embellished the left side of Rosalie, so that his work would be hidden against his leg when standing at attention. By the summer of 1918, Rosalie’s service record included Vimy, Kemmel, St. Eloi, Hoodge, Zellebeck, Courcelette, Bully Grenay, Neuvilles Vaade, Mericour, Lievin, Lens, Cote 70, Passchendaele and Arras.
Fate eventually caught up to Private Lecorre, and in mid-1918 he was seriously wounded in an attack, and woke up in a military hospital in Dieppe. Rosalie was long gone, and Lecorre did not return to combat again.
The story is far from over, however. Rosalie was recovered from the battlefield, and sent back to Enfield with a batch of damaged rifles for refurbishment and reissue. Someone in the factory noticed the carving on it, and it was set aside. The arsenal commander took a liking to it, and it was hung in his office — where it remained for some 30 years. A Canadian officer from the 22nd Regiment noticed it at Enfield — thanks to Lecorre carving his unit’s name into it — during the Second World War, and thought it would be appropriate to return it to the unit’s home town, where the Citadelle Museum was established in 1950, with Rosalie as one of its original exhibits.
In 1956, Lecorre himself happened to visit an exhibition near Quebec City where the museum had set up, and was shocked to see his own Rosalie on display. After some understandable difficulty convincing the officer on duty that it was actually *his* rifle (which Lecorre did by reciting back its serial number unseen), a remarkable reunion took place. The rifle remained with the museum, but now with its full story known. It remains there to this day, on permanent display.
The Citadelle Museum commissioned a reproduction of Rosalie to be used for demonstrations, and it is this rifle which was graciously made available to me for filming, as the original is inaccessible on short notice because of its display case. Many thanks to the Citadelle for the opportunity to present it to you! If you are in Quebec City, make sure to take time to visit them:
https://www.lacitadelle.qc.ca/en/
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November 11, 2020
Mark Knopfler – “Remembrance Day”
Bob Oldfield
Published on 3 Nov 2011A Remembrance Day slideshow using Mark Knopfler’s wonderful “Remembrance Day” song from the album Get Lucky (2009). The early part of the song conveys many British images, but I have added some very Canadian images also which fit with many of the lyrics. The theme and message is universal… “we will remember them”.
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August 7, 2020
Myth and Reality of the Ross MkIII Rifle
Forgotten Weapons
Published 16 Jun 2013There is a long-standing urban legend about the Canadian Ross rifle, a straight-pull bolt action that was used in lieu of the SMLE by Canadian troops early in World War One. The story is that the Ross would sometimes malfunction and blow the bolt back into its shooter’s face, with pretty horrible results. Well, I wanted to learn “the rest of the story” — could this actually happen? What caused it? How could it be prevented? In short, what would a Ross shooter need to know to remain safe? And if I could get some cool footage of a bolt blowing out of a Ross in the process, all the better.
Well, reader Andy very generously provided a sporterized Ross for the experiments, and I started reading into what the issue really was. Turns out that the legend was quite true — you can put a Ross MkIII bolt together the wrong way, and it will allow you to fire without the locking lugs engaged, thus throwing the bolt back out of the gun at high velocity. However, the issue was recognized fairly quickly, and the vast majority of Ross rifles were modified with a safety rivet to prevent this from happening. It is also quite easy to determine if a Ross is assembled correctly, once you know what to look for.
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March 13, 2020
“The Price of a Mile” – The Battle of Passchendaele – Sabaton History 058 [Official]
Sabaton History
Published 12 Mar 2020So tell me what’s the price of a mile? The Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 is often remembered as a dismal and dreadful campaign. Fighting over endless mud, waterlogged shell-holes and unrecognizable, bombed out ground, the battle became a slog where everybody was just miserable. Hundreds of thousands of men became casualties for the advance of a handful of miles.
The Art of War online: https://sites.ualberta.ca/~enoch/Read… [PDF]
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Listen to “Price of a Mile” on the album The Art of War:
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Maps by: Eastory – https://www.youtube.com/c/eastoryArchive by: Reuters/Screenocean https://www.screenocean.com
Music by Sabaton.Sources:
– Imperial War Museum: Q 20705;Q 45462;Q 5989;6Q 2890;Q 3117 Q 3008;Q 2712;Q 23779;Q 7806;Q 5937;Q 5726;Q 2902;Q 2713;Q 57299;Q 57247;Q 45390;Q 51569;Q 1426;Q 540;Q 17868;Q 50237;Q 47725;Q 45382;Q 2639;Q 29088;Q 42251;Q 5714;Q 2868;Q 5938;Q_005935;Q 2625;Q 5723;Q 2627;Q 29090;Q 52862;Q 88098;Q 88017;Q 2706;Q 5936;Q 5904;Q 5940;Q 5941;Q 5902;Q 47741;Q 3001;Q 5947;Q 6458;Q 3252;Q 29088;Q 5767;Q 45461;Q 42251;Q 2682;Q 20705;Q 6346;Q 6223;Q 11688;Q 2708.;Q 47719;Q 3103;Q 2679;;Q 2640;Q 2858;Q 2735;Q 2707;Q 2757;Q 5901;Q 3006.;Q 5904;Q 5928;Q 3104;Q5903;Q 29089;Q 5865;Q 11668;Q 3002;Q 2978;Q 3121;Q5706;Q 47741;Q 2755;Q 55558;Q 3012;Q 5874;Q 5888;Q 7806;Q 6327;Q 54408;Q 2866;Q 56567;Q 6047;Q 6049;Q 3252; 3140;Q 2868;Q 61034;Q 42250;Q 3025;Q 7814.;Q 2893;Q 2737;E00777;Q 3029;Q 2763;Q 5773;Q 2756;Q 47741;Q 45369;Q 2707;Q 6327;Q 5902.;Q 3006;Q 5871;Q 5733; CO 1757;CO 2241;CO 1757;CO 2252;CO 2241;CO 1757;CO 2246;CO 2252;CO 1763;CO 2241; E(AUS) 941;(E(AUS) 719);E(AUS) 1233.;(E(AUS) 719),
– Art IWM: ART 1921; ART 1150,
– The Australian War Memorial: E00693; E04678; E01912; E00874; E00807; E00874; E01229; A02653; E00927
– National Army Museum: 1952-01-33-55-391; 1985-04-48-412; 2001-02-256-96;1997-12-75-81; 2010-01-56-40; 1994-12-31-1; 1978-11-157-24-36;
1965-10-209-27; 1972-08-67-1-40; 1917-07-31,
– Canadian War Museum: CWM 19930013-511;CWM 19890222-001;CWM 19930013-464;CWM 19930013-511;CWM 19710261-0093.;
165-BO-1503,
– Library and Archives Canada: 040139An OnLion Entertainment GmbH and Raging Beaver Publishing AB co-Production.
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March 12, 2020
Canadian Ross MkIII Sniper Rifle with Warney & Swasey Scope
Forgotten Weapons
Published 11 Mar 2020http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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The Canadian infantry that went to Europe in the early years of World War One were equipped primarily with the Ross MkIII rifle. The Ross would become quite the scandal, and was replaced in service with the SMLE in 1916 — but as a sniper rifle the Ross excelled. Its problems in service were largely based on poor quality ammunition, and this was not an issue for the sniper corps. In addition, Great Britain was having enough trouble equipping its own snipers to have any extra scoped rifles to hand over to the dominions.
And so, the Canadians modified 500 Ross rifles into a sniper configuration using American-sourced Warner & Swasey M1913 “Musket Sight” scopes. These were 5x magnification prismatic scopes, also used by American forces on the M1903 sniper rifle and the M1909 Benet-Mercie machine guns. The scope was not very good, suffering from fogging and other issues, but it was available. The Canadian rifles were made in two batches of 250 each, one in 1915 and one in 1917. This was actually more rifles than needed, and many of them (including the two in this video) remained in Canada for training (and were used at least until 1942).
Canadian Warner & Swasey scopes can be identified by three elements. They have elevation dials marked out to 2400 yards, serial numbers between 1 and 500, and no data plate on top. Canadian scope cases are marked with the serial numbers of the scope and the rifle they were issued with.
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Forgotten Weapons
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December 14, 2019
Huot Automatic Rifle: The Ross Goes Full Auto
Forgotten Weapons
Published 13 Dec 2019http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
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During World War One, Joseph Alphonse Huot, a Canadian machinist and blacksmith living in Quebec, designed a conversion of the Ross MkIII rifle to become an automatic rifle. The Ross was the standard issue Canadian rifle at the beginning of the war, and Huot wanted to find a way to economically provide Canadian forces with an automatic weapon. His conversion functioned by mounting a gas piston onto the side of the Ross barrel, adding a large action cover and 25-round drum magazine, and a Lewis-style cooling shroud over the barrel.
In initial testing with the Canadian army, the Huot performed well. It was seriously considered for adoption, but had to undergo British testing and approval before that could happen. In British testing (by now near the end of the war), it was found to run well enough and have some positive attributes, but not sufficient to justify replacement of the Lewis Gun. It was rejected, and the Canadian Corps finished the war with the Lewis instead. Huot had spent several years privately developing the weapon and two more working on salary for the Canadian military, and had gone into considerable personal debt for the project. He had secured a deal to receive royalties on production, but that of course came to naught when the design was rejected. Ultimately, he was compensated $25,000 in 1936 (of the $36,000 he claimed to have spent).
Only five of the guns were made in total, with four known to still exist. Two of them are in Ottawa at the Canadian War Museum and one in the Seaforth Highlanders Museum in Vancouver and one in the Army Museum in Halifax.
Thanks to the Canadian War Museum for providing me access to film this Huot for you!
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Forgotten Weapons
6281 N. Oracle #36270
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