I'll be coming home any day now, and I'm so excited to see all of you. But guess who I met today! The one and only Arthur Currie! He's the first ever Canadian-appointed commander of the Canadian Corps AND the first Canadian to be promoted to General rank during the war! Did you know that he began the war with no professional military experience? He's been in almost every important battle that Canada took place in, and he helped plan a lot of them too. He's known for his excellency at trench warfare, and easily adopting to new strategies. That's how he won all of his battles.
He started telling us his story of when the German's started using gas during the Second Battle of Ypres, he stayed calm and directed his troops. That was his first big battle, after which he was promoted to Major-General. He then participated in battles such as the Battle of the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, Passchendaele, and the Hundred Days Offensive. In each one of these battles, he showed outstanding leadership and courage, which are things that all Canadians soldiers should strive to be.
Did you know he's the reason that everybody has been wanted more Canadian led battles and leadership from Canadians instead of the British? It's because Currie warned the Canadians not to go into battle in Passchendaele. But because the British leadership made the Canadian troops go in anyway, a lot of soldiers died. Ever since then, people have been wanting more and more Canadian led actions.
Will be seeing you soon,
Sincerely,
John
"Currie, Sir Arthur William." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec.
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Currie, Sir A.W. N.d. The Canadian Encylopedia. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Arthur Currie, Commander of the Canadian Corps at the Battle of Passchendaele.
N.d. Library and Archives Canada. Canada Online. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Munroe, Susan. "Sir Arthur Currie." Canada Online. About, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2010.
Dancocks, Daniel G. Welcome to Flanders fields. Toronto: McLelland and Stewart,
1988. Print.
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