PASSCHENDAELE One of Canadas most horrific battles was at the town of Passchendaele (Pash-en-dale) in Belgium during WW1. Over 5000 Canadian soldiers died, but the result was that Canada defined itself as a nation. This battle is taught in every schoolhouse and is well known by our fellow countrymen. Over more than two weeks of brutal combat, three Canadian divisions captured the town, once the brave Aussies had secured Passchendaele Ridge. Wrote a gifted Canuck private at the time: Here and there, too, arms and legs of dead men stick out from the mud, and awful faces appear, blackened by days and weeks under the beating sun. I try to turn from these dreadful sights, but everywhere I look bodies emerge, shapelessly, from their shroud of mud. It would seem that life could never return to these fields of abundant death. In fact, a Canadian film by the same name was produced and was shown at the Toronto Film Festival a few years ago. One of the young Canadian actors was Caroline Dhavernas. We know that young thespians are not known for their intellectual prowess. No Rhodes scholars there. Said the historically-challenged Caroline: I had never heard of the battle of Passchendaele before. Many people I talked to had never heard of it either. I guess that she must have skipped high school history. Because of Passchendaele and hundreds of other battles by Canada and its Allies over almost 12 decades, we have protected the freedoms we have today. One of them is the right to vote by secret ballot in free and fair elections. Photo: Town of Passchendaele before and after the battle.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:35:53 +0000
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