Canadians savages. Attending to wounded Germans at advanced dressing station. Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3395797

Were Canadians Savages in the Great War

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CEFRG asks, “Were Canadians Savages in the Great War?

Savages

noun

  1. the quality of being fierce or cruel.
  2. (chiefly in historical or literary contexts) the condition of being primitive or uncivilized.

During the Great War, written Canadians earned a reputation for their savagery. This folklore may have been encouraged by the unfounded story of the Crucified Canadian. Whether true or not, war diaries and personal accounts do record this fact. When men entered the Ypres Salient for the first time, shown the spot where the alleged atrocity had taken place.

Canadian helping a wounded German. Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3395792
Canadian helping a wounded German. Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3395792

To kill them not for the sake of killing, but to save the world; to kill the good as well as the bad; to kill the young men as well as the old; to kill those who have shown kindness to our wounded as well as those fiends who crucified the Canadian sergeant…

AF Winnington-Ingram, Bishop of London in 1915

The Second Battle of Ypres Canada’s first significant engagement with German troops. A captured German soldier who understood English well, exclaimed, “You guys fight like hell”. The reputation endured right through to the end of the war. A German Colonel spoke with Canadian POW Fred Hamilton, shortly before the end of the war. A savage beating awaited Hamilton.

“I don’t care for the English, Scotch, French, Australians or Belgians. But, damn you Canadians, you take no prisoners and you kill our wounded”.

German Colonel to Canadian POW Fred Hamilton
German Prisoners carrying their wounded. Batlle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3403043
German Prisoners carrying their wounded. Batlle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3403043

Killing the enemy

Sir Arthur Currie took pride in the fact his troops prided themselves on killing the enemy. Wherever and whenever they could.

Lt.-Col. Cosgrave showing Gen. Currie a battered Hun steel helmet picked up after a recent advance. July, 1917.
Lt.-Col. Cosgrave showing Gen. Currie a battered Hun steel helmet picked up after a recent advance. July, 1917. MIKAN No. 3404794

Perhaps Canadian troops more savage than soldiers of any other army. The reality though, they could not have been the only savages on the Western Front. Could they have been slightly more savage than the rest?

Canadians savages. German Officers and men captured by Canadians. Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3403037
German Officers and men captured by Canadians. Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3403037

They were not prone to killing Prisoners of War. In fact, when Sir Arthur Currie took command of the Canadian Corps he gave strict orders not to be disobeyed. Prisoners to be treated humanely.

The reality

Without exception, the images captured by the Canadian Official War Photographers demonstrate this fact. Treatment of prisoners humane. Of course, had any photo shown otherwise, they would have been censored. But, the existing photographs do not lie.

The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 15 September 1916.

These images captured on 15 September 1916 during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. Any surprise revealed by the German soldiers in these images, is understandable. Canadians not the unpredictable savages that they had been told.

Canadians savages. German Prisoners. Battle of Flers-Courcellete, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3403046
German Prisoners. Battle of Flers-Courcellete, 15 September 1916. MIKAN No. 3403046

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