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Category: On This Day

On This Day in the Great War

Video and image blog posts relating to significant events and dates of the Great War. The origins of the Great War are complex. Presenting a chronology of the Great War on the Western Front would be a daunting task. Instead, CEFRG presents a random look at the Great War in these blog posts.

Battle of Liege

The first battle on the Western Front was the Battle of Liege which opened on 5 August 1914. Before the end of 1914, no less than 25 battles or actions on the Western Front. The battles also significant, including such battles as the Battle of Mons, the First Battle of the Marne, First Battle of Arras, and First Battle of Ypres.

Battle of Neuve-Chapelle

Canada’s first action came at the Battle of Neuve-Chapelle which opened on 10 March 1915. While not a large battle, the first time the Canadian Expeditionary Force fully involved in action with the enemy. Under the British 1st Army, Canada’s role in the battle to prevent the Germans in this sector from reinforcing the combat zone. Unfortunately, the artillery bombardment provided too light to suppress the enemy trenches.

March to the Rhine

Canada’s final actions in the Great War came after the Armistice. The March to the Rhine by the 1st and 2nd Canadian Division with select Corps Troops, saw Canada crossing the Rhine river at Cologne, and Bonn, Germany. This action was followed by the Allied Occupation of Germany which lasted for ten years.

Canada’s role completed before the spring of 1919, and most of our troops home before the official end to the war on 28 June 1919, when Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war. Therefore, many blog posts of On This Day in the Great War extend into 1919, particularly concerning demobilization.

  • The Last Post in the Great War

    The Last Post in the Great War

    Welcome to the Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group. Dedicated to the men, women, and boys who served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War, 1914 – 1919. CEFRG collects objects and stories that give an insight into experiences of the Great War. CEFRG preserves these tales for future generations, and brings them to today’s audience in the most powerful way possible. Our first post is about The Last Post.

    Hopefully, you are already familiar with CEFRG via it’s Facebook or YouTube accounts. The purpose of this website is to build a greater following for CEFRG, so that more Canadians may learn from and appreciate our rich military history. To learn more about CEFRG, visit our About page.

    The Last Post - Funeral of Canadian Nursing Sister Gladys Maude Mary Wake, 22 May 1918, Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais. Gladys was mortally-wounded on the night of 19 May 1918 in a German air raid at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Étaples. "Don't bother with me; I'll be alright. You people will be exhausted," she told her co-workers. Gladys died two days later from severe burns, a fractured femur, and wounds to both legs. © IWM (11035)
    The Last Post – Funeral of Canadian Nursing Sister Gladys Maude Mary Wake, 22 May 1918, Etaples Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais. Gladys was mortally-wounded on the night of 19 May 1918 in a German air raid at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Étaples. “Don’t bother with me; I’ll be alright. You people will be exhausted,” she told her co-workers. Gladys died two days later from severe burns, a fractured femur, and wounds to both legs. © IWM (11035)

    The Last Post

    In military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that signifies the end of the day’s activities. The Last Post is also sounded at military funerals to indicate a soldier has gone to his final rest, and used at commemorative services such as Remembrance Day. The Last Post is one of a number of bugle calls in military tradition that mark the phases of the day. While Reveille signals the start of a soldier’s day, the Last Post signals its end.

    The call is believed to have originally been part of a more elaborate routine. The British Army tattoo, began in the 17th century. In the evening, a duty officer had to do the rounds of his unit’s position. First, checking that the sentry posts were manned. Afterwards, rounding up the off-duty soldiers and packing them off to their beds or billets. The officer would be accompanied by one or more musicians. The first post was sounded when he started his rounds. As the party went from post to post, a drum was played. The drum beats told off-duty soldiers it was time to rest; if the soldiers were in a town, the beats told them it was time to leave the pubs.

    The word tattoo comes from the Dutch for turn off the taps of beer kegs; Americans call this taps or drum taps. Another bugle call was sounded when the officer’s party completed its rounds, reaching the last post. This signaled that the night sentries were alert at their posts and gave one last warning to the other soldiers. The Last Post was eventually incorporated into funeral and memorial services as a final farewell. It symbolizes the duty of the dead is over and they can rest in peace.