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Mount Sorrel

Mount Sorrel. June 2 – 13, 1916. Canada’s 3 rd Division held the hill at Mount Sorrel, just outside Ypres. This was one of the only pieces of high ground the allies still controlled in the area.

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Mount Sorrel

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  1. Mount Sorrel June 2 – 13, 1916

  2. Canada’s 3rd Division held the hill at Mount Sorrel, just outside Ypres. • This was one of the only pieces of high ground the allies still controlled in the area. • On June 2 the Germans unleashed a furious bombardment at the Canadian position and, at the same time, exploded four huge mines under the Canadian position. • Whole sections of trench line were obliterated.

  3. Of the 702 men of the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles, only 76 survived unhurt. • PPCLI lost 400 men. • The Canadians retreated from the hill • For some reason, the German attack stopped at nightfall. • The next morning a Canadian counter-attack was beaten back and 4 more mines were exploded under their position. • General Byng gave command of a second counter attack to a Canadian General – Arthur Currie.

  4. General Sir Julian Byng General Sir Arthur Currie

  5. Currie prepared his men meticulously, rehearsing their attack strategy several times before it was put into action. • Currie ordered the big guns to fire on the German positions, then stop. When the Germans re-manned their machine guns, Currie would again unleash the big guns on their position. • He did this four times. The fifth time, the Germans didn’t come out of their bolt holes, giving the Canadians a chance to get across no-man’s-land.

  6. The Canadians were able to regain all of the area they had lost on June 4. • 8,430 casualties • Canadian victory, but more importantly, Byng and Currie had learned valuable lessons which they would use later at Vimy Ridge.

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