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World War 1 Remembered - 49th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion - 1916 Q3

April 25, 2016
Last Updated on: October 13, 2016

1916 – July to September
During the summer of 1916 the 49th Battalion continued to fight in the Ypres sector of the front lines. In September the 3rd Canadian Division moved to the Flers-Courcelette sector in France and became part of the Battle of the Somme, a costly battle intended to relieve pressure on the French defenders of Verdun.

World War 2 Remembered - Edmonton Regiment - 1941 Q1

January 21, 2016
Last Updated on: July 27, 2016

1941 – January to March
While British, Australian and New Zealand forces battled the Italians and Germans in North Africa, the threat of an invasion of the British Isles still existed at the beginning of 1941. The Edmonton Regiment, in England for a year now, continued to train for their part in repelling the invasion should it come.

World War 1 Remembered - 49th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion - 1915 Q4

October 13, 2015
Last Updated on: July 27, 2016

1915 – October to December
Fourteen months after the start of the First World War, on October 9, 1915, the main body of the 49th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), with 30 officers and 890 other ranks, departed from Folkestone, England and arrived at Boulogne, France. Three days later they were 20 km behind the Ypres, Belgian, front lines.

World War 1 Remembered - 49th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion - 1916 Q2

April 25, 2016
Last Updated on: July 27, 2016

1916 – April to June
During the second quarter of 1916 the 49th Battalion fought in the Salient (bulge in the line) to the east of Ypres, Belgium. Together, with The Royal Canadian Regiment, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, and the 42nd Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada) from Montreal, they formed the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade (CIB). Here they were under great pressure from the Germans who wanted to clear the salient and advance through Ypres.

World War 1 Remembered - 49th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion - 1915 Q3

July 9, 2015
Last Updated on: July 27, 2016

1915 – July to September
In the third quarter of 1915 the 49th Battalion was now in England and had begun further training in preparation for deployment to the front lines. There were still some doubts, however, that the battalion would stay intact and be deployed as a front line unit.

World War 1 Remembered - 49th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion - 1915 Q1

January 12, 2015
Last Updated on: July 27, 2016

1915 – January to March
Having just gone overseas with the 19th Alberta Dragoons Special Service Squadron in October 1914, Lieut. Colonel William (Billy) Griesbach arrived back in Edmonton on the morning of December 26 with orders from Ottawa to recruit and train a new battalion of infantry.

World War 1 Remembered - 49th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion - 1915 Q2

April 11, 2015
Last Updated on: July 27, 2016

1915 – April to June
The Second Battle of Ypres raged from April 22 to May 25, 1915 and elements of the first Canadian contingent to go overseas were involved. Edmonton area’s 19th Alberta Dragoons Special Service Squadron (19AD) was there when, on April 22, the Allies came under chlorine gas attack.

World War 1 Remembered - 49th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion - 1916 Q1

January 21, 2016
Last Updated on: July 27, 2016

1916 – January to March
In early January of 1916 the 3rd Canadian Division had joined the Canadian Corps in the Messines Ridge sector in Belgium. The division’s 7th Brigade, including the 49th Battalion, moved into line on the southern shoulder of the Ypres Salient around Kemmel. After two relatively uneventful months, the brigade moved, in late March 1916, to the salient itself.

World War 1 Remembered - 194th Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion

April 25, 2016
Last Updated on: April 25, 2016

1916 – April to June
While the 49th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Edmonton Regiment) was deeply immersed in bitter trench fighting on the European continent in the second quarter of 1916, a new Edmonton battalion, the 194th (Highland) Canadian Overseas Infantry Battalion, unofficially named the Edmonton Highlanders, was being formed.

World War 1 Remembered - Edmonton's 138th and 151st Battalions

October 13, 2015
Last Updated on: March 15, 2016

While the 49th Battalion was experiencing their first shock of trench warfare, back in Edmonton two more new infantry battalions began recruiting for overseas service – the 138th in November and the 151st in December of 1915.