Arthur Currie

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General Sir Arthur William Currie, GCMG , KCB (December 5, 1875 – November 30, 1933) was the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (a corps of four divisions) on the Western Front during World War I. Currie was among the most successful generals of the war; he is still considered one of the finest commanders in Canadian military history.

Under his capable leadership the Canadian Corps won a long series of battles, fighting as a unit for the first time in a major war. They soon earned a fierce reputation as some of the most effective troops on the Western Front.

Contents 1 Early life 2 World War I 3 Regimental scandal and postwar libel suit 4 Postwar career and honours 5 In popular culture 6 External Links 7 Quotes

[edit] Early life

Arthur Currie was born in Napperton, Ontario and attended Strathroy Collegiate Institute in Strathroy, Ontario. In 1894 he moved to Victoria, British Columbia where he first taught school and later sold real estate. There, he joined the army militia and over the years prior to the Great War rose through the ranks to become his regiment's Commanding Officer.

[edit] World War I

With Garnet Hughes, son of the Canadian minister of militia Sir Sam Hughes, he was sent to Europe upon the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. He commanded a brigade at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 and by 1917 he had been promoted to general, the first Canadian to receive this honour during the war.

Serving under General Sir Julian Byng, Currie was largely responsible for the tactics and careful planning that led to the unexpected triumph by Canadian battalions at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April, 1917. One of his most useful innovations introduced at this battle was the creeping barrage, which consisted of troops walking just behind an advancing line of shell fire from Canadian and British artillery, shielding soldiers as they approached the Germans. In addition, constant practice and new troop organization in which each platoon member was trained to carry out all platoon responsibilities, briefing of the frontline troops, the use of counter-battery fire measures and constant patrolling of the enemy defenses all contributed to the effectiveness of the Canadian Corps at Vimy and for the rest of the War.

Currie and the Canadian Corps were successful again at Passchendaele (the Third Battle of Ypres) in November, but at the cost of 16,000 men. Currie had accurately predicted these high casualty figures when British General Douglas Haig ordered his troops to attack.

At the Battle of the Canal du Nord in September of 1918, Currie flatly refused to carry out Haig's orders to attack across a canal and into a fortified German trench. With the support of General Byng, Currie had bridges quickly assembled and crossed the canal at night, surprising the Germans with an attack in the morning. This proved the effectiveness of Canadian engineers. Currie believed in the specialization of troops and formally organized battalions of combat engineers to move with the troops.

As the war neared its end, the Canadian Corps pressed on towards Germany, strengthening their reputation as one of the most feared and respected military formations of the war during Canada's Hundred Days, which included the Battle of Amiens from August 8–August 11, 1918. George Lawrence Price, the last Canadian to die and likely the third last allied soldier to die in the First World War, was killed by German sniper fire under Currie's command at Mons, at 10:58am just before the 11:00am Armistice on November 11, 1918.

Currie was respected by his men as a competent general who would not waste their lives needlessly. Currie also refused to allow his former friend Garnet Hughes to serve under him, because of what Currie perceived to be incompetence he had witnessed when they fought together in at Ypres in 1915. This also did not endear him to Garnet's father, who constantly lobbied for his son's promotion.

Currie, along with General John Monash of Australia, were both civilians prior to the war, who during the War rose to lead their respective armies.

[edit] Regimental scandal and postwar libel suit

Currie was also involved in a scandal stemming from his time in Victoria just before the war began, in which he allegedly defrauded his regiment of money to buy new uniforms. The information came to light in 1917, however Prime Minister Sir Robert Laird Borden did not wish to disgrace a war hero and let the matter drop.

In 1927 the Port Hope Evening Guide newspaper reported that Sam Hughes had accused Currie of being just as much of a "butcher" as General Haig! Currie sued the newspaper for libel and won in a trial held in 1928 in Cobourg, Ontario.

[edit] Postwar career and honours

• After the war, Currie became Chancellor of McGill University in Montreal in 1920. His legacy at the university remains in the Currie Gym and the Montreal Neurological Institute under Wilder Penfield.
• At the Royal Military College of Canada there is a building named for Currie as well as a memorial hall.
• In Calgary until recently there were the Currie barracks.
• In Richmond, BC, General Currie Elementary School was built and named after him in 1919.
• At the University of Victoria, an on-campus housing building is named Sir Arthur Currie.
• In the Officer's Mess of the Canadian Scottish Regiment, the favourite chair of Sir Arthur Currie is reserved for the Commanding Officer of the Regiment to sit on.
• In his hometown of Strathroy, Ontario the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion bears his name.

Currie was knighted in 1917, and also honoured with the British Knight Commander Order of the Bath, Knight GRAND CROSS of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the French Légion d'honneur and Croix de Guerre, and the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal.

General Currie died soon after the 15th anniversary of the Armistice, on November 30, 1933. He is interred in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, Quebec. Canadian historians including Pierre Berton and J.L. Granatstein have frequently described Currie as Canada's greatest military commander.

[edit] In popular culture

• The futuristic Robert A. Heinlein novel Starship Troopers features a fictional Camp Arthur Currie as an incredibly tough boot camp for aspiring Mobile Infantry soldiers.

[edit] External Links

• Arthur Currie At Find A Grave

[edit] Quotes

Currie wrote that the "spirit" of the Royal Military College of Canada's graduates, "no less than their military attainments, exercised a potent influence in fashioning a force which, in fighting efficiency, has never been excelled."

Preceded by Auckland Campbell Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes

Principals of McGill University 1920–1933

Succeeded by Arthur Eustace Morgan