The Hundred Days To End The Great War

While Canada mostly sent white males to war in the First World War, that wasn't exclusively the case, as indigenous, black, and other minorities joined the fight, and women made their own presence known. This mosaic of photographs reflects the variety of people who went to war.

The Hundred Days is the final stage of the Great War. After four years of stalemates and death on a scale never seen before, all because of generals using outdated tactics against modern technology, the breakthrough came about in Allied officers coming to understand the value of combined arms fighting- the system of attacking together in tandem- infantry, artillery, tanks, planes- all working in support of each other as a team. It broke the stalemate, and the Germans gave way. Over the Hundred Days, Canadian soldiers fought a series of battles at great cost, but with great gains, pushing their German adversaries back each time.

If only the generals had figured out combined arms fighting so much sooner.

Arthur Currie was a Canadian general who was forward thinking in tactics and strategy, not one given to the outdated techniques, and an effective commander. His ceremonial sword is here.

Alongside their allies, the Canadians surged forward during the Hundred Days through battle after battle.

This painting, The Conquerors, depicts the ghosts of the fallen marching alongside their surviving comrades. It is by Eric Kennington.

This is the ceremonial headdress of Francis Pegahmagabow, one of the country's most decorated indigenous soldiers, a formidable sniper throughout that war. He would later go on to represent his people as a chief and leader for decades.

Perhaps the last man to die in the war, and certainly the last Canadian soldier, Private George Price, who died in the minutes before the armistice broke out.

Canadians ended the war by liberating the town of Mons, Belgium, where the people came out to meet them in celebration.

But the war had a huge cost on the country. One in ten who served died. This was typical of casualty rates. Families were forever marked by it.