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The Battle of Passchendaele: Resources at Library and Archives Canada
The War Diaries
The following are extracts from the diaries of infantry battalions, engineer units, brigades and a medical unit. These examples demonstrate the involvement of many different types of military units in the Battle of Passchendaele.
The following pages are the Appendix to the 3rd Battalion (1st Division) relating the events of the attack of November 5 and November 6, 1917.
The following is from the war diary of the 25th Battalion (2nd Division) and demonstrates the typical look of a war diary.
The following page is a plan from the war diary of a Canadian engineer unit. The plan shows a plank road, which was necessary due to the muddy ground conditions.
This document highlights the closeness developed by "sister" units that were fighting side by side in the same division.
The following pages are from the war diary of the 5th Brigade. This excerpt was written by Brigade Major Clark-Kennedy, who was later awarded the Victoria Cross for another battle.
Finally, this page is from the war diary of the 6th Canadian Field Ambulance, attached to the 2nd Division, showing its involvement in taking care of a large number of wounded Canadian soldiers on November 6 and 7, 1917.
The first page mentions how they treated those wounded by gas.
The second page shows how they evacuated the wounded.
