S1E4: St Eloi Craters and Mount Sorrel
Throughout 1915 and early 1916 the Germans maintained their strongholds along the western front, making it extraordinarily difficult for the Allies to launch an offensive attack. To cope with the mundaneness of war, there was little for the soldiers to do but man the lines, smoke a cigarette, and perhaps put on a good drag show!
Despite efforts to ease their stress, many could not escape the impacts of shell shock, especially as offensive campaigns resumed at St. Eloi and Mount Sorrel. Do we finally see the tides turn for the Canadians, or is it another case of “the blind leading the blind”?
Sources:
Books
Rawson, Andrew. British Expeditionary Force - The 1915 Campaign. Barnsley, Pen and Sword Military, 2015.
Nicholson, Colonel G.W.L. Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919: Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War. Ottawa, Queen’s Printer and Controller of Stationery, 1962.
Cook, Tim. At the Sharp End. Toronto, Penguin Group (Canada), 2009.
Jones, E., & Wessely, S. Shell shock to Ptsd: Military psychiatry from 1900 to the Gulf War. Psychology Press, 2015.
Journals
Cook, Tim. “My Whole Heart and Soul is in this War: The Letters and War Service of Sergeant G.L. Ormsby.” Canadian Military History, Volume 15, Issue 1, 2006, page 59.
Cook, Tim. "The Blind Leading the Blind: The Battle of the St. Eloi Craters." Canadian Military History 5, 2 (1996).
Podcast/Audio
Cook, Tim, narrator. “WWI: The Great War of the Mind.” Soundcloud, https://soundcloud.com/canadashistory/wwi-the-great-war-of-the-mind?utm_source=www.canadashistory.ca&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fcanadashistory%252Fwwi-the-great-war-of-the-mind. Accessed January 2022.
Websites
“Battle of Mount Sorrel.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mont-sorrel. Accessed November 2021.
“Mount Sorrel.” Canadian War Museum. https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/battles-and-fighting/land-battles/mount-sorrel/ . Accessed November 2021.
“Mount Sorrel.” Canadian Soldiers. https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/westernfront/mountsorrel.htm. Accessed November 2021.
Blakemore, E. “How PTSD went from 'shell-shock' to a recognized medical diagnosis.” National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/ptsd-shell-shock-to-recognized-medical-diagnosis. Accessed January 2022.
War Archives. “The Effects of Shell Shock: WWI Nueroses | War Archives.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWHbF5jGJY0. Accessed January 2021.