- What factors lay behind Arthur Currie’s success as commander of the Canadian Corps?
General Sir Arthur William Currie was a senior officer of the Canadian army who lead different Canadian troops to great battles during World War I. Arthur Currie started his career as a teacher and later joined the Canadian militia as a part-time gunner. Currie started advancing in ranks shortly after joining the Canadian militia advancing to the topmost Canadian servicemen ranks before he resigned from the military service to a University chancellor. Curries’ fast advancement in ranks as a result of a series of victories on the battlefield. The following are factors that facilitated Arthurs’ victory and, eventually, success as the Canadian corps commander.
Sir Arthur Currie was a strategist and spent much time researching and making necessary preparation before the mission. As the Canadian Corps commander, Arthur proposed a battle strategy that was later executed effectively. Curries opposed the proposed idea of deploying much German formation and prevent the Germans from reinforcing the Ypres sector as possible, to defend their victory during the third battle Ypres, he suggested the Canadian militia take high grounds outside the city, expect German counterattack, and inflict casualties.
Use of massive artillery, General Currie prepared a zone of concentrated artilleries and machine gunfire. In his command, there were fourteen field artillery brigades and nine heavy artillery brigades and his disposal in the way of supporting fire. In defending the German takeover of the city during the third battle, Ypres, Currie prepared machine guns, and other artillery concentrated on inflicting casualties as opposed to mass assaults; these artilleries facilitated curries victory against the Germans.
Preparations; General Currie did not leave his team to enjoy the periodical rest that usually followed major operations participation. On his command, the Canadian Militias prepared for next missions by performing preliminary raids, construction, and repair of their destroyed infrastructures like the roads and railways and massing of artillery and heavy machine ready for offensives day.
General Arthur Currie was skillful and tactful, spending much of his weekends on the shooting range, thus gaining skills to conquer all enemies that come his way. Due to his thirst for knowledge nature, Currie’s time outside mission was devoted to taking any available course offered by the British army contingent and growing his skills and battle tactics. In a Lens mission where the Canadian Corps was transferred from, Currie was tasked in continuing the advance started by the Anzac corps and ultimately gain victory. Curries spent much of his time in shooting range and reading books he ordered from London.
Besides his personalized training in the high state of training, Currie interacted with both junior and senior officers to question them both, pointing out the discrepancies between the senior officers’ belief and the junior officers’ experiences. On identifying these differences, Currie rolled-out a series of lectures to corps based on research to unify the senior officers’ and junior officers’ training principles.
Allies, a collaboration between British 1st army and Canadian corps, performed a successful mission under the command of General sir Arthur Currie battling the Germans as they launched a major spring offensive attack to force their armistice terms on Canada. The Canadians were withdrawn from the line and moved where they participated in the Hindenburg line attack, overthrowing the Germans.
Curries’ outstanding operation planning skills are a key player in his mission success. Currie proved his leadership skills by preparing an extensive operational plan with extensive resources. In his plan, he estimated that the attack would cause relatively high casualties and proved his planning skills as the fatalities fell within his proposed bracket.
Curries’ leadership was favored to serve with Sam’s son, Garnet Hughes, as the second in command. Their long, well-established relationship made it easy for them to serve together in war. Hughes’ close relationship to Currie proved a significant fact, or in Curries’ career success with Currie being awarded last available field command by Hughes’ father (Sam).
Currie was a great leader who rendered great services to the Canadian military at Canada’s military commander’s capacity. In his tenure Currie, considered several factors that increased the probability of his victory these factors are; employment of his strategist skills, use of massive artilleries, careful and keen preparation for a mission, use of his military acquired skills and tactic in action, and in leading his troops, offering training that unifies senior and junior officers’ for successful missions, allies and the benefit of running with Sam’s son as second in command all played greatly in Curries’ success as the commander of Canadian corps.