10th Battalion , CEF The 10th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force was a Canadian field force unit created during the First World War . Technically distinct from the Militia from which its soldiers were drawn the unit served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force ( CEF ) , specifically in the 1st Canadian Division from 1914 to 1919 . It later was perpetuated by both The Calgary Highlanders and The Winnipeg Light Infantry . The battalion participated in every major Canadian battle of the First World War , and set a record for the most decorations earned by a Canadian unit in a single battle at Hill 70 . The unit was known to its contemporaries simply as " The Fighting Tenth " . The 10th Battalion is perpetuated by The Royal Winnipeg Rifles and The Calgary Highlanders . History . The Canadian Expeditionary Force was a separate entity created by Canada ' s Minister of Militia in 1914 for service to Britain in the First World War . Technically distinct from the standing land forces in existence at the time , soldiers were legally attested into the CEF in order to serve overseas . Hughes refused to mobilize the existing Militia units as units , and instead numbered battalions were created into which a combination of Permanent Force ( regular ) soldiers , Militia ( reservists ) and civilian volunteers were combined . The Provisional 10th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was created around cadres of Militiamen from two existing units ; the 103rd Regiment ( Calgary Rifles ) and the 106th Regiment ( Winnipeg Light Infantry ) . The unit was assembled at Valcartier in Quebec , and sailed for the United Kingdom with the first Canadian contingent in late 1914 . Their commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Russ L . Boyle , a veteran of the war in South Africa and in 1914 the commander of the 15th Light Horse , an Alberta cavalry unit . The unit trained on Salisbury Plain , and went into the trenches in France in early 1915 with the rest of the Division . War service . The battalion was awarded 20 battle honours for its service in France and Flanders . Ypres , 1915 – 17 — The Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 was the first major action for the 1st Canadian Division . It was also the first instance on the Western Front of the use of poison gas as a weapon of war . A wide scale German attack using this gas routed two entire French divisions , but the First Canadian Division held firm , at a cost of some 6 , 000 of its 10 , 000 men . It was during this battle that the St . Julien battle was fought , and the counter - attack at Kitcheners ' Wood was mounted , for which the Oak Leaf shoulder badge distinction was eventually granted . The Third Battle of Ypres in 1917 describes very large operations in this area , including the Battle of Passchendaele . As a note on pronunciation – while the people of Flanders pronounce this name as " ee - pray " ( and in fact have changed the spelling to Ieper ) , to many Canadians who served and died there , it was known more familiarly simply as " Wipers " . Gravenstafel — The Gravenstafel Ridge was a low rise east of Ypres , one of the key features in the German attacks from 24 – 26 April 1915 . The 10th Battalion by this point , after suffering heavily in its counter - attacks of 22 – 23 April , mustered only 174 men but still contributed enough to the defence of the position to merit a battle honour for their work . Saint - Julien — The town of St . Julien was located east of Ypres , in the south - western part of Belgium known as Flanders . The 10th Battalion was called forward on the night of 22 – 23 April to counterattack the strong German formation advancing through a large gap in the line created by the rout of two French divisions . Forming up in front of the Sixteenth Battalion , the two units mounted a hasty assault on an oak plantation known as Bois de Cuisineres , or Kitcheners ' Wood , so named because the French had located their field kitchens there . The assault cost the life of the 10th ' s Commanding Officer , Lieutenant Colonel Boyle , and of the 816 men who crossed the start line on 22 April , only some 193 survived . Nonetheless , the German advance was stopped . This action moved the overall commander of the French Army to describe the attack as the single bravest act of the entire war . Festubert , 1915 — Fought twenty kilometres north of Vimy , France , this unsuccessful attempt to capture K5 , a small hill , was stopped short with heavy losses due to wet terrain , strong German defences , and little time to prepare . Mount Sorrel — Another unsuccessful assault , this counter - attack by the 10th Battalion was launched on a small knoll in the Ypres Salient on 3 June 1916 . Considerable losses were suffered . Despite the relatively low height of this feature , it provided an excellent viewpoint over the otherwise flat terrain in the area and was of considerable strategic importance . Somme , 1916 — The Canadians were not involved in the opening phases of this campaign , which began on 1 July 1916 – the " July Drive . " That first day was the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army , with 20 , 000 men being killed and 40 , 000 more being wounded . That opening day was only the beginning of several months of major operations by both the British and French armies . By the time the battle wound down to an official conclusion in November , hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides of the lines had been killed , and thousands more maimed and injured . The 10th Battalion was involved in a series of operations from 8 September and 17 October , primarily defensive actions which were successful , north of Albert , France near the town of Boiselle . Thiepval — Thiepval Ridge , near the town of Courcelette , represented a successful offensive operation for the 10th Battalion , fought on 26 September 1916 , at the cost of 241 casualties . Ancre Heights — Another successful defensive battle fought by the 10th Battalion , during the Somme Campaign , near the town of Albert , France . Modest casualties were suffered during the action on 10 – 11 September 1916 . Arras , 1917 — The Arras battles refer to the overall British offensives in that area of Northern France , the first battle ( in 1917 ) of which included the dramatic Canadian capture of Vimy Ridge . The 10th Battalion fought in the Arras battles of 1917 and 1918 though the official battle honour only reflects the 1917 battles ( see footnote ) . Vimy , 1917 — Intended as a diversion to draw attention away from French actions farther south , and often serving only as a footnote to the less successful overall Battle of Arras in 1917 waged by the British armies , Vimy was the greatest victory of the war for the Canadian Corps , which by 1917 numbered four divisions . In a dramatic assault on Easter Monday , the 9th of April , and representing the best in Canadian tactical ingenuity , military engineering , and technical innovation , the Canadians seized most of this dominating feature in a few short hours , and finally clearing the entire ridge in three days . The British and French had been unable to clear these heights since the Germans first seized them in 1914 , and had lost more men in the process of trying than the Canadians as a whole started out with on 9 April . The 10th Battalion had its own role to play in this great drama , and reached all its objectives on time , at the cost of 374 casualties . Arleux — The Arleux Loop was a follow up to the Vimy operation , launched on 28 April 1917 , aimed at capturing a major German billeting area at Arleux - en - Gohelle . The operation went in over open ground and produced serious casualties . Hill 70 — Rising only 15 feet over surrounding terrain , this hill north of Lens , Belgium was the scene of a diversionary attack to relieve pressure on the city of Lens itself . On 15 – 16 August 1917 , a strong German counter - attack was repulsed by the 10th Battalion . Private Harry Brown , who was killed acting as a courier during this battle , was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross . In addition to the VC , three DSOs , 7 MC , 9 DCMs and 60 ( ! ) MMs were earned by the 10th Battalion , giving the 10th Battalion the distinction of receiving more medals than any other Canadian combat unit in a single action in the course of the First World War . Passchendaele — Named for a village located on a low rise in the Ypres Salient , the very word Passchendaele has become synonymous with suffering and waste . Strong German defences in this area , developed over the course of more than two years , gave the British extremely hard going . The 10th Battalion were called out of reserve to assist an attack on Hill 52 , part of the same low rise Passchendaele itself was situated on . The battalion was not scheduled to attack , but the CO wisely prepared his soldiers as if they would be making the main assault — a decision that paid dividends when the unit was called out of reserve . On 10 November 1917 , the 10th Battalion took the feature with light casualties . Amiens — The offensive Allied campaign under the command of Marshall Foch of the French Army cleared the Germans from positions near the important rail centre of Amiens . Consisting of a series of battles fought from August to September 1918 , it signalled the beginning of the end of the war on the Western Front . Scarpe , 1918 — A defensive operation , finding the 10th Battalion once again in the Somme sector . A successful defence of the Fampoux area on the Anzain - Arras Road was made beside the Scarpe River , between 27 April and 4 May 1918 . Drocourt - Quéant — The D - Q Line , as it was commonly known , was but a part of the famous Hindenburg Line , a large series of German fortifications and defensive positions . During the Amiens campaign mentioned above , the 10th Battalion was part of a successful advance along the Arras - Cambrai road towards Viller - lez - Cagnicourt . Acting Sergeant Arthur Knight was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his exemplary courage during this action . Hindenburg Line — The last line of defence for the German Army in the Amiens campaign , broken when Cambrai fell on 9 October 1918 , and the beginning of a German retreat that would not end until the Armistice on 11 November . Canal du Nord — The last major operation of the 10th Battalion , part of the Battle of Cambrai . The Fighting 10th mounted a crossing of this obstacle on 27 – 28 September 1918 , suffering heavy losses . Pursuit to Mons — The fight at Mons in August 1914 had been one of the opening acts of the war on the Western Front , and the city had great sentimental significance to the British , who had lost it to the Germans . The 10th Battalion entered the newly captured city during the war ' s last days , when it was a prime objective for the British Army seeking revenge , and were there when the Armistice was declared . France and Flanders , 1915 – 18 — This battle honour reflects the continuous service by the battalion from February 1915 , when it went into the lines in France , to November 1918 . During the First World War , more than 1300 soldiers were killed while serving as members of the 10th Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force . Postwar . The battalion crossed the Rhine as part of the Canadian occupation force in 1918 , and returned to Canada in 1919 . The battalion remained in existence on paper into 1920 , until the Otter Commission resolved the question of how to perpetuate the CEF in the postwar army . The thorny problem of who would lay claim to the traditions of the 10th Battalion was solved by permitting a dual perpetuation by the Calgary Highlanders and the Winnipeg Light Infantry , whose predecessors had contributed men to the initial drafts that created the 10th in 1914 . Japanese . The 10th Battalion was noted for accepting , apparently without prejudice , significant numbers of Japanese - Canadians into its ranks during the war . Other Canadian battalions rejected these volunteers on racial grounds ; several were decorated for bravery during their service with the 10th Battalion . The Calgary Highlanders Gallery at The Military Museums in Calgary has a dedicated display to the contributions of these soldiers . Regimental associations . Returning veterans created the 10th Battalion Association and remained active as a veterans group in the interwar years . The group was responsible for obtaining a stand of regimental colour s for the battalion in 1953 , which were laid up in Knox United Church in Calgary . In 1956 , the 10th Battalion Association was merged with The Calgary Highlanders Association to become the 10th Battalion Calgary Highlanders Association . In 2012 , this organization changed its name to The Calgary Highlanders Regimental Assocciation . The group is still active today under that designation . Cultural references . The 10th Battalion is depicted in two major films , " Legends of the Fall " , and " Passchendaele " . The pipe tune " Machine Gunner Wally Bennett " was written by a member of the Regimental Pipes and Drums of The Calgary Highlanders in honour of Sergeant Wally Bennett , a veteran of the 10th Battalion . Monuments . Calgary - area soldiers who died with the 10th Battalion are memorialized on the Calgary Soldiers ' Memorial . 10th Battalion soldiers who went missing in combat are listed on the Vimy Memorial and Menin Gate .