<P> All through the night, the Canadians fought to close this gap . On 24 April, the Germans launched another poison gas attack, this time at the Canadian line . In those 48 hours of battle, the Canadians suffered over 6,000 casualties, one man in every three, of whom more than 2,000 died . </P> <P> The next area where Canadians fought was at the Battle of the Somme from the latter half of 1916 . Initially launched as a campaign to relieve pressure from the beleaguered French forces at the Battle of Verdun, the Allied casualties actually exceeded those at Verdun . </P> <P> The battle began on 1 July 1916, and among the first troops to leave their trenches were the men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment . Newfoundland at the time was not a part of the Canadian confederation but was considered a separate dominion; as a result, the Newfoundlanders advanced as part of the 29th Division, not the Canadian Corps . The attack went very poorly for the Newfoundlanders, resulting in massive casualties--of the 801 men that made up the regiment just the day before, only 68 reported for roll call on 2 July, and every officer that had gone over the top had been killed . </P> <P> The Canadian Corps entered the battle in September when it was tasked to secure the small town of Courcelette, France . In the major offensive which began at dawn on September 15 the Canadian Corps, on the extreme left of the attack, assaulted on a 2,200 - yard sector west of the village of Courcelette . By November 11, the 4th Canadian Division finally secured most of the German trenches in Courcelette and then rejoined the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge . </P>

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