The Division’s battlefield initiation came immediately at Mount Sorrel from June 2 to 13, 1916. Despite devastating early losses, including the near destruction of the 4th Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles (89 per cent casualties in the opening hours, leaving only 76 unwounded). Troops from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) and others held key positions under intense fire. One isolated PPCLI company fought for 18 hours against overwhelming odds. Canadian counterattacks, supported by the full Corps, reclaimed the ground and pushed the line forward 1,000 yards.
The cost was high, but the lesson was clear: the 3rd Division would never yield.
Across the war, more than 55,000 soldiers passed through the Division’s ranks as it fought from Mount Sorrel through the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Amiens, the Scarpe and the final Pursuit to Mons, advancing through the mud, machine‑gun fire and artillery barrages that defined the Western Front.
The Division carried that momentum into Flers‑Courcelette, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights in the Battle of the Somme (July‑November 1916), Vimy Ridge (April 1917), the Scarpe (August 1917), Passchendaele (October 1917), Amiens (August 1918), and the final Pursuit to Mons (August‑November 1918).