_THE 25th BATTALION._
BY CAPT. G. C. M‘ELHENNY.
In endeavoring to write this brief account of the organization, training
and operations of the first Battalion of Nova Scotians to be raised and
equipped in their own Province and also the first from these “the
sea-girt hills and vales,” which have contributed more than their quota
of soldiers, sailors, statesmen, educators and men of affairs in the
past, to man the trenches in France and Flanders, the writer regrets and
wishes it understood that he is not writing from personal observations,
inasmuch as (and this is what he regrets) he was not a member of the
25th Battalion until the spring of 1917. The substance, then, of the
following is compiled from the War Diary of the 25th Canadian Infantry
Battalion, and is submitted to the publishers of this volume at their
request and with the fullest appreciation of the writer’s inability to
do justice to the task of chronicling four and a half years of any
Battalion’s history, least of all the splendid story of the indomitable
courage and tenacious striving toward an ideal which were the
predominant features of this, in several respects, an unique Battalion
in the Canadian Corps.
There are many omissions in the following narrative which the writer
regrets are imperative in order to make it of sufficient brevity to
allow of its publication in this volume. The nominal roll of officers is
as issued by the Department of Militia and Defence on the Battalion’s
sailing from Halifax on May 20, 1915. The summary of decorations awarded
was provided by the Adjutant-General, Canadian Militia, Ottawa, and does
not include the medals won by General Hilliam, C.B., and several other
officers and some other ranks when with Units other than the 25th
Battalion.
It will be interesting to note in the list of original 2nd Division
officers who marched across the Rhine at Bonn on December 13, 1918, that
only two were commissioned officers on September 15, 1915. They are
Major A. W. P. Weston and Lieut. G. M. McNeil, M.C. There were
ninety-six other ranks with the Battalion on both the above-mentioned
dates.
In the narrative there are many points on which the writer would like to
dilate at some length—more especially on some of the deeds of heroism in
the different actions. Of these deeds, practically in the earlier days
(1915 and 1916), more went unrecognized outside the Battalion than the
sum of all the decorations won by the Battalion. To mention more than
the few that fit into the narrative is obviously not feasible.
One thing that cheered the 25th Battalion through all their long service
in France was the pipe band under Pipe-Major Carson. Major J. W. Logan
was responsible for the organization and equipment of this fine band.
There was nothing better in the armies in France.
In pursuance of the Canadian Government’s scheme to raise a Second
Division for service Overseas, Lieut.-Col. G. A. Lecain (69th Regiment),
of Roundhill, Annapolis County, was authorized to mobilize the 25th
Battalion, Canadian Infantry, in Nova Scotia (October, 1914).
Lieut.-Colonel Lecain established headquarters at the Armories, Halifax,
and opened recruiting offices in Sydney, Amherst, New Glasgow, Truro and
Yarmouth. Recruiting commenced late in October, 1914. The official
nominal roll of officers who received appointments to the Battalion is
published here and to them is due the credit of the splendid
organization and training which enabled these sons of New Scotland to
rank second to none with the flower of the British Armies. Mention
should also be made of the fine non-commissioned officers of the
Battalion and those loaned by the Permanent Force, who attended to the
details of training with most commendable zeal.
[Illustration:
LIEUT.-COL. G. A. LECAIN.]
It should be remembered that this was Nova Scotia’s first attempt at
recruiting and organizing a full Battalion for service in the Great War,
and the facilities for the proper fulfilment of such a task were far
from perfect. In view of this then Nova Scotians should be, and, I
think, are, unanimous in their praise of Lieut.-Colonel Lecain and all
ranks of his Battalion for his organizing and so quickly training a Unit
which, though many times decimated and only a skeleton of a Battalion
left, quickly and smoothly absorbed its reinforcements and carried on
with renewed energy and greater deeds toward the high ideal of service
for home and humanity.
The writer has often had it suggested to him that it was a pity the
deeds of the 25th Battalion were not better known by the people at home.
The reply to such a suggestion, on behalf of the Battalion is this: The
reputation of the 25th Battalion was safe in the hands of our comrades
throughout the Canadian Corps, and our exploits in raiding were the
marvel of two armies. These exploits and deeds with their inevitable
accompaniment of blood and death were not fit subjects to press-agent
into the already overwrought family circles, which were possibly in
receipt of one of those missiles of despair and death—an “official
telegram from Ottawa.” We gloried in the encomiums of the Brigade,
Divisional, Corps and Army Commanders, and still more in the hearty
praise of our comrades in the “Y” or the canteens or estaminets. But no
one thought of sending an account home. And why? Well, there were a good
many Bills, and Jocks, and Toms and so on, who “went west” in that
scrap. And what’s the use of making it realistic to Mary and Nora and
Bessie? “No, Pard, we would rather not.”
And there we will leave it and endeavor to adhere to a resolution to
make this brief sketch statistically correct.
Before Christmas Day, 1914, the Battalion was at full strength and had
the authorized ten per cent. reserve in training in the Armories at
Halifax and later on the Common. In April the people of Nova Scotia
presented the Battalion with two fine field kitchens and $2,500, the
ceremony taking place at the Provincial Building, in front of the whole
Battalion on parade and a vast concourse of people.
As evidence of the fine spirit which animated the whole Battalion
the-following is copied from the official War Diary: “A University
Reinforcement Company of the P.P.C.L.I. arrived in the city to embark
for England, and the 25th Battalion was called on to supply seven men to
bring it up to strength. The Battalion was formed up on the Common and
an invitation extended for any who wished to go Overseas at once in this
draft to take one pace forward. The whole Battalion, to a man, stepped
forward making it necessary to search the records and select seven
ex-imperial service men. Privates Aldridge, Baker, Conroy, Cumberland,
Erickson, Kehoe and Leonard were selected.”
On sailing for England aboard _H.M.T.S. Saxonia_ (Captain Charles, R.N.)
on May 20, 1915, Haligonians and many from other points in the Province
witnessed many a moving spectacle as bright countenances fought the
dimming influence of heavy hearts as they wished the boys of the 25th
Godspeed on their journey, and victory in the fight; leaving their safe
return or immortalization in the hands of the Creator who deals justly
and well in all things. With the 25th Battalion on board the _Saxonia_
were those gallant sons of Quebec, the 22nd Battalion. No account of the
doings of the 25th Battalion could do justice to its purpose without
paying tribute to those noble French-Canadians who were continually
associated with the 25th Battalion from embarkation at Halifax on May
20, 1915, to debarkation at the same port on May 16, 1919. Surely there
is a lesson for our politicians and religious bigots in the close
co-operation which marked the attitude of these two Battalions toward
each other throughout the period of their association. Our brave
comrades of the 22nd Battalion showed us that the French-Canadian was
not only generous in sympathy but quick to collaborate with his fellow
Canadians of British descent on the broad principle of national welfare.
In battle, in sports, or in argument over the estaminet tables, proof of
the whole-hearted camaraderie between the 22nd and 25th Battalions was
daily evident and fostered by both Units.
The _Saxonia_ docked at Devonport on May 29, 1915, and her valuable
human cargo took trains for Westenhanger, in Kent County, where they
detrained in the middle of the night and marched to East Sandling Camp,
in the Shorncliffe area, to which the 2nd Canadian Division had been
assigned for the period of their intensive training.
While this training was being carried out the Battalion took part in
Divisional Reviews by H.M. the King, Earl Kitchener, Lieut-General Sir
Sam Hughes and General Steele, as well as one in honor of the visit to
the area by the Premier of Canada, Sir Robert Borden, and Brigade and
Training Inspectors. The 25th Battalion was now a Unit of the 5th
(Eastern Canada) Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division, which consisted of four
Battalions and details (22nd, 24th, 25th and 26th) drawn from Quebec,
Montreal, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Brigade Commander was
Lieut.-Colonel (now Major-General) Sir David Watson, and Major-General
R. W. Turner, V.C., was Divisional Commander.
After three and a half months of eight hours’ training per day, with
four hours of practice in night operations’ frequently, the 2nd Division
was ordered to France. The 25th Battalion proceeded by boat from
Folkestone to Boulogne on the night of September 15, 1915, and by train
on the following day from Pont de Brieques, a few kilometres from
Boulogne, to a small station near St. Omer. From here to the front line
was the first real test of the Battalion’s _morale_ and physical
condition. Marching for five days with new (Kitchener’s) boots over
French and Belgian cobblestone roads, the Battalion relieved the King’s
Own Regiment on the night of the 22nd–23rd of September, 1915, the first
Nova Scotia Battalion to face the Hun as a Unit. And not a man had
dropped out in the gruelling grind of the last four days. The writer has
been told, unofficially, that this was a record for the Division, and
though it has never been confirmed, neither has it been denied.
The first few tours in the front lines were spent in the H and I
trenches, Kemmel Sector of the Ypres Salient, where the Hun was very
active in mining operations. During the Battalion’s second tour, which
extended over six days, Fritz blew one large and three smaller mines on
“B” Company, which killed twelve and wounded twenty, leaving a crater 65
feet by 35 feet and 25 feet deep. This resulted in no advantage to the
enemy, inasmuch as the charge was situated so that it must have done
considerable damage to his trenches, and the crater was promptly
garrisoned by Nova Scotians.
[Illustration:
BRIG.-GEN. E. HILLIAM, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.]
Late in October, 1915, Major E. Hilliam, a 1st Division officer,
succeeded Lieut.-Colonel Lecain in command of the Battalion; and, under
his soldierly guidance, the 25th began to make the Bosche sit up and
notice his surroundings. Under Major (as O.C., Lieut.-Colonel) Hilliam’s
guidance the Battalion became expert in the little tricks which worried
the enemy and made trench life more interesting. Notable among the many
episodes which added spice to the daily routine was a raid on the Hun
trenches by Lieutenant (now Lieut.-Colonel) Wise, and the stalking of a
German patrol in No Man’s Land by Corporal (now Captain) “Ernie”
Canning, which resulted in the capture of one of their number and the
gaining of much information. The small garrison of thirty-five 25th
Battalion men, under Lieutenants Morgan, Johnstone and McNeil, holding
Nos. 1 and 4 craters at St. Eloi in April, 1915, gave the attacking
company of Huns a sample of the unbeatable stuff they are made of.
In April the 25th Battalion took over the line at St. Eloi where they
remained about six weeks. This was beyond a doubt the most trying
experience which the Battalion had to that time or has since been called
upon to endure. There were no front line trenches. Five mine craters had
to be occupied, since the front line trenches were all destroyed, and
the men had to occupy most exposed positions. Every hole and every
remnant remaining of a trench were used as the only possible cover, and
mud, muck and water prevailed. Under continually heavy and harrowing
fire and attacks the Battalion endured, though at the price of the loss
of hundreds of its personnel. The German artillery fire in the Ypres
Salient was the heaviest of the War. With enemy artillery on three
sides, the situation may better be imagined than described. One crater
that was occupied by the Battalion was attacked no less than five times
between dusk and dawn in one night alone, but the crater was held. When
the garrison was relieved there were not enough men left to bring out
the wounded and a relief party had to be sent in for that purpose. On
this front all intercommunication was impossible and isolated parties
held the lines. The Battalion was highly commended by the higher command
for their excellent work on this front.
The Battalion spent 339 days on the Belgian Front, of which 164 days
were spent in actual front line trenches. Many good officers and men
were killed or wounded. Among the former was Lieutenant Douglas, who was
killed while fighting with the 6th (Western) Brigade in the craters of
St. Eloi. Lieutenant Douglas was Battalion Machine Gun Officer and had
been loaned with the machine gun section to the 6th Brigade during the
furious onslaughts which the Hun was making on the craters. The men with
Lieutenant Douglas were all killed excepting five who were captured.
Besides the Kemmel and St. Eloi Sectors, the 25th Battalion were engaged
at Vierstraat, Ploegsteerte, Hill 60, Hooge and Messines. And it was
here, also, that the Battalion obtained “Robert the Bruce,” mascot and
veteran of three years’ service in the land of his birth. It would be
hard for one to see the immense, sleek goat now on the farm of Major
Matheson at Baddeck and endeavor to imagine the same animal, two weeks
old, hardly bigger than a cat, feeding from a bottle in the hands of
Pipe-Major Carson in the kitchen of the band’s billet in Locre. But they
are one and the same animal. The members of the band bought him from the
“Madame” of the house for two francs (40c.), and trained him to “swank”
in front of the pipe band, eat cigarettes, drink beer, and demand his
blanket at “lights out.” He added many other traits and tricks to his
repertoire before the Battalion was disbanded, and many a would-be
possessor of our mascot has felt the force of his “butt” sufficiently to
make them all leave “Robert the Bruce” strictly to his own Battalion.
The 25th Battalion played a leading part in the assault at Courcellette
on September 15, 1916. The whole Corps welcomed the relief from the
ground-hog tactics of the fray in Belgium and looked forward with keen
anticipation to their participation in open warfare tactics on the Somme
in Picardy.
The troops marched a good portion of the long distance from Hazebrouck
to Albert. The 25th Battalion spent a few days on the way in rehearsing
practices in formations for advancing and assaulting and arrived in the
brickfields of Albert where the whole Division and units of the 1st and
3rd Divisions were massed under tarpaulins and corrugated iron, a few
days in advance of September 15, 1916.
The plan of attack on the immediate front of Courcellette was for the
4th (Ontario) Brigade to open the attack on the morning of the fifteenth
(15th) and clear the ground in front of Courcellette and on the
sixteenth (16th) the 5th Brigade would carry on the attack into the
town. The 4th Brigade had their objectives cleared and consolidated so
early in the day that the Divisional Commander decided to put the 5th
Brigade over the top at 6 o’clock in the afternoon. Brig.-General
MacDonnell (5th Brigade) divided the town evenly, pointed out the
objectives to Lieut.-Colonel Tremblay (22nd Battalion) and
Lieut.-Colonel Hilliam, explained that the other two Battalions would be
in support and reserve and sent the Quebecers and Nova Scotians to it.
Both Battalions were led in person by their commanding officers, who set
a fine example of leadership and courage to officers and men. The 25th
and 22nd Battalions established their line well to the east of the
ruined town and maintained their positions in the face of fierce
counter-attacks until relieved a few days later.
This operation, brilliant as it was in execution, cost the Battalion
some of its most capable officers and men. Lieut.-Colonel Hilliam was
wounded in the hand, but refused to leave the line until his Battalion
was relieved. He was in evidence everywhere throughout the attack with
his long stick cheering his men and by his energy and daring urging them
to their best endeavors. In his report to the G.O.C., 5th Brigade, he
praised the work of officers and men very highly, and closed with the
words, “General, I have the honor of commanding the finest body of men I
have ever seen.”
Three Company Commanders, Major Tupper (“A” Company), Major Brooks (“D”
Company), and Capt. John Stairs (“C” Company), were killed, and the O.C.
“B” Company, Major Flowers, was severely wounded. The Adjutant, Captain
Dicky, Lieutenants Hobkirk, Howson, Craig and Doane were killed. The
wounded included Capt. J. D. McNeil, Major Nutter, Lieutenants Wetmore,
Ryan, DeYoung and Dennis Stairs.
Before I pass from the doings of the Battalion on the Somme, it is
necessary, in order to do justice to the narrative, to record the loss
of one of the bravest and most capable officers of the Battalion and one
who gave great promise as a fearless and resourceful fighter for high
ideals. I refer to Lieut. L. H. Johnstone, who led the 25th Battalion in
the fruitless and bloody attack on Regina Trench, October 1st, 1916.
While gallantly leading those men into a veritable hell of machine gun
and shell fire, the “Iron Duke,” as he was nicknamed by the gallant men
he was leading, fell to rise no more.
[Illustration:
CAPT. L. H. JOHNSTONE.]
[Illustration:
MAJOR J. H. TUPPER.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. CHAS. H. HOBKIRK.]
[Illustration:
LIEUT. C. E. HOWSON.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. FRASER CRAIG.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. W. E. E. DOANE.]
When the Battalion finally moved from the Somme area to be reinforced
and recuperated there were less than one hundred of the original
crusaders who marched so gaily from Flanders less than one month
previously. Though they had received a hard drubbing they made the old
nickname of “Herring-choker” one to be respected as long as memory lives
and histories are written. Theirs was not the attitude of the torn and
mangled dog with its tail between its legs. With reinforcements, which
arrived while the remnants of the Battalion rested a few days at
Bertrincourt, near Albert, they were transported to Hersin, and
immediately went into the line at Bully-Grenay, on the Lens Front,
where, with a pugnacity which is typical of the breed, they stirred up a
quiet sector until it became the most frequently raided and most heavily
shelled of their experience.
The first raid on this front, and one of the most successful, was the
enterprise, on Christmas Eve, 1916, directed by Capt. W. A. Cameron and
carried out by an officer and twenty men from each Company. The
objective took in a point in the enemy lines known as the “Pope’s Nose,”
owing to the peculiar twist in the trench which brought it to within
fifteen yards of our line. Each party was successful in gaining entrance
to the Hun trenches. In fact, two of the parties encountered no
opposition, for Fritz had fled for cover. But the party from “D”
Company, under Lieut. (now Capt.) W. A. Livingstone, found their
objective strongly manned and the men were able to get in some splendid
bayonet and Mills bomb work. They saved seven specimens of German Kultur
to tell our Intelligence Staff what they knew about the situation on the
other side of No Man’s Land.
Captain Cameron, Lieutenants Livingstone and Morris received Military
Crosses in recognition of their energy and personal gallantry in the
above affair.
Lieut.-Colonel Hilliam, D.S.O., was promoted to the rank of
Brigadier-General and appointed to the command of the 10th Infantry
Brigade, 4th Canadian Division, in January, 1917. The Battalion at
having their C.O. selected for a higher command recognized that no
promotion in the Allied Forces was more deserved; but regret at the
Battalion’s loss was expressed by all ranks. The effects of his
soldierly training and administration of the Battalion remained with
them throughout the War.
In the attack on Vimy Ridge, Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, the 25th
Battalion was led by Major J. A. Delancey, M.C., until that brave
officer was killed, after which Major (now Colonel) A. O. Blois, of
Halifax (who had enlisted as a private in the 40th Battalion, been
appointed to a commission in the 64th Battalion, transferred a subaltern
to the 25th Battalion and had progressed at that date through the
Adjutancy of the Battalion to the rank of Major), took command, and
organized and consolidated the objectives which had all been secured by
ten o’clock and were extended later in the day.
[Illustration:
LIEUT. J. HALLISEY.]
[Illustration:
CAPT. J. H. WALLACE.]
Two of the Battalion pipers played the boys over the top that wintry
morning, and although the German band and our own artillery drowned the
skirling notes of the pibroch, our lads were fired with the spirit which
prompted these two noble musicians to volunteer and insist on
accompanying the Battalion through the muck and mire, the death and
destruction which was let loose on that fateful day. They were awarded
Military Medals for their splendid example of self-sacrificing disregard
for personal safety.
Lieutenant Hallisey, of Truro, was killed while proceeding to the
“jumping off” position. Several officers were wounded, and the
casualties among the N.C.O.’s and men were very heavy. The death of
R.S.M. “Dad” Henchcliffe, M.C., father of all the N.C.O.’s and men in
the Battalion, was particularly regrettable; for he was a very efficient
warrant officer and a friend to all.
[Illustration:
LIEUT.-COL. “STAN” BAULD.]
Lieut.-Colonel Bauld commanded the Battalion at the taking of Fresnoy
and Arleux late in February. While these were only local affairs and
confined to a narrow front, they were the cause of some very severe
casualties. “D” and “C” Companies suffered very severely at Arleux.
Captain Weare, M.C., was severely shell-shocked, Lieutenants Bell and
Wallace, two very promising young officers, were killed, and scores of
our men caught in the wire, in the darkness, were literally shot to
pieces.
Shortly after this affair, two officers’ batmen from “C” Company went
astray in the darkness with their officers’ rations and strayed into the
enemy lines. Their whereabouts was a matter of conjecture until the
publication of the roll of prisoners of war. In the thirty-eight months
during which the 25th Battalion was in contact with the flower of the
German War Lord’s Legions, only eight of our men were captured alive.
The five machine-gunners have already been noted. They were detached
from the Battalion at the time of their capture. The two mentioned above
were the victims of a dark night and unfamiliar recently captured
ground. The eighth man to be captured was taken on the Mericourt Sector
early in 1918 during a raid by a party of three officers and ninety Huns
on a thinly held portion of the sector. We also succeeded in capturing
one of the raiding party who was unfortunate enough to get into our wire
entanglements. A great deal of information was gleaned from the captive
regarding the training and composition of the raiding party. The man who
was captured by the enemy had only joined the Battalion a few days
previously. So what information the German Intelligence Staff gleaned
from him must have been purely family affairs.
Early in July, 1917, Lieut.-Colonel Bauld obtained leave of absence to
visit his home, and the command of the Battalion devolved on Major
Blois, D.S.O., who commanded the 25th, until he in turn was granted
leave to Canada in May, 1918.
[Illustration:
COL. A. G. BLOIS, D.S.O.]
The 25th Battalion played a glorious part in the Battle of Hill 70 on
August 15, 1917. The boys went over the top from the shell-holes of No
Man’s Land in front of Cité St. Laurent. “A” Company, in the first wave,
secured the Hun front line. “B” Company was through them as soon as the
creeping barrage permitted and clinched the support line, while “D”
Company carried on to the limits of the town. The 24th Battalion then
pushed on our positions 600 yards farther to the trench “Nun’s Alley.”
Considering the amount of ground gained and the nature of the fighting,
in ruined streets and over demolished buildings, the casualties were
very light on the 15th. But the Hun artillery promptly laid down a
barrage to cover his counter-attacks, which fell behind the front line
and completely churned up the debris formerly known as Cité St. Laurent,
where the 25th Battalion was endeavoring to establish a defensive
position. The counter-attacks of the Bosche gradually weakened, and by
the 18th had ceased; but his artillery strafing grew more intense as the
days passed, causing many casualties.
On the night of August 19–20, the 25th Battalion moved from their
positions in Cité St. Laurent to the comparative peace and quiet of the
front line. At daybreak the 6th Brigade on our immediate right were to
attack and tighten the pressure already exercised on Lens. The Hun also
divulged his reason for the systematic and furious shelling of our
positions during the past six days when he launched an attack in force
on the 6th Brigade and extending into our right (“D” Company’s front).
The O.C. “D” Company, being in an advanced position and close to our own
artillery barrage line, was ordered to place his men under cover, which
he did, leaving only sentries at the entrances to shelters.
[Illustration:
CAPT. OWEN C. DAUPHINEE.]
Zero hour for the 6th Brigade’s and the German attack coincided and both
were demoralized by the intensity of the artillery fire they encountered
before the assembly positions could be cleared. The result was that
neither the 6th Brigade nor the Prussians opposite them left their
trenches. But the artillery was not so active on the Front of our “D”
Company, with the result that the Huns were throwing grenades down on
our dugout steps before our men realized that they were trapped.
Lieutenant Dauphinee was killed in a gallant attempt to clear the
entrance to the dugout in which the whole Company was sheltered. Captain
W. A. Livingstone, M.C., O.C. “D” Company, managed to force his way out
by another entrance, and with a Lewis Gun spitting .303 bullets from his
shoulder, he managed to clear the trench of those who escaped his
fusilade. But the trench was literally filled with corpses from the
attacking hordes. Nor was the situation normal as yet. A party of Huns
had got in on the right of our boundary, and Lieutenant Spurr and
Sergeant Jordan, after expelling them, organized the survivors of the
Company of a Western Battalion, who had lost all their officers and were
in a precarious condition. The boys of “D” Company, reinforced by a
platoon from “B” Company, which had been led up through the intense
shelling by Lieutenant Bell, were busy all day repelling bombing parties
which stubbornly attempted to force their way into our lines at the
Battalion boundary-the junction of Nun’s Alley and Commotion Trenches.
Captain Livingstone, whose work on this day merited the Victoria Cross,
was severely wounded in the chest and collapsed immediately after he had
cleared the Huns from his trenches, and Lieutenant Spurr commanded his
company until relieved by a company of the Royal Canadian Regiment at
night. Great credit is due Lieutenants Gibbons and Bell for their skill
and judgment in rallying our boys and organizing the defences. The
coolness of Sergeant Jordan saved the situation on the immediate right,
when he rallied the overwrought survivors of the Western Battalion.
Corporal Boudreau, Company Sergt.-Major Bragg, Corporal Veniot, and
Sergt. “Dan” Fraser also distinguished themselves in inflicting
punishment on the Hun and by their heroic conduct throughout the day.
Company Sergt.-Major Bragg and Sergeant Jordan were awarded
Distinguished Conduct Medals for their services on this occasion.
Captain Livingstone, M.C., was awarded a bar, and Lieutenant Spurr, the
Military Cross.
At Passchendaele, on November 10, 1917, the 5th Infantry Brigade was
given the post of honor as a successful assaulting Brigade. The 1st, 3rd
and 4th Divisions and the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Division had been
engaged in nibbling here and there at the Hun positions and had at
length captured most of the Passchendaele Ridge. But the ruined town
still remained in German hands. On the morning of the 6th November the
26th Battalion attacked and captured the ruins to the eastern limits of
the town and after holding their gains for four days the 5th Brigade was
withdrawn from the Passchendaele Sector, and returned to Lens.
The 2nd Canadian Division remained in the Lens-Mericourt Sectors until
the latter part of February, 1918. The only notable occurrence, other
than the loss of one man to the Huns, as previously noted, was the
stealth raid led by Lieut. P. R. Phillips, of Barrington, assisted by a
covering party under Lieut. Max MacRae, of Westville. The raiding party
of only five crawled over the Lens-Arras Road and made their way among
the battered houses of Lens to one of the buildings of Fosse 3 and
destroyed a dugout full of “Heinies,” bringing the sentry who was on
duty at the entrance into our lines. The prisoner proved to be a very
observant chap and a great deal of information was gleaned from him.
When questioned as to the great offensive which our Staff expected
daily, he said no attack would be made on the Canadians. Fritz had
probably had his fill of attacking Canucks when he broke his head on
them in the First Battle of Ypres, at St. Eloi and the Barrier.
The 2nd Division had completed ten days.of what was to be a months’ rest
when the long-expected Hun offensive broke away south on the British
right on March 21st. The 25th Battalion had only started their syllabus
of training and recreation when they were ordered south. The northern
limits of this effort of the Hun was marked by the southern boundary of
the Canadian Corps’ front, and here the 2nd Division took over the
completely disorganized line of the Imperial troops. The sector was
known as the Mercatel-Neuville Vetasse Sector. Here the 25th Battalion
was engaged three months in punishing the German Division opposite. Each
period of six days spent in the front line was marked by a raid on the
enemy outposts, and sometimes our boys penetrated three-quarters of a
mile into the Hun lines. So completely terrorized was Fritz by the
vigorous onslaughts which occurred almost nightly and several times in
broad daylight that no resistance was offered in most cases, and at
length the news was gleaned from some of the last prisoners that the
whole Division had to be withdrawn for re-equipment.
[Illustration:
LIEUT.-COL. J. WISE, D.S.O., M.C., CROIX DE GUERRE.]
The 25th Battalion established themselves as the “Master Raiders” of the
Canadian Corps, and were called on for some officers and
non-commissioned officers to instruct the famous Guards Division in the
new and most effective art of keeping Fritz worried. Six of the raids
conducted on this front were led by one officer, Lieut. (now Major) Max
MacRae, every one of which netted prisoners, besides machine guns and
documents. Among the other officers taking part in these raids were
Captains Anderson and Holmes, Lieutenants Lounsbury, Hawes, Bell,
Johnstone, Holly, Burchell, Spurr, and Wright. It was here that the
Battalion established its record of successful raids and became known
throughout the 1st and the 4th Armies as the “Raiding Battalion,”
putting on about thirty raids in this sector.
Lieut.-Colonel (now Colonel) Blois, D.S.O., was granted leave to Canada
and handed the Battalion over to Major (now Lieut.-Colonel) Wise in May,
1918.
At the battle of Amiens, August 8, 1918, when the Canadian Corps was
first launched into the grand offensive which broke the German morale
and brought them begging for peace, the 25th Battalion was on the left
of the Canadian Corps and in touch with the dashing Australian Corps on
their left. The attack, like that of nearly two years previous at
Courcellette, was made with the 4th Brigade taking Villers, Brettonneux,
and Marcelcave on the Amiens-Roye Railway, and a considerable stretch of
country to the right of those towns. The plans were so well guarded and
the assemblage of troops, guns, etc., so effectively concealed, that the
enemy was utterly stunned at the suddenness of the attack and the speed
with which it was pushed.
After the 4th Brigade had established their line in front of Marcelcave
the 5th Brigade carried on the attack through Wiencourt and
Guillaucourt. The 25th Battalion encountered considerable opposition in
a small wood south of Wiencourt; and it was there that most of the
casualties occurred. Lieut. J. W. Holly, of St. John, was killed by
machine-gun fire, and thirteen other officers were wounded in ousting
the Huns from this wood.
[Illustration:
CAPT. N. H. WETMORE.]
At Guillaucourt, Lieut.-Colonel Wise, who was the first to arrive at the
objective, fell, severely wounded by a sniper’s bullet. The Adjutant,
Capt. N. H. Wetmore, utterly disregarding his own safety, sprang to his
O.C.’s assistance and became the target for a better directed bullet
from the same sniper and fell, never to rise again.
Major Day, second in command, who had been acting as a Brigade liaison
officer during the attack, immediately assumed command of the Battalion
and directed it in the advance on the following day when the towns of
Vrely and Meharicourt were taken. After having advanced twelve miles in
two days, the 2nd Division gave place to the 4th, who carried on to the
outskirts of Hallu. This attack was certainly the most successful in
which the 25th Battalion had thus far been engaged. An immense area of
beautiful country with some important towns had been taken from the Hun,
with surprisingly few casualties.
After a few days in the line in front of Hallu, the Battalion was moved
to Berneville, near Arras, where the details were left behind and we
were into it again—over Telegraph Hill and down the eastern slope to the
Cojuel River on August 26th—a distance of four miles—fighting all the
way; then across the dried-up bed of the stream on the 27th to Cherisy
and past the Sensee River to the heights beyond; and then a tightening
up of the Hun resistance, which meant a fruitless hammering at the
strongly wired positions in front of Upton Wood and “the Crow’s Nest” on
the 28th.
The 2nd Division had not rested since the 5th of August, and had
penetrated to great depths in the enemy’s lines on two fronts. The tired
troops could accomplish no more. The writer can testify that men
actually fell asleep on their feet on the night of the 28th–29th of
August, when a counter-attack was imminent. The state of mind of men
when so thoroughly exhausted as our boys were at the end of the third
day, is one that cares not what may happen to a body so completely worn
out. It is then that sentiment—love of home, Battalion pride, and the
shame of weakness—asserts itself and supports a man when everything
tangible is wobbling.
[Illustration:
CAPT. M. L. TUPPER.]
“C” Company lost a splendid officer when Capt. M. L. Tupper was killed.
A relative of Major J. H. Tupper, who “paid the price” at Courcellette
in 1916, he had shown a fearlessness in the face of the enemy and a
conscientiousness in all his duties which well merited his appointment
as O.C. “C” Company.
The Battalion had a respite of two days at Hautes Avesnes, on the
Arras-St. Pol Road, over the anniversary of the landing in France and
the Battle of Courcellette, September 15th, and was then continuously in
the forward area until after the fall of Cambrai on October 9, 1918,
engaging the Hun in the Inchy-Moeuvres and the Marcomg Switch Sectors,
and clearing the Hun from the towns of Eseadoeueres and Ievuy, on the
northern outskirts of Cambrai. “B” Company, under Lieutenant (now Major)
MacRae, M.C. (two bars), did splendid work at Inchy on the 21st and 22nd
September, when they captured seven machine guns, killing the crews and
straightening out a kink in our line.
In this wonderful last hundred days of the War, when the Hun had to be
dislodged from the positions he had been preparing since his first check
at the Marne in 1914, the deeds of valor which were enacted daily and
hourly were too numerous to refer to here at any length. But mention may
be made of some of the more notable recipients of War Decorations
awarded officers, N.C.O.’s and men, who served with the 25th Battalion.
First in the list must come Lieut.-Colonel (now Brig.-General) Hilliam,
who won the D.S.O. and two bars for personal gallantry in the field and
was mentioned in despatches four times. He was also invested with the
insignia of a Companion of the Bath (C.B.) and that of a Companion of
the Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.). Another officer who
carries two rows of medals on his breast is Major G. McL. Matheson,
D.S.O., M.C., and M.M. Lieut.-Colonel Wise wears the D.S.O. and the
M.C., with the French Croix de Guerre. Lieut. M. M. Jordan wears the
M.C., D.C.M. and Bar.
Capt. Max MacRae was awarded the Military Cross three times. Company
Sergt.-Major Dauphinee and Corporal Leggett each were awarded the
Military Medal three times. Regimental Sergt.-Major Hurley was awarded
the Military Cross, D.C.M. and French Croix de Guerre. Company
Sergt.-Major Boudreau received the Croix de Virtute (Roumanian) besides
the D.C.M., M.M. and Bar. Private Mickarek won the Russian Cross of St.
George. And many officers and men won Military Crosses, D.C.M.’s, M.M.’s
and Bars. A summary of the Battalion’s record of awards is given further
below.
The last occasion on which the 25th Battalion was in hostile contact
with the Hun was at the storming of Elouges, a mining town near Mons, on
November 8, 1918. The casualties, though very light, only eleven men
being killed, included some of the originals who had seen the thing
through to this ringing down of the curtain. Some eleven, including
Company Sergt.-Major George Vincent, D.C.M., Corpl. John Morrison and
“Billie” Roberts, who had weathered the storm only to be swept over at
the harbor’s mouth, lie asleep in the little civilian cemetery at
Elouges, where their graves will be guarded and cared for by the
grateful people of the town, who welcomed the Battalion as liberators.
The boys of the Battalion were enjoying their “lionization” by the
populace at Mons when the news was received at 9 a.m. on November 11,
1918, that we had but two hours more of hostilities when the Armistice
would become effective.
The remaining three days were given over to celebrating what had been
fought for, and prayed for during the last four years—_Victory_. A
Thanksgiving Service was held in the little chapel in the town,
conducted by the brave chaplain who had stuck to us through the “Last
Hundred Days”—Capt. A. J. MacDonald. And the local pastor addressed us
in an impassioned Address of Thanks in French, out of which the writer
distinguished only the oft-repeated phrase, “Merci beaucoup, nos
liberateurs.”
On November 19, 1918, the Battalion started on the long march to the
Rhine. We crossed the German border near St. Vith at 10.08 a.m.,
December 5th, with the Union Jack flying at the head of the column. At
10.47 a.m., December 13th, the Battalion crossed the Rhine at Bonn and
proceeded to the “Cologne Bridgehead Outpost Line,” where we had the
satisfaction of telling the Hun how he should act and also the pleasure
of enforcing our instructions on him.
After six weeks on the Rhine, during which all ranks had an opportunity
of visiting the famous cities of Cologne, Bonn and Coblenz, the
Battalion returned to Belgium and went into billets at Arvelais, near
Namur. On April 5, 1919, we started for Havre, and on the night of the
9th embarked on the old _Prince Arthur_, formerly of the Boston-Yarmouth
service, and on the morning of the 10th arrived at Southampton and
proceeded by train to Witley Camp in Surrey, where, after a month’s
sojourn awaiting documents from the Record Office, we sailed from
Southampton on the _Olympic_, May 10, 1919.
On board were the whole 5th Brigade and the 29th Battalion, 6th Brigade.
After an uneventful though pleasant voyage, and to the accompaniment of
the music of several bands and the shrill whistles of factories, boats
and auto horns on both sides of Halifax Harbor, the _Olympic_ docked at
Pier 2; and after a farewell to the 22nd, 24th, 26th and 29th we lined
up for our march to the Armories, which triumphal procession, to the
writer, seemed to be but a part of a great dream, as the memory of the
exile from home now seems but an hallucination.
TOTAL NUMBER OF DECORATIONS WON IN THE WAR BY OFFICERS AND OTHER RANKS
OF THE 25TH BATTALION, NOVA SCOTIA REGIMENT.
Decoration. Other
Officers. Ranks.
D.S.O. 5
M.C. 37 2
2nd Bar to M.C. 1
Bar to M.C. 6
D.C.M. 27
Bar to D.C.M. 2
M.M. 156
Bar to M.M. 25
2nd Bar to M.M. 2
M.S.M. 8
Croix de Guerre 3 5
Russian Cross of St. George 1
Croix de Virtute Militata (Roumania) 1
Medaille Barbatie si Credinta, 3rd Class (Roumania) 1
—— ———
Total 51 230
Mentioned in Despatches, officers, 17; other ranks, 15.
LIST OF ORIGINAL OFFICERS OF THE 25TH BATTALION.
Lieut.-Col. Lecain, G. A., O.C. Roundhill, Ann. Co. 69th Regt.
„ Sponagle, J. A., M.D. Middleton, N.S. C.A.M.C.
Major Bauld, D. S., “D” Co. Halifax 66th Regt.
„ Conrad, W. H., 2nd Comd. „ 63rd „
„ Jones, A. N., “A” Co. „ C.F.A.
„ McKenzie, J. G., “B” Co. Westville 78th Regt.
„ MacRae, D. A., “C” Co. Baddeck 94th „
„ McKenzie, L. H., Adjt. Stellarton 78th „
„ Weston, A. W. P., Jr. Maj. Halifax 66th „
Hon. Capt. Graham, E. E., Chap. Arcadia C.M.R.
Capt. Holt, C. W. Amherst 93rd Regt.
„ Logan, J. W., “C” Co. Halifax 63rd „
Hon. Capt. McPherson, D., Chap. Sydney Mines, C.B.
Capt. Margeson, J. W., Paymaster Bridgewater 75th „
„ Medcalfe, W. B., “B” Co. Halifax 66th „
„ Purney, W. P., “D” Co. Liverpool 68th „
„ Tupper, J. H., “A” Co. Bridgetown 69th „
„ Whitford, W. L., “D” Co. Chester 75th „
Lieut. Brooks, E. J., “A” Co. Falmouth
„ Bullock, L. N. B., “D” Co. Halifax 63rd „
„ Cameron, W. A., “A” Co. St. John, N.B.
„ Delancey, J. A., “M.G.” Middleton 93rd „
„ Eville, C. K., “B” Co. Halifax 81st „
„ Grant, J. W., “B” Co. Amherst S.A.
„ Grant, J. A., “B” Co. Halifax 63rd Regt.
„ Johnstone, L. H., “C” Co. Sydney 81st „
„ Longley, H. G., “Trpt.” Paradise 69th „
„ Macaloney, C. W. Halifax
„ Morgan, E., “D” Co. Bear River 69th „
„ Mosher, C. M. Mahone Bay 75th „
„ Murphy, V. P., “D” Co. New Ross 75th „
„ McKay, K. L., “A” Co. Inverness 94th „
„ McKinnon, D., “A” Co. Woodbine 94th „
„ McLeod, H. A., “B” Co. Salt Springs, Pic. Co. 78th „
„ McNiel, G. M., “A” Co. Iona 94th „
„ McNiel, J. D., “C” Co. Whitney Pier S.A.
„ Newnham, T. F., “Qmst.” Halifax R.C.G.A.
„ Roberts, G. E., “C” Co. „
„ Smith, B. H. „ 66th Regt.
„ Stairs, J. C., “A” Co. „ 66th „
„ Tanner, F. I., “C” Co. Pictou C.F.A.
„ Young, G. R. Kentville C.M.R.
67001 R.S.M. Miles, H. F. Halifax R.C.R.
Strength of Unit on proceeding to France on Sept. 15th, 1915.
Officers. Other Ranks.
32 1,000
Reinforcements after coming to France.
Officers. Other Ranks.
231 3,829
Wounded and sick to England.
Officers. Other Ranks.
156 2,557
Killed in action and died in hospital.
Officers. Other Ranks.
32 686
Missing. Prisoners. Transferred.
Off. O.Rs. Off. O.Rs. Off. O.Rs.
2 64 8 37 682