CANADA’S PART IN THE WORLD WAR
New Relations Toward the Empire—Military Preparations—The Great Camp at
Valcartier—The Canadian Expeditionary Force—Political Effect of
Canada’s Action on Future of the Dominion
The sailing of the First Canadian Contingent on October 2, 1914, for
England, en route to the theater of war, marked a noteworthy epoch in
Canadian history. For the first time the Dominion took her place, not
as a British colony, but as a component part of the British Empire.
This position was established by the voluntary offer of expeditionary
troops to be raised, equipped, and paid by Canada for the defense of
the British empire.
For many years a movement had been on foot to bring about this attitude
on the part of the Dominion by His Majesty’s government.
No such action was taken by the Dominion in the South African War,
though a Canadian regiment was raised for the guarding of Halifax so
that the regiment of British soldiers doing garrison duty there might
be released for service at the front, and all other troops who left
Canada went simply as volunteers to join the British army, though
raised by the Dominion government.
When the situation in South Africa reached a critical stage and there
were fears of German interference on behalf of the Boers it became
clear that the British government strongly desired a helping hand from
Canada for political reasons. It seemed a good time to show a solid
front and a united Empire. Later, on October 3d, there came a request
for 500 men from the British Colonial Secretary. No immediate action
was taken on this, but on October 13th, the government passed an
Order-in-Council for the raising of 1,000 volunteers and providing for
their equipment and transportation. But these men were really British
volunteers, not Canadian troops, as once at the front they became
British soldiers under British pay. This contingent was known as a
“Special Service Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry,”
and did not belong in any sense to the organized troops of the
Dominion, either regular or militia, although they approached more
nearly to that status than in any previous case of assistance given by
the Dominion to the Empire.
In the Indian Mutiny in 1857 a regiment was raised in Canada by the
British government known as the 100th Prince of Wales Royal Canadian
Regiment” and in the Empire’s other wars, such as the Crimean and the
Soudanese, there were always Canadian volunteers in the British forces.
MILITARY PREPARATIONS
The declaration of war by Great Britain on Germany made on the night of
August 4, 1914, found the people of the Dominion not wholly unprepared
for the situation. For some time ways of helping the mother country had
been the chief topic both in government circles and among the people at
large. This is best instanced by the following telegram sent by His
Royal Highness, the governor-General, to the Secretary of State for the
colonies, Rt. Hon. Lewis Harcourt.
“Ottawa, August 1, 1914
In view of the impending danger of war involving the Empire my advisers
are anxiously considering the most effective means of rendering every
possible aid, and will welcome any suggestions and advice which
Imperial naval and military authorities may deem it expedient to offer.
They are confident that a considerable force would be available for
service abroad, as under section sixty-nine of Canadian Militia Act the
active militia can only be placed on active service beyond Canada for
the defense thereof. It has been suggested that regiments might enlist
as Imperial troops for a stated period, Canadian Government undertaking
to pay all necessary financial provisions for their equipment, pay and
maintenance. This proposal has not yet been maturely considered here
and my advisers would be glad to have views of Imperial Government
thereon. Arthur”
This offer from Canada preceded similar offers from Australia, India,
South Africa and Egypt.
The response to this came in the following cable from His Majesty.
“London, August 4, 1914
Please communicate to your ministers following message from His Majesty
the king and publish:
‘I desire to express to my people of the Overseas Dominions with what
appreciation and pride I have received the messages from their
respective governments during the last few days. These spontaneous
assurances of their fullest support recalled to me the generous
self-sacrificing help given by them in the past to the Mother country.
I shall be strengthened in the discharge of the great responsibilities
which rest upon me by the confident belief that in this time of trial
my Empire will stand united, calm, resolute, and trusting in God.
George R.I. Harcourt”
Mr. Harcourt also cabled advising that although there was not
immediately need for an expeditionary force it would be advisable to
take all legislative and other steps necessary to the providing of such
a force in case it should be required later.
The declaration of the war by Great Britain was officially recognized
in Canada on August 5th, in a message from the Governor-General,
beginning:
“Whereas a state of war now exists between this country and Germany.”
On the following day came a call to the militia for active service and
Canada had gone on record as having accepted her responsibilities as an
integral part of the Empire. She was sending troops to help England not
as volunteers who were to become British soldiers, but as Canadian
soldiers, enlisted, clothed, armed, equipped and paid by Canadian
dollars.
Shortly after this came another cablegram from Mr. Harcourt gratefully
accepting the offer of the expeditionary force and requesting that it
be sent forward as quickly as possible. This cablegram was supplemented
by another suggesting one army division as a suitable composition for
this expeditionary force. The terms of enlistment were to be as
follows:
“(a) For a term of one year unless war lasts longer than one year, in
which case they will be retained until war is over. If employed with
hospitals, depots of mounted units, and as clerks, et cetera, they may
be retained after termination of hostilities until services can be
dispensed with, but such retention shall in no case exceed six months.
“(b) To be attached to any arm of service should it be required of
them.”
An army division of war strength consists of about 22,500 men composing
all branches of the service.
While the call to arms found Canada prepared morally and financially,
it found the country sadly unprepared from the standpoint of equipment.
It was necessary to buy or make rifles, uniforms, guns and equipment of
every description to increase the limited supply on hand to the
necessary point. The quantity and variety of supplies required by an
army division seems mountainous to the civilian. They ran the entire
gamut from shoe laces to motor trucks, and these had to be purchased at
the high prices caused by sudden demand wherever it was possible to
obtain them in quantities with the greatest speed.
In this great work of mobilization Canada’s fine railway organizations
played a great and necessary part. With their aid and that of many
prominent men in Canadian affairs the question of the gathering of
materials at selected points went ahead rapidly.
The matter of enlistments held equally important sway. An order in
council authorized an army of 22,218 officers and men and the
recruiting officers wasted no time in setting about their work. All
over the Dominion men had been drilling ever since the danger of war
became acute. The organized militia was hard at work. Volunteers were
being rapidly gathered and after a thorough medical examination were
put in charge of a drill sergeant. There was no difficulty in getting
men and the recruiting officers from the first were overwhelmed with
applications. Canada was going to the aid of the mother country, not
unwillingly, not with hesitancy, not with parsimony, but with a great
rush of enthusiasm to save the Empire, Our Empire!
THE GREAT CAMP AT VALCARTIER
The problem of concentrating this huge body of men soon became a real
one. A great mobilization camp was needed. A place not too far from the
Atlantic, with ample railroad facilities, large and roomy enough for
the maneuvering of large bodies of men as well as their housing in
tents, must be found. A further qualification was that this great camp
should be located in a position of strategic importance and one which
could be defended should the necessity arise.
Such a place was found at Valcartier, a small village some sixteen
miles from the City of Quebec on the line of the Canadian Northern
Railway.
When the war was declared the government did not own Valcartier and few
people had ever heard of it. Soon, however, the name began to grow more
familiar with the newspapers and in a day or two the place became
government property. For the purpose it proved ideal.
Great expanse of level country provided an ideal maneuvering ground.
The site of the camp itself was high enough for good drainage and the
Jacques Cartier River provided an abundance of good water.
But with the acquisition of the ground the work had just begun. It was
necessary to erect tents for the housing of 30,000 men. A commissary
for their subsistence must be provided. Stores and storehouses had to
be rushed to the spot and there was a huge amount of work of a more or
less permanent character in the shape of water works with many miles of
piping, shower baths, drinking troughs, an electric light plant and the
like. The engineers were called upon immediately to lay out the camp
and its many auxiliary features. A rifle range, the largest in the
world, was immediately planned and put in operation for the training of
the soldiers, for few men unacquainted with military life are able to
handle modern high-powered military rifles with any degree of success,
although the average man, under capable instructors, rapidly becomes
proficient. Artillery ranges in the Laurentian Hills were established
for the training of the field artillery. Here the big sixty-pounders,
which throw a shell for nearly five miles, first woke the echoes.
A great bridge-building record was made by the men of the Royal
Canadian Engineers under the direction of Major W. Bethune Lindsay of
Winnipeg. The Jacques Cartier River separates the main camp from the
artillery practice grounds at the base of Mounts Ileene and Irene.
Across this 350 feet of waterway the Royal Canadian Engineers built
within four hours a barrel-pier pontoon bridge capable of carrying
heavy batteries. The Major and his three hundred men worked with that
well-ordered efficiency which characterizes the efforts of the British
bred. The race for the record started with the Canadian Northern
Railway. The materials barrels, planking, etc. were freighted on to the
ground with remarkable dispatch. The casks were made watertight, the
timber was made ready, the twenty-foot bank cut down to provide an easy
grade for traffic, and the actual test was on.
There was never a hitch. One party of men lashed the barrels to the
heavy planks, and, as soon as that operation was complete, another
party lifted the pier and carried it down the bank. Another squad of
men conveyed it on to the water, where it was taken in charge by still
another party and floated out to the front line. The pier was drawn
quickly into position, and as many men as could work with freedom soon
had the flooring spiked down. The actual bridging commenced at eight
o’clock; the span was complete at ten minutes after twelve. The extra
ten minutes were accounted for by the fact that on one or two occasions
passing bodies of other troops necessitated a temporary cessation of
carrying operations.
Col. Burstall, Director of Artillery at the Camp, visited the work
during the morning and expressed his astonishment at the progress
effected. Ordinarily it is a good day’s work to throw a bridge of this
class across a three-hundred foot stream. Col. G. F. Maunsell, Director
General of Engineering Service in Canada, who is attached to
headquarters at Ottawa, also paid close attention to the task and was
vastly pleased with the result. Col. Morrison, Ottawa, of the Artillery
Service, hurried a gun across the bridge when completed, establishing
its efficiency at once. Without doubt the brother officers of Major
Lindsay, in all branches of the service, were extremely gratified at
the efficiency and despatch of the men making up the Royal Canadian
Engineers at the big camp.
Of course, the railway problem of moving the thousand or more troop
trains which were rushing from all parts of Canada to Valcartier was a
huge one. In this they had to cope with the great quantity of supplies
and equipment which was daily forwarded. At Valcartier it was necessary
for the Canadian Northern to form a loop for the rapid handling of
these trains so that a constant stream of trains was kept continually
moving in both directions without interruption.
Great hardships and inconveniences resulted in many cases from the lack
of proper equipment. It was colder down in Quebec than in many other
parts of the Dominion and a great many men were without sufficient
blankets to keep them warm. Uniforms were scarce and army shoes fit for
the work of drills and maneuvers even scarcer. Gradually, however,
these deficiencies were supplied, recruits began to show amazing
progress in the art of soldiering and little by little the great camp
lost its motley appearance and became an efficient military
organization in which rigid discipline and high efficiency prevailed.
In six weeks Valcartier’s 30,000 were ready, ready for England and the
final polish which was to fit them for the test of battle. They could
even have been sent to the front. It seemed that this was not yet
necessary.
THE CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
But it was decided that the time had come for this great body of troops
to leave. The original plan of sending a division of 22,500 men was
supplemented by the dispatch of the remaining 7,500 as a reserve to
prevent the delay in getting them to the front should the necessity
arise suddenly. Members of the government spoke of a possible second or
third contingent, as experience had taught them that it would be as
easy to raise 100,000 men as it had been to raise 30,000. At a given
time the evacuation of Valcartier began. Thirty-two transports lay in
the St. Lawrence prepared to take the division to England, and soon the
first contingent began to move toward the sea. The British fleet had
cleared the ocean of all but a few scattered German cruisers, and these
were amply guarded against by the warships which acted as escorts. And
so, on the second day of October Canada’s first great pledge of loyalty
left the shores of the Dominion to go to the defense of the Empire.
On October 15th the transports reached Plymouth, England, and were
received with greatest enthusiasm. An English newspaper, The Western
Morning News, spoke of the arrival the next morning in the following
terms:
“The arrival of the fleet of transports with the first contingent of
Canadian forces on board was an event of good augury for the future of
the war. These splendid men have come, some of them nearly 6,000 miles,
to testify to the unity of the Empire and take their share of the
burden which rests upon Britons the world over of being the stoutest
champions of justice and liberty. Even if their numbers were smaller we
should hail their arrival as a symbol of the solidarity of the British
race, but they come a large number in themselves, yet only the earnest
of many more to come if they are needed to help in defeating the
imposition of German tyranny and militancy on the world. The cheers
they raised for the old country as they steamed into the harbor
yesterday, and the splendid vigor and spirit they displayed, showed
they have both the will and the power to give a good account of
themselves at the front and prove worthy comrades of the dauntless band
of heroes who, under Sir John French, have won the unstinted admiration
of our French and Russian and Belgian allies and, indeed of the whole
world.”
Then followed long weeks of hard training on Salisbury Plains. At last
they were considered fit for the front and the contingent was
transported to France. Of their conduct there, under the baptism of
fire, the following letter from General French at Headquarters of the
British Army, dated March 3d, to His Royal Highness the Duke of
Connaught, is an ample testimonial.
“The Canadian troops having arrived at the front, I am anxious to tell
your Royal Highness that they have made the best impression on all of
us.
“I made a careful inspection of the division a week after they came to
the country, and I was very much struck by the excellent physique which
was apparent throughout the ranks. The soldierly bearing and the
steadiness with which the men stood in the ranks (on a bleak cold snowy
day) was most remarkable.
“After two or three weeks preliminary education in the trenches,
attached by unit to the Third corps, they have now taken their own line
on the right of that corps as a complete division and I have the utmost
confidence in their capability to do valuable and efficient service.
“The Princess Patricia’s Regiment arrived with the 27th Division a
month earlier and since then they have performed splendid service in
the trenches.
“When I inspected them (although in pouring rain), it seemed to me I
had never seen a more magnificent looking battalion Guards or
otherwise.
“Two or three days ago they captured a German trench with great dash
and energy and excellent results.
“I am writing these few lines because I know how deeply we are all
indebted to the untiring and devoted efforts your Royal Highness has
personally made to ensure the despatch in the most efficient condition
of this valuable contingent.”
The first contingent had evacuated Valcartier only a short time when
the second contingent began to move toward the great mobilization camp,
for a similar process of training to that followed in the first case.
When the second contingent sailed away from Canada to take its place
with the allies on the battlefields of Europe, it was accompanied by a
battery of the most complete and efficient armored motor car rapid-fire
machine guns ever devised. Indeed, they are, so far as is known, the
first motor car machine guns in the ranks of the allies in any way
comparing in point of up-to-dateness and efficiency with those now
being employed by the German army. For up till recently Germany was the
only power which had given any attention to armored motor car machine
guns. The Germans had been experimenting for several years upon this
latest development in field weapons, and when the present war broke out
they had a type of armored motor car rapid-fire gun that has enabled
them to do a kind of work that would not be done by any other sort of
artillery. Great Britain, France and Belgium began hurriedly
experimenting, and hastily put together a number of machine guns
mounted on armored motor cars. These were but tentative weapons,
however, quickly designed to meet an exigency for which the allies had
not, like the Germans, already prepared. It has remained for Canada to
evolve a type of armored motor car battery that is said to be the most
perfect and effective that has ever been constructed.
This ultra-modern battery of forty guns was a part of Canada’s
contribution to the Empire at war. Fifteen of the guns were made
possible by the patriotic generosity of Mr. J. C. Eaton, Toronto’s well
known millionaire department store owner, and were designated as the
Eaton Battery. They were completed right in Toronto, where both the
experimenting and designing were carried on, and the cars and guns put
together, under the supervision of Mr. W. K. McNaught, C.M.G., who
undertook the task of directing the work for the government. The corps
of officers and men who man the battery had a special course of
training under Capt. W. J. Morrison at Exhibition Camp.
It is only necessary to recall to mind certain pictures that have
appeared recently of motor car machine guns in action to realize with
what deadly effectiveness these weapons may be employed in present-day
warfare. They combine all the terrific killing power of the rapid-fire
machine gun with the swift mobility and tirelessness of the
gasoline-driven motor car. Protected behind almost impregnable steel
armor plate, the driver may dash ahead of the advancing lines and
enable the gunner, almost completely protected, to mow down the ranks
of the enemy with a sweeping stream of rifle bullets, played along a
line of men much as one would play a stream of water from a fire hose.
The car may be in motion all this time, or may stop only for an
instant, so that the enemy has no time to train its artillery upon it.
It may dash into what would be for infantry or cavalry or ordinary
gunners the jaws of death, distribute its deadly sting, and then dash
out again unscathed. Thus it may be of incalculable service in the
field. Or it may be used in a town where whole masses of defenders may
be driven back, and the streets completely cleared by the rapid sweep
of its bullets.
The armored motor car guns which were constructed in Toronto are built
on a motor truck chassis. The wheels are made of pressed steel, and
have heavy tires of solid rubber. All the rest of the car is
effectively covered with Harveyized steel plates, which were severely
tested. This armorplate was rolled in Canada by Canadian workmen, and
was made from iron ore mined in Nova Scotia.
The distinctive fighting feature of the car is the revolving turret of
this armor-plate in which the offensive apparatus is situated. This
turret rises above the four-foot armored body at about the center of
the car. In it is the new model Maxim rapid-fire gun, mounted very
strongly on an apparatus of steel and phosphor bronze, the invention of
Canadian engineers. This gun mount really carries the revolving turret
which surrounds it, and which revolves so easily on ball bearings that
a mere touch of the hand will move it. It can make a complete
revolution, so that the gun has a clear sweep. It can be locked by
means of a lever operated by the gunner. The gunner sits on a seat
fastened to the frame which supports the turret. The running machinery
of the car which comes below the floor, is, of course, protected by a
steel skirt, which extends around the car. The machine gun is aimed
through a loop-hole in the steel turret. It can fire from 300 to 600
rifle bullets a minute, and has an effective range of a mile and a
half. The bullets are held in a belt which runs through the gun
automatically. The armor-plate on the rear of the car is loop-holed so
that rifles can be used. Each of the machine guns has two extra
barrels, the reason for this being that with the bullets passing
through the barrel so rapidly it naturally becomes very hot, and so
must be changed frequently.
Another feature of the car is that it is protected overhead as well as
around the sides and front, and rendered immune from shrapnel fire,
missiles from aeroplanes, and dropping bullets, by the same kind of
armor-plate that is used on the sides. Thus the drivers and all the
fighting men are completely protected by armor-plate.
Each car, in addition to its fighting equipment, carries picks,
shovels, wire rope, repair tools and provisions. Attached to the
battery are two workshop cars, with turning lathes and repair machines
driven by motor spare parts, etc. These stay behind the firing line.
Each car carries a complement of five men, including the two men who
drive and the gunner who operates the machine gun. The extra two ride
in the rear and may use rifles through the loop-holes. But there is no
real specialization, for each man must be competent not only as a
soldier but as a chauffeur, machinist and gunner. If there is only one
man left in the car, he must be able to operate the machine gun, run
the car, and make repairs if necessary. And he must be a man who can
keep his head, observe intelligently, and plan for himself and his
regiment. Those in charge of the recruiting for the Eaton Battery
expressed themselves as well pleased with the type of men secured. Many
had seen service before; there were several expert telegraphers,
several expert signalers, and one an ex-lieutenant in the British navy.
POLITICAL EFFECT OF CANADA’S ACTION ON FUTURE OF DOMINION
As had been outlined in the early portion of this chapter, the World
War produced a result in the Dominion long sought by the British
government. From the position of a British Colony independent in all
but name and free to send or withhold military aid, Canada has
voluntarily advanced step by step in the direction of stronger
unification of the British Empire. In each of the wars fought by Great
Britain the part to be taken by Canadian soldiers has received more and
more formal recognition from the Dominion government, advancing from a
mere permission to volunteer, through various stages to the actual
enlistment, equipment and dispatch of a purely Canadian Contingent
under Canadian officers and Canadian pay to the support of the British
Empire.
Though each step had been in this direction few thought that Canada
would ever take such action. It has been admitted that if Canada
herself was attacked Canadians would, of course, defend themselves to
the last. It was even admitted that aid might be sent in case of an
attack on the British Isles, as a part of the Empire, but so far as to
raise an army to take part in a campaign in Europe seemed far beyond
the range of imagination.
Notwithstanding this, however, the Dominion has made the move without
hesitation and in so doing has established a precedent which is apt to
prove of huge importance in the future history of the Dominion.
Great Britain’s enemies must consider not merely a war on Great Britain
but a war on the British Empire, for Canada as well as Australia,
India, South Africa and Egypt, having once sent aid could not again
refuse it and make their position tenable. The Empire now presents a
solid front to the world and her strength is vastly increased hy the
loyalty and devotion of the Overseas Dominions.
This military unity must also produce results in other directions
tending toward a closer union between the Dominion and the Mother
country. We venture to predict that the future will witness a
strengthening of the bonds of loyalty, of commercial and educational
ties without the least abatement of the complete autonomy enjoyed by
the great Dominion.