Brigadier General Turner (now Major General), the commander of the

Third Brigade, was forced to throw back his left flank southward to

protect his rear. While these adjustments of the positions were under

way, resulting at first in some confusion, the Germans, who had been

pushing rapidly forward, captured four British 4.7 guns which had been

lent to the French.

The Canadian Division stood fast against overwhelming odds. They were

outnumbered four to one, while the enemy was also greatly superior in

artillery. The gap in the line remained, though somewhat reduced in

extent. The Canadians, aroused to the dangers of the situation, fought

with dogged determination for two days and nights, losing heavily,

especially in officers. The Germans made the most of the advantage

gained by the breach in the Allies' line and launched a series of

attacks against the new Canadian salient. At every point the troops of

the Dominion were faced by superior numbers and the fighting was

especially fierce and sanguinary on the apex of the new line which ran

toward St.-Julien.

The Third Brigade under General Turner was ordered to counterattack

the wood where the Germans had captured four British guns on April 22,

1915. The 2d Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel (now Brigadier

General) Watson and the 3d (Toronto) Battalion under Lieutenant

Colonel Rennie (now also a Brigadier General), both of the First

Brigade, reenforced Turner's brigade. At this time the 7th Battalion

(British Columbia Regiment) held intrenchments in support of the Third

Brigade.

The 10th Battalion and the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion

delivered an attack on the wood some time after midnight on April 23,

1915. The battalions, under the commands respectively of Lieutenant

Colonel Boyle and Lieutenant Colonel (now Brigadier General) R. G. E.

Leckie, made a dashing advance on the wood in the face of a heavy

machine-gun and rifle fire, which was soon followed by a close and

desperate struggle in the pale moonlight, the Canadians finally

carrying the position at the point of the bayonet.

Those who participated in the advance on the wood described the havoc

wrought in the Canadian ranks by the enemy's machine-gun fire, and,

though many fell, others took their places and the line never for a

moment wavered. The German garrison in the wood were evidently

demoralized by the fierceness of the Canadians' assault, having

counted on the effective fire of their machine guns to shatter its

force. The victors penetrated to the far side of the woods, where they

dug themselves in, but were unable to hold the position when later in

the night the Germans concentrated a sweeping gunfire on the wood,

which made the place untenable. The four British guns were not

recovered, as the enemy had destroyed them some time during the

progress of fighting.

Shortly after the attack on the wood Lieutenant Colonel Boyle ordered

the 10th Battalion to capture a German trench on the battalion's right

front. At the beginning of the assault, when the German gunfire began,

Colonel Boyle fell wounded, his left thigh pierced in five places. His

second in command, Major MacLaren, was wounded about the same time.

Colonel Boyle was removed to Poperinghe, but died soon afterward.

Major MacLaren while being moved to a hospital was killed by a shell.

Major D. M. Ormond, who succeeded to the command of the 10th

Battalion, was wounded soon after assuming the position. Major

Guthrie, a lawyer from Fredericton, New Brunswick, a tried and

courageous soldier, then took command.

The Canadians continued to fight and hold their difficult position

during the night of April 22-23, 1915, the Germans in increasing

numbers delivering one assault after another. The odds were so greatly

in favor of the enemy that it seemed inevitable that the Canadians

must give way unless they were reenforced. When the situation became

entirely discouraging, British troops began to arrive under the

command of Colonel Geddes of the Buffs. The reenforcements consisted

of three and a half battalions of the Twenty-eighth Division, a

composite force drawn from different regiments that became known as

Geddes's Detachment.

The Second Canadian Brigade at this time was holding its own, but the

Third Canadian Brigade had been pushed back on St.-Julien, where the

Germans were making a strong effort to outflank it. Had they

succeeded, the result might have been disastrous to the whole

Canadian line and involved others. To ease the German pressure a

counterattack was launched against the first German line at 6.30 a. m.

by the 1st (Ontario) Battalion and the 4th Battalion of the First

Brigade under Brigadier General Mercer acting with Geddes's

Detachment.

The 4th Battalion made the advance, having the 1st in support, under

the covering fire of the First Canadian Artillery Brigade. The troops

were conscious that they were engaged in a desperate venture, but

their comrades were in peril, and there was no hesitation as they

dashed into the storm of fire that swept the field from the enemy's

guns. The attack was pressed, though the casualties reached an

alarming figure. Colonel Birchall, commanding the 4th Battalion, who,

waving a light cane, encouraged and rallied his men, was killed. The

loss of their beloved commander fired the troops with renewed energy,

and with hoarse cries they dashed forward against the enemy to avenge

his death. So fierce was the onslaught that the Germans were

overwhelmed and the first line of trenches was won after a

hand-to-hand conflict.

The importance of this victory--won in the face of almost certain

death--saved the Canadian left, and not only that, but it maintained

at a critical moment the integrity of the Allied line. For the 4th

Canadian Battalion did more than capture the German trench: they held

it against the most determined German assaults until April 25, 1915,

when the decimated and weary remnants of the battalion were finally

relieved.

The success of the attack was not a little due to the admirable work

of the First Artillery Brigade under Lieutenant Colonel Morrison,

whose battery of four 18-pounders was later supplemented by two

heavier guns, and served with great efficiency throughout the

struggle. Colonel Morrison for his services was given command of the

artillery of the Second Division with the rank of brigadier general.

Another officer who contributed to the victory was Captain T. E.

Powers of the Signal Company of General Mercer's command. Though the

enemy's heavy shell fire repeatedly cut the signal wires,

communication with the front line of the attack was never lost.

General Turner's Third Brigade, which, as previously noted, was

holding the Canadian left on April 22, 1915, and after attacking had

taken over the defense of the new Canadian salient, had also sent a

detachment to establish a line between the wood and St.-Julien. Here

they were subjected to a heavy gas attack followed by two enemy

assaults. They were unprovided with the means for protecting

themselves against the gas, but a wet handkerchief stuffed in the

mouth was found to afford relief, and they held their ground beating

off the heavy attacks in which the enemy lost heavily. The assault on

the wood, as previously narrated, followed.

About 4 a. m. on the following day the Germans made a gas attack on

the Second Brigade holding the line which ran northeast, and the Third

Brigade which continued the line up to the pivotal point and then

extended down in a southeasterly direction. The Royal Highlanders of

Montreal, 13th Battalion, and the 48th Highlanders, 15th Battalion,

were especially affected by the gas. The trenches of the 48th

Highlanders became so untenable for a time that they were forced to

retire until conditions improved.

During the night of April 23, 1915, the Third Brigade, which had

displayed fearless courage and tenacity, was subjected to an unusual

strain when the Germans attempted to sweep around and smash their left

wing. One attempt succeeded in part, considerable numbers pushing past

the unsupported left of the brigade, taking up a position between the

wood and St.-Julien. This added to the difficulties of the Canadians,

who felt that they were isolated from the brigade base.

The situation called for heroic action, and it would be impossible to

select any battalion for special commendation in this hour of crisis

when all displayed such valor and fortitude. The fate of some of the

officers must be briefly described.

Major Norsworthy, who was in the reserve trenches half a mile back of

the firing line, was killed while attempting to bring up

reenforcements to Major McCuaig. Captain Guy Drummond fell while he

was engaged in rallying French troops. The death of these officers

left Major McCuaig to handle the situation. Through the afternoon and

night, his communications cut and without artillery support, this

intrepid fighter held on. The Germans were strong enough to overwhelm

him, knowing the weakness of his position; that they held off was

because they feared his supports when in reality he had none. When

daylight came, revealing the weakness of the defense to the Germans,

the wounded having been evacuated. Major McCuaig withdrew his men

under fire as Major Buchanan with reenforcements appeared on the

scene.

The battalion, which had faced such fearful odds and held on until

relieved, occupied dugouts until dark when they retired to a new line.

Having waited until all the wounded were removed, Major McCuaig, who

had faced death every moment during that terrible struggle, was

wounded and captured by the enemy.

The officers of the 7th Battalion (British Columbia Regiment)

displayed no less valor during the fateful struggle than those whose

fate has been described. This battalion, which was attached to the

Third Brigade, occupied on April 23, 1915, the forward crest of a

ridge, with its left flank near St.-Julien, and throughout the day was

under a blasting shell fire. After receiving orders in the afternoon

to strengthen the position for holding it during the night, Colonel

Hart-McHarg of Vancouver, Major Odlum (afterward Lieutenant Colonel

commanding the battalion), and Lieutenant Mathewson of the Canadian

Engineers went out to choose the site for the new trenches which were

to be due as soon as darkness fell. Not knowing exactly where the

German lines were located, they suddenly became aware of the enemy

lining the hedges not more than 100 yards away. In the hurried retreat

Colonel Hart-McHarg was seriously wounded. Lieutenant Mathewson

remained with him while Major Odlum ran in search of help. After dark

Colonel Hart-McHarg was carried back to battalion headquarters, but

died during the night.

Major Odlum succeeded to the command of the battalion, which continued

to fight off enemy attacks until, flanked both right and left, it was

forced to retire, its fighting strength being reduced to 100 men.

The 7th Battalion, after being strengthened by additional troops from

the 10th, was again sent into the fight on the following day, to hold

a gap in a Canadian line. Here it stood fast and fought until

surrounded by the enemy, when the battalion succeeded in withdrawing

under cover of a heavy mist. In the course of three days' fighting the

7th had lost its colonel, and 600 of its officers and men had been

killed, or wounded. Some companies lost every officer. Lieutenant E.

D. Bellew, machine-gun officer of the battalion, continued to serve

his gun until it was destroyed, and continued to use relays of loaded

rifles until wounded and taken prisoner.

The Canadian line was now strengthened by the King's Own Scottish

Borderers, and the 1st Royal West Kents, and the division was further

aided by French counterattacks, but the increasing artillery fire of

the enemy and their great superiority in numbers rendered the Canadian

salient untenable. Retirement was imperative, and fighting every yard

of the way the Canadians fell back on St.-Julien. This place being

exposed to enemy fire from right and left, a further retirement was

necessary. The Third Brigade began a retreat southward. Detachments of

the 13th and 14th Battalions were cut off before they could escape

from the village. After being surrounded they fought on until their

ammunition gave out and all were killed, wounded, or captured.

The retirement of the Third Brigade had exposed the flank of General

Currie's Second Brigade. To meet the situation, he flung his left

flank round south, holding his line of trenches from the afternoon of

April 22, 1915, to the afternoon of April 25, 1915. On the last date

he withdrew his undefeated troops. His trenches had been wiped out by

artillery fire, and his fortifications in the field had been

demolished; only the spirit of the troops remained unbroken.

Mention should be made here of the 8th Battalion (90th Winnipeg

Rifles), Lieutenant Colonel Lipsett commanding, which held the extreme

left of the brigade position and held on through a most critical

period. Early in the morning of April 23, 1915, this battalion had

been driven from the trenches by a violent gas attack, but in less

than an hour counterattacked and recaptured the trenches, bayoneting

the enemy. Colonel Lipsett held the position after the forced

retirement of the Third Brigade, his left "in the air," until the

night of the 24th, when two British regiments arrived and filled the

gap.

Two companies of the 8th Battalion were relieved by Durham Light

Infantry on the morning of the 25th and retired to reserve trenches.

The Durhams were so badly hammered by the enemy during the day that a

company of the 8th Canadian Battalion replaced them on the extreme

left of the Canadian line. The Germans were in position to the rear of

this company, while their guns on the left flank enfiladed it. The

Canadians were ordered to retire, and the movement was carried out

with a loss of 45 per cent of their strength. The platoon covering the

retirement had all its officers and men either killed or taken

prisoners.

The Germans had captured the village of St.-Julien in the morning of

April 25, 1915, and the situation demanded an offensive movement to

check their further progress. General Alderson, commanding the

Canadians and also the reenforcements, directed the advance of the

Tenth Brigade under General Hull and the Northumberland Brigade

through the Canadian left and center. As we are dealing with the story

of the Canadian contingent, it is only necessary to say that the

British troops succeeded in arresting the German advance.

The Second and Third Brigades and the reenforcements had retired,

fighting all the way, to a line which ran roughly from Fortuin south

of St.-Julien toward Passchendaele, where they were relieved by two

British brigades.

The Canadians were out of the firing line on April 26, 1915, but,

owing to the force of the enemy's attacks, General Currie's Second

Brigade, reduced to a quarter of its strength, was compelled to return

to the firing line. Throughout the 26th they held the apex of the

line, and not until two days later were they relieved and sent to

billets in the rear. During the struggle Lieutenant Colonel

Kemis-Betty, Brigade Major, and Major Mersereau, Staff Captain, were

both wounded by a shell. Colonel Kemis-Betty continued, despite his

serious wounds, to discharge his duties throughout April 26, 1915.

Major Mersereau, who was very badly injured, was removed to General

Currie's dugout and remained there until night as no ambulance was

available. He was finally removed under shell fire by Colonel Mitchell

of the Headquarters Staff as far as Fortuin, and afterward invalided

home to Canada.

The principal achievements of the Canadians at Ypres having now been

described in outline, there remains to be recorded an operation

carried out by Lieutenant Colonel Watson. In the night of April 28,

1915, Colonel Watson was commanded to carry out a dangerous and

difficult task. This was to advance with his battalion and dig a line

of trenches which would link up with the French on the left and the

Rifle Brigade on the right. Proceeding north toward St.-Julien he was

held up for an hour by a storm of shrapnel, but moved on again at 8

o'clock. After crossing the bridge over the Ypres Canal great

precautions were taken to conceal the movements of the battalion from

the enemy. The newly arrived officers and men who had joined the

battalion that morning received a terrible baptism of fire in this

their first experience at the front. The Germans, believing that some

important movement was under way, filled the air with high explosives,

and their shells rained down on every hedgerow and clump of trees that

the battalion passed. It was a long and terrifying journey, and

considering conditions the casualties were few. The battalion finally

arrived behind the first-line trench, which was held at the time by a

battalion of the King's Own Borderers. Reaching the place where the

trenches were to be dug, Colonel Watson led out two companies, while

two others acted as covers for the diggers. Through the night the work

went on while enemy guns and rifles from the neighboring ridge were

active. Though star shells and flares were numerous, and the Germans

must have been aware of the work that was going on, all their bullets

passed fortunately over the heads of the trench diggers, who worked

steadily at their task. It was 2 o'clock in the morning when the

battalion completed its work. The officers and men were so exhausted

that many slept on the march back to the billets.

In the afternoon of May 2, 1915, the First Canadian Infantry Brigade

was moved to the support of the Tenth and Twelfth Infantry Brigades

(British) because of the gas which flooded the entire front. The

poisonous fumes had disabled the troops of the Twelfth Brigade, and

they were forced to fall back, but the Tenth Brigade stood fast.

During the night of May 3, 1915, and the morning of the 4th, the First

Canadian Infantry Brigade withdrew from the line and went into billets

at Bailleul. General Alderson in the night of May 4 handed over the

command of the section to the general officer commanding the Fourth

Division, withdrawing the Third Infantry Brigade on that date and the

Second Canadian Infantry Brigade on the following day.

The second phase of the Second Battle of Ypres dates from the time

that the British line was readjusted. An account of the noble part

played by the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry in subsequent

operations must be recorded. The regiment from April, 1915, occupied

trenches south and west of those held by the Canadian Division, where

they were constantly under shell fire. The "Princess Pats" were eager

to take part in the battle to the north, where their brothers in arms

were engaged in a desperate struggle, but not until May 4 were they

afforded an opportunity.

On that date the regiment occupied a new line. A strong enemy attack

developed which was beaten off. Throughout the day the regiment was

heavily bombarded, and some of their trenches were destroyed. During

the night they were relieved by the King's Shropshire Light Infantry

and withdrew to reserve trenches. Major Gault arrived on May 5, 1915,

and took over the command, Lieutenant Colonel Buller having lost an

eye from the splinter of a shell.

In the night of May 6, 1915, the "Princess Pats," who had been

fretting over their inaction, were sent to relieve the 2d Shropshire's

in the trenches. The Germans maintained a heavy bombardment throughout

the night and the next day. On May 7, 1915, the roll call showed the

strength of the battalion as 635.

The battalion the next day came under heavy shell fire, which began

on the right flank, followed by enfilading the fire trenches. Preceded

by gas shells, the Germans advanced on the double from the hill in

front of the trench, but were beaten back by rifle fire. Every

telephone wire having been cut by 6 a. m., it was necessary to

dispatch every signaler, pioneer, orderly, and servant at battalion

headquarters to man the support trenches.

The struggle was short but intense, and the Germans were thrown back,

leaving many dead and wounded on the field. But though repulsed, the

enemy were still able to inflict great damage. They had installed

several machine guns in buildings near, and could sweep the parapets

of the Canadian fire and support trenches. A runner was dispatched to

brigade headquarters to inform them of the situation.

Major Gault was badly wounded in the arm and thigh by a shell at 7 a.

m., and as it was impossible to move him, he lay in a trench for ten

hours, enduring without a murmur intense suffering. Lieutenant Niven,

the next senior officer who was unwounded, took over the command.

The Germans now brought heavy howitzers into action, using high

explosives which, with the work of the field guns, wrought havoc among

the trenches, demolishing them at some points.

The enemy's infantry made an attack at 9 o'clock, but were assailed by

such heavy machine-gun and rifle fire that they were at first halted

and then driven to seek cover. The Germans lost heavily in this

encounter, but the battalion also suffered many casualties. Of the

officers, Captain Hill, and Lieutenants Martin, Triggs, and De Bay

were wounded.

The commanding officer, Lieutenant Niven, succeeded in establishing

contact with the King's Own Light Infantry on the left, and the Fourth

Rifle Brigade on the right, but as these formations had been badly

punished, they were unable to afford any assistance.

The Germans had taken the exact range of the Canadian machine guns and

buried every one of them. The gunners dug them out and served them

again. One gun was buried by the enemy fire three times, dug up and

put into action, but was finally demolished by a shell which also

destroyed the whole section. Corporal Dover, who had served his gun

throughout this trying period, lost a leg and an arm in the explosion.

After being dug out by comrades, and while he was being lowered into

the trench, an enemy bullet ended the brave man's sufferings.

The Germans maintained this deadly and destructive fire, and by 10.30

fully half of the right fire trench had been demolished. Lieutenant

Denison then ordered Lieutenant Clark to withdraw the remnant of

command into a communication trench on the right, while he held on

himself with Lieutenant Lane and a few men to that part of the fire

trench which was still tenable. The German guns continued their deadly

work. Lieutenant Edwards was killed. The left fire trench was blown

in, and the machine guns silenced. Sergeant Scott and a few men who

survived entered a communication trench and held fast until it too was

demolished. Lieutenant Crawford, serving in the hottest corners in the

morning, was badly wounded. Captain Adamson, wounded in the shoulder,

continued to serve out small ammunition with a single arm. Sergeant

Major Fraser was killed while performing similar work. There were now

only four officers remaining: Lieutenants Papineau, Niven, Vandenberg,

and Clark. Lieutenants Niven and Clark were troopers when the war

began.

When the supplies of small-arms ammunition were almost exhausted about

noon on May 7, 1915, it was the snipers of the battalion who carried

messages across the heavily shell-swept ground to the brigade

headquarters, and to the Reserve Battalion at Belle-Waarde Lake in the

rear.

A contingent of the Fourth Rifle Brigade reenforced the desperately

tired battalion early in the afternoon, their arrival being greeted by

hearty cheers from the weary defenders. They brought with them a

machine-gun section which was of inestimable value at that time. The

Rifles were placed on the extreme right to protect the battalion's

flanks, in line with the Canadian support trenches hidden by trees and

hedgerows.

Lieutenant Niven, the commanding officer, at 2 p. m. visited

headquarters to describe the situation of the battalion returning half

an hour later. During his journey both of the orderlies who

accompanied him were struck by explosive shells.

About 3 p. m. the battalion welcomed a detachment of the King's

Shropshire Light Infantry, who brought with them twenty boxes of

small-arms ammunition, which were at once distributed as they were

sorely needed. The Shropshires were assigned to the left end of the

support trench.

When later in the afternoon the support trenches were inspected it was

discovered that a gap of about fifty yards existed, and the few men

who could be spared were hurried there to reestablish contact with the

regiment on the left. This quick move had just been made when news

came that the battalions on the left had been forced to withdraw to a

line of trenches in the rear.

The Germans now began their last attack, which was vigorously pressed.

A few succeeded in penetrating the fire trench on the right, which was

practically undefended, all the Princess Patricias having fallen. But

they only occupied the trench for a short time and their last

offensive ended in failure.

The situation of the Canadians did not improve as the long afternoon

wore away. The number of casualties was constantly increasing. All the

company commanders were dead or wounded by 10 o'clock at night, and

the roll call showed a strength of 150 rifles and a few stretcher

bearers.

Shortly before midnight the King's Royal Rifle Corps relieved the

battalion and assisted in the burial of the dead. Those who had fallen

in the fire trenches were already buried under the earth which the

German shells had thrown over them.

The remnant of the shattered regiment, with bared heads, stood by the

open graves of their comrades, while Lieutenant Niven, holding the

gloriously stained colors of the Princess Patricias, recited the

Church of England service for the dead.

After the simple and impressive ceremony the survivors of the

battalion still lingered around the graves of their comrades until the

colonel of the Rifles ordered them to retire. Led by Lieutenant

Papineau the Canadians in sad silence went back to reserve trenches

and later were ordered to another part of the position. During the day

the section of trenches they occupied was heavily shelled and they

lost five men killed and several wounded.

The Princess Patricias were in bivouac in the rear on May 13, 1915,

when news arrived that their old fellow fighters, the Fourth Rifle

Brigade, were in a difficult position and sorely pressed by the enemy.

They at once formed a composite battalion with the Fourth King's Rifle

Corps and hurried to the relief of their friends, whom they helped to

break down the German assaults. This was the last effort that the

survivors of the regiment were called upon to make at this stage of

the war.

What the Princess Patricias accomplished during the remainder of the

year 1915 may be described here though the record runs ahead of the

story of the Canadian Division.

Major Pelly, who had been invalided to England in March, 1915,

returned to the regiment on May 15, 1915, and took over the command

from Lieutenant Niven, who had so bravely served throughout the

darkest hours in the regiment's history.

Early in June, 1915, the Princess Patricias held a trench line at

Armentieres and continued there until the last days of August, 1915.

Lieutenant C. J. T. Stewart, and other officers who had been wounded

in the spring fighting, returned to the battalion, and reenforcements

from Canada brought it up to full strength.

With the Twenty-seventh Division the battalion occupied a line of

trenches held by the Third Army, and subsequently the Princess

Patricias went into billets far back of the fighting area. On November

27, 1915, they were once more united with the Canadian Corps from whom

they had long been separated.

CHAPTER XII

BATTLE OF FESTUBERT--THE CANADIANS FIGHT FOR THE ORCHARD--VALOR OF THE

SECOND BRIGADE AND FOURTH BATTALION--GIVENCHY

In staging the Battle of Festubert, where the Canadians fought with

distinction and again displayed their dashing bravery and staying

powers, the Allies had a definite purpose in view. General Joffre had

prepared a great offensive in May, 1915, in Artois, and the French had

made important progress, but some defenses of Lens, the key to the

whole French objective, remained in possession of the enemy. The

Germans were sending powerful reenforcements into the south, and Sir

John French, acting with the French commander, advanced his forces to

attack. His purpose was to arrest the German reenforcements headed for

Lens, and afford the British a chance to capture Aubers Ridge, which

they had failed to do at Neuve Chapelle. The Ridge dominated Lille and

La Bassee, and if the French succeeded in their part of the plan,

which was to reach Lens, the Allies would be strong enough to push on

together toward the city which was their objective.

The German positions were attacked on May 9, 1915. In brief detail the

engagement was planned as follows: Sir Herbert Plumer with the Second

Army was to protect Ypres while the Third Corps held Armentieres. Sir

Douglas Haig's First Army was to carry intrenchments and redoubts on

the right of Prince Rupprecht's Army. The Fourth Corps was to attack

the German position at Rouge Bancs northwest of Fromeles, and the

First Corps and Indian Corps were to occupy the plain between Neuve

Chapelle and Givenchy and then take the Aubers Ridge.

The fighting was vigorously pressed by the British for several days

and nights, followed by a lull, but on May 16, 1915, the struggle was

renewed. The Second and Seventh Divisions, which had been badly

shattered, were withdrawn from the fighting line, their places being

taken by the Canadian Division and the Fifty-first Highland Division

(Territorials).

The British attack had failed to clear the way to Lille and Aubers

Ridge was still in German hands. British and Canadian troops had again

and again pierced but not broken the German lines, taking the first,

second, and third trenches. The result was to split up the German line

into innumerable fortified strong points. They were on the defensive,

and the front with its pits, quarries, mills, farms, etc., had all

been transformed into small forts that were packed with machine guns.

These forts were linked together by tunnels and galleries reenforced

with concrete. Had the British and Canadians been amply supplied with

guns and ammunition, the task of reducing these many forts would still

have been a long and difficult task. The British attack weakened when

it was found that the artillery was not strong enough to reduce the

German fortifications and it ceased entirely on May 26, 1915.

The failure of the British at Festubert was attributed in many

quarters to the shortage of munitions. In England press and public

raised such an outcry as to produce a crisis that led to a Coalition

Government. Festubert served to arouse the nation to a sense of the

mighty task it had undertaken and the need of greater effort if

victory was to be won. Out of this determination to prosecute the war

more vigorously the War Committee was created and later the Allies'

Grand Council of War in Paris.

The Canadian Division after the Second Battle of Ypres had moved into

billets where until May 14, 1915, the tired troops enjoyed a

much-needed rest. Headquarters had moved to the southern section of

the British line and preparations were under way for a new offensive

operation. Reenforcements were constantly arriving from the Canadian

base in England, where fresh troops from the Dominion gathered in

increasing numbers.

On May 17, 1915, the Canadian infantry brigades, raised to full

strength, were on their way to the firing lines. By this date the

British had driven two salients into the German lines, one north of

Festubert and the other to the south of it. The operation of

connecting the two salients was pressed during the day.

On May 18, 1915, the Canadian Third Brigade occupied reserve trenches,

two companies of the 14th (Royal Montreal) Battalion commanded by

Lieutenant Colonel Meighen, and two companies of the 16th (Canadian

Scottish) under Lieutenant Colonel (afterward Brigadier General)

Leckie being ordered to advance on La Quinque Rue to the northwest of

an Orchard which the Germans had made a strong defensive position. The

16th Canadian Scottish were ordered to make a flanking movement on

this position, advancing for this purpose through an old German

communicating trench. They were to attack at the same time as the

frontal attack developed. This movement was hurriedly carried out,

there being no time to reconnoiter the ground. The 16th battalion

company which undertook the flanking operation reached its position.

The remaining company of that regiment and the 14th advanced under

intense shell fire, reaching part of their objective, but were unable

at once to carry out the attack on the German position in the Orchard

as they lacked a covering fire. They were ordered to dig themselves in

and link up with the Wiltshire Battalion on the right and the

Coldstream Guards on the left. This was after an advance had been made

of about 500 yards. Two companies of the 16th sent up by Lieutenant

Colonel Leckie came to their assistance in the work of trench digging

and relieved the two original companies at daybreak.

Sometime in the night the companies of the 14th Battalion (Royal

Montreal) were also withdrawn, the Coldstream Guards on one flank and

the 16th Canadian Scottish on the other spreading out so as to hold

the trench.

The attack on the Orchard was ordered for the night of May 20, 1915.

Major Leckie, a brother of the Lieutenant Colonel of that name, made a

reconnoissance of the German position. One of the patrols engaged in

this work had a narrow escape from being cut off by the enemy and the

other suffered a number of casualties, showing that the Germans were

alert and that the Canadians had a hard task before them. In the

course of the night the Canadian Scottish had worked their way forward

and established a garrison of thirty men with two machine guns in a

deserted house not far from the German lines.

This operation was carried out with such secrecy that the enemy never

learned that a garrison was in the building, which remained unharmed

while all the British trenches were under heavy bombardment.

The hour fixed for the attack on the Orchard was 7.45 p. m. Major Rae

had command of the two attacking companies, the Canadian Scottish

under Captain Morison and Major Peck. It was planned that while these

companies attacked the 15th Battalion were to strike at a German

position on the right.

In the afternoon the Canadian artillery hammered the Orchard

position, the bombardment increasing in intensity as the zero hour

approached. When the thunder of the guns ceased the two companies of

the 16th Canadians went over the top, and advanced, while the machine

guns in the garrisoned house opened fire on the German position. As it

was now clear daylight the Germans were alert, and a storm of shrapnel

machine-gun and rifle fire assailed the Canadians who continued

steadily to push forward.

Having gained the edge of the Orchard, they were confronted by a deep

ditch full of water backed by a hedge which had been made into a

strong barricade with wire. The Canadians crossed the ditch, though

the water was up to their necks in some places, and broke through the

hedge. By this time the Germans had mostly retired from the Orchard to

trenches in the rear, leaving only a guard to hold the position, until

they could get reenforcements and return to drive out the attackers.

The Germans left in the Orchard manned a machine-gun redoubt in a

central position where they might have worked considerable destruction

on their assailants, but for some reason they did not attempt to fight

when the Canadians appeared, but retreated with their guns. The main

body of the Germans, however, returned to contest the advance, and

though outnumbering the Canadians two to one they were forced to beat

a hasty retreat. The Orchard position was cleared by three platoons;

the fourth, being compelled to make a detour owing to an impassable

ditch, did not arrive on the scene until the occupation of the Orchard

was completed.

One company which had not penetrated the Orchard occupied a trench

running in a southwesterly direction which the Germans had abandoned.

This movement was made to prevent the enemy from making a flank

counterattack while the assault on the Orchard was in progress. It was

a highly exposed position, but important to hold for the success of

the attack, and the Germans' fire caused many casualties. Had the

enemy been able to get back into this position--which they had

evidently planned to do after the bombardment of the Orchard--the

operation carried out by the Canadians might have failed of success.

One of the bravest exploits of the many performed during the struggle

was that of Sapper Harmon of the 1st Field Company, C. E., one of a

party of twelve sappers and fifty infantrymen of the 3d Canadian

Battalion, which had constructed a barricade of sandbags across a road

leading to the Orchard while under heavy fire. The Germans later

smashed the barrier with a shell, and Harmon wormed his way forward

and repaired it while a machine gun not more than sixty yards away was

pumping bullets into the barricade. Of Harmon's party which went out

to build the obstruction, six of the twelve were killed, and of the

infantry, out of fifty, six were killed and twenty-four wounded.

Sapper Harmon continued his dangerous and useful work in the Orchard,

where alone and unassisted he worked for thirty-six hours digging

tunnels to serve in subsequent operations.

A short time after the capture of the Orchard the Canadians played a

little trick on the Germans that cost the latter many casualties.

While the Canadian artillery hammered a section of their line, a great

show was made of preparing to attack as soon as the firing ceased. As

was their usual custom the Germans fell back on their support trenches

ready to rush forward when the bombardment ceased and meet the

Canadian attack. The operation did not develop exactly as they

expected, for after the guns shifted from the front trenches and

shelled the supports, and the Germans notwithstanding pushed forward

and occupied the front trenches the Canadian infantry did not attack.

They stood fast while their guns shortened range and the enemy crowded

in the front trenches received the full blast of a devastating fire.

The German wireless on the following day reported that a heavy

Canadian attack had been repulsed.

Early in the evening of May 20, 1915, the 13th Battalion (Royal

Highlanders), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Loomis, moved across the

British trenches under intense shell fire that caused heavy

casualties, in support of the 16th Battalion Canadian Scotch.

Three companies of the 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders), after the

Orchard had been won, now marched forward under Major Buchanan, who

replaced the commanding officer, who was severely wounded. A fourth

company advanced and occupied a support trench in the immediate rear.

The position having been consolidated, the weary but elated 16th

Battalion, which had performed such brilliant work, withdrew from the

scene.

North of the Orchard the Germans made a demonstration in the afternoon

of May 21, 1915, but the fire of the Canadian artillery dispersed

them. The Germans did not attempt to attack during the night though

they kept up a constant musketry fire. Canadian working parties by the

light of German flares were busy improving the position, which they

left in excellent condition when the 3d Toronto Battalion of the First

Brigade relieved the Royal Highlanders.

The Second Canadian Infantry Brigade had in the night of May 19, 1915,

taken over trenches recently won by the Twenty-first British Brigade

and also a section of trenches from the Forty-seventh Division.

Meanwhile the 8th and 10th Battalions occupied the front-line

trenches, while the 5th Battalion went into Brigade Reserve with one

company at Festubert. Three companies bivouacked near the Willow Road,

and the 7th Battalion joined the Divisional Reserve.

Major Guthrie, who had joined the 10th Canadian Battalion at Ypres as

a lieutenant, after most of its officers were casualties, made an

effort in the early evening of May 20, 1915, to capture an important

position known as Bexhill. The attempt was not successful, for the

preliminary bombardment was ineffectual, and the troops were forced to

cross a gap in the fire trench in open view of the Germans, who made

the most of the opportunity. The only approach to the coveted position

was through an old communicating trench that the enemy could easily

sweep with their machine guns. The 10th Battalion, after all the

leading men in the advance company had been struck down, was forced to

retire. (The casualties of the 10th Battalion while in action during

April and May, 1915, were 809. At Ypres alone the casualties were 600

of all ranks.)

During the night the Canadians carried out a successful reconnoissance

of the German position and the gap in the fire trenches was repaired.

Covered communications were now assured for further operations in all

parts of the line.

In the evening of May 21, 1915, the German position was heavily

bombarded under the direction of Brigadier General Burstall and

continued until 8.30, when two companies of the 10th Battalion and the

grenade company of the First Canadian Brigade launched the attack. The

German redoubt on Bexhill responded with a withering machine-gun fire

against which it was impossible to advance. The Canadian left was

badly cut up and unable to move. Those attacking on the right gained

the trench line running southward from Bexhill, and, with bombers

leading the way, drove the Germans for a considerable distance down

the trench and then hurriedly threw up a barricade to hold what they

had gained. The Germans made several attempts in the course of the

night to win back the trench, but their every effort failed.

The Canadian attack had achieved only a partial success, and this was

won at a heavy cost. As at Ypres they displayed the same unflinching

bravery while facing heavy odds, and the only marvel was that they had

been able to gain so much. Individual acts that deserved the V. C.

were many. Major E. J. Ashton of Saskatoon, who had been wounded in

the head on the previous night and continued to serve, was again

wounded. Corporal W. R. Brooks, a sniper belonging to the 10th

Battalion, during the night left the trench under heavy fire and

brought back two men of the Camerons who had been lying for three days

in the field.

The Germans made another effort to regain the captured trench at

daybreak on May 22, 1915. They maintained a furious bombardment that

lasted all day until the trench was reduced to ruins. Forced to

abandon the southern end of the trench, the Canadians, despite their

heavy casualties, clung to the remaining portion, where they built

another barricade.

The courage displayed by officers and men during the bombardment was

beyond praise. Though practically at the mercy of the enemy, their

spirit remained unbroken. Captain McMeans, Lieutenant Smith-Rowse, and

Lieutenant Passmore were killed, and Lieutenant Denison was wounded.

Half of the men of the company were killed or wounded, but the poor

remnant clung obstinately to the position. Captain J. M. Prowse having

been wounded, returned to his command as soon as his wounds were

dressed, and even after he had been buried under the parapet continued

to serve. Company Sergeant Major John Hay deserves special mention for

the gallant example of fortitude he displayed, steadying and

controlling the men of his company after all the officers and half of

the troopers were dead or wounded.

The Germans prepared an infantry attack in the afternoon, but were

driven back by the Canadian artillery and machine-gun fire. In the

course of the night British troops and a detachment of the First

Canadian Infantry Brigade and King Edward's Horse and Strathcona's

Horse took over the trenches. The Strathconas served as infantry, and

it was the first time that they took part in the Great War. Their

services in the South African campaign will be remembered.

The trench held by the 8th Canadian Battalion, which had lost about 90

per cent of its officers and men, was relieved by King Edward's Horse.

The Post Office Rifles of the Forty-seventh Division were on the right

of Strathcona's Horse, but the latter manned the Rifles' machine guns.

The Seventh Prussian Army Corps started a massed attack upon King

Edward's Horse on May 23, 1915, but were driven back by the heavy fire

of the Canadian artillery brigades.

At 11 o'clock at night on this date the 5th Canadian Battalion was

ordered to take Bexhill salient and redoubt, which had been attempted

before without success. The attacking force consisted of two companies

of the battalion, about 500 men, under Major Edgar. In addition 100

men from the 7th (British Columbia) Battalion, divided into two

parties, were assigned to the work of constructing bridges before the

attack and to consolidating the positions that were won. Lieutenant

(afterward Captain) R. Murdie, commanding the bridge makers (50 men),

took his party out in the early morning of the 24th while the moon was

still brightly shining, and threw out twelve bridges over a ditch

filled with water between the Canadian line and their objective in

the attack.

At 2.45 a. m. the Canadians went over the top. Lieutenant Tozer with

the battalion bombers reached the German communication trench leading

to the redoubt and after an intense struggle occupied the redoubt. The

attacking party won about 200 yards of trenches to the left of it and

a small strip on the right, clearing out the enemy, who lost heavily.

The two attacking companies of the 5th Battalion, reenforced by a

company of the 7th Battalion and a squadron of Strathcona's Horse,

were now strong enough to attempt the capture of Bexhill proper. The

attack was vigorously pressed against stiff enemy opposition, and

shortly before 6 o'clock in the morning the German strong point had

been won and 130 yards of trenches to the north of the position. A

little later a platoon from the 5th Battalion arrived with orders to

dig in and hold fast. The Germans held very strong positions and it

was not deemed expedient to attempt to win more ground at that time.

Major Odlum now assumed command of the 5th Battalion as Colonel

Tuxford had fallen ill and Major Edgar was wounded.

The small force under Major Edgar had suffered heavy losses,

especially among the officers. The commanders of the two companies,

Major Tenaille and Captain Hopkins, were killed, and also Captains

Maikle, Currie, McGee, and Mundell, while Major Thornton, Captain S.

J. Anderson, Captain Endicott, Major Morris, Lieutenant Quinan, and

Lieutenant Davis were wounded. Major Powley was wounded while bringing

up his company from the 7th. The enemy's guns were active throughout

the morning, but the accurate fire of the Canadian artillery held them

to their position, and no attack to recover the redoubt was attempted.

Throughout the day the captured trenches were held by those who had

won them. At night they were relieved by the Royal Canadian Dragoons

and the 2d Battalion of the First Brigade. It was time, for the Second

Brigade had never passed through a more fiery trial, having lost 55

officers and 980 men.

At 11.30 p. m. on May 24, 1915, the 3d Battalion under Lieutenant

Colonel (afterward Brigadier General) Rennie made an assault on a

strong German machine-gun redoubt known as The Well. In the first rush

they won a section of trench, but the machine-gun fire was so intense

in the redoubt that to attempt an advance, or to hold on would have

caused needless sacrifice of life. The heroic attackers were forced to

retire, having incurred severe losses.

Brigadier General Seeley, M. P., a popular and experienced officer,

assumed command of the troops which had captured Bexhill on the

following day. Arriving at a critical moment, he at once grasped the

situation and took measures to improve conditions. General Seeley was

in command through two trying days and nights, inspiring the officers

and men with his courage and activity. It was a time of severe trial

for the brigade, whose losses were heavy, especially in officers.

Lieutenant W. G. Tennant of Strathcona's Horse was killed, and the

wounded included Major D. D. Young, Royal Canadian Dragoons; Major J.

A. Hesketh, Strathcona's Horse; Lieutenants A. D. Cameron, D. C.

McDonald, J. A. Sparkes, Strathcona's Horse; Major C. Harding, and

Lieutenants C. Brook and R. C. Everett, King Edward's Horse.

It would be impossible in this narrative to record all the acts of

bravery performed by officers and men during these days of struggle,

but a few should be described as examples of the fighting spirit.

Among the bravest of the brave mention must be made of Major Arthur

Cecil Murray, M. P., to whose efforts the gain in ground on the left

was in large measure due. Major Murray inspired the men with his own

intrepid spirit, leading his squadron as coolly as if on parade, and

held his ground under heavy machine-gun fire while the work of

constructing a parapet was under way. Lieutenant (afterward Captain)

J. A. Critchley of Strathcona's Horse, armed with bombs, attacked the

Germans' machine-gun redoubt under heavy fire. In the night of May 25,

1915, Corporal Legge of the Royal Canadian Dragoons crept out of the

trenches and located a German machine gun which had caused many

casualties, and which his regiment were then enabled to silence.

Sergeant Morris of King Edward's Horse on the same date accompanied

the brigade grenade company, reenforcing the Post Office Rifles of the

Forty-seventh London Division, who were engaged in an attack on a

German position. Sergeant Morris led a party down a German

communication trench, and, after all were killed or wounded but

himself, fought on alone with bombs, rifle, and bayonet until the Post

Office Rifles arrived on the scene and he was relieved.

On May 26, 1915, Corporal Pym of the Royal Canadian Dragoons heard

cries for help in English between the lines, and crawling out of his

trench, making his way across the field swept by machine-gun and rifle

fire, reached a wounded man who had been lying there for three days

and nights. Finding it impossible to bring in the unfortunate alone,

owing to his severe wounds, Pym sent a call to the trench for help.

Sergeant Hollowell immediately responded, but was killed just as he

reached the two men in the field. Pym after many efforts succeeded in

bringing in the wounded soldier alive.

The 4th Canadian Battalion was under incessant fire at Festubert

through ten days and eleven nights. On May 27, 1915, all communication

wires between the fire trenches and battalion and brigade headquarters

had been cut by the enemy's fire. Private (afterward Lieutenant) W. E.

F. Hart volunteered to mend the wires and succeeded in repairing

eleven breaks, reestablishing communications. In the Orchard he worked

under heavy shrapnel fire without cover for an hour and a half,

completing the work he had set out to perform. Hart, who owned a farm

near Brantford, Ontario, was with the battalion since August, 1914. He

afterward became a signaling officer of the 4th Battalion.

Sergeant Hickey, who had distinguished himself in April, 1915, at

Pilckem Ridge, when he brought in five wounded men under heavy shell

fire, performed a no less heroic act at Festubert. On May 24, 1915, he

volunteered to try and recover two trench mortars that had been

abandoned on the previous day. None of the 4th Battalion expected him

to return alive through the storm of fire the Germans were creating,

but he returned with the mortars and, what was even more important,

with information concerning a short safe route by which troops could

be brought up from the reserve trenches to the firing line. This brave

soldier, who had risked death so many times, was killed by a stray

bullet on May 30, 1915.

The Canadian division was withdrawn on May 31, 1915, and moved to the

south of the British line, where the routine of trench warfare was

continued until the middle of June, 1915.

Among the minor engagements between the close of the Battle of

Festubert and the great struggle at Loos the fight at Givenchy stands

out conspicuous. Here the Canadians again demonstrated their

unconquerable spirit and stubborn bravery.

The Seventh British Division had been ordered to make a frontal attack

on a German position known as Stony Mountain and the 1st Canadian

(Ontario) Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Hill of the First Brigade

was detailed to capture two lines of German trenches running south

from Stony Mountain to another strong point called Dorchester. This

operation was intended to secure the right flank of the British

division.

In the afternoon of June 15, 1915, the 1st Canadian Battalion (Ontario

Regiment) reached the line of trenches opposite the position to be

attacked, joining the 2d Canadian Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel

Watson. To the right of the attacking battalion the 2d and 4th

Canadian Battalions held the line to the La Bassee Canal, the 3d

Canadian Toronto Regiment in support, the East Yorks holding the left.

For three hours in the evening the Ontario Regiment was under enemy

fire awaiting the order to charge. Two 18-pounders had been installed

in the infantry trenches under cover of darkness and fifteen minutes

before zero hour they opened fire on the German parapets. One gun

under the direction of Lieutenant C. S. Craig cleared the ground of

wire entanglements and smashed two German machine guns. Lieutenant

Craig, who had been wounded at Ypres, was again injured while doing

his duty at Givenchy.

Lieutenant L. S. Kelly, in charge of the other gun, was successful in

destroying a German machine gun, when an enemy shell demolished his

own gun and he received at the same time a serious wound. Corporal

King was also struck down and died of his wounds, while several of the

gun crew were wounded.

A tragic result followed the explosion of a mine. Owing to the fact

that water had been found under the German trenches it was impossible

to tunnel far enough forward, so an unusually heavy charge was used,

which it was hoped would reach the Germans. The explosion had a

serious result in the Canadian trench lines, several bombers being

killed and wounded, while a reserve depot of bombs was buried under

the ruins. As the enemy blew up another bomb depot a little later, the

shortage of bombs was keenly felt as there were no other supplies

convenient to draw upon.

It was at this time that Lieutenant Colonel Beecher, the second in

command, was killed by a splinter from a high explosive.

Under cover of the smoke and flying debris of the explosion the

attacking company under Major G. J. L. Smith dashed forward into the

devastating fire from the machine guns in Stony Mountain, and captured

the enemy's front trench and Dorchester. The Canadians opposite Stony

Mountain were held up by the enemy fire and all were either killed or

wounded.

Bombing parties had followed the leading company that attacked. The

one on the right advanced without a leader, Lieutenant C. A. James,

who had charge, having been killed. The bombing party on the left

under Lieutenant G. N. Gordon narrowly escaped being wiped out. Only a

few straggled back to the first-line trench, among whom was Lieutenant

Gordon, who was later wounded and then killed by a German bomb.

A blocking party of eight sappers of the 1st Field Company of Canadian

Engineers, which had followed the leading company into the attack, had

also been all killed and wounded; but one man, Sapper Harmon,

gathering bombs from his dead and wounded comrades, bombed his way

along the trench alone, finally getting away with ten bullets in his

body after he had hurled his last bomb.

The second company under Captain G. L. Wilkinson joined with the

leading company in an attack on the German second-line trench. The

enemy presented a stiff front and many were bayoneted who resisted.

The group of prisoners sent back later with an escort came under fire

of their own guns in Stony Mountain, and some of them were killed as

well as a few of their captors.

The third company was in charge of Lieutenant T. C. Sims, the other

company officers, Captain F. W. Robinson and Lieutenant P. W. Pick,

having been killed at the time of the mine explosion. In the advance

across the open space between the lines they suffered many casualties,

but completed the work of consolidating the first-line German trench

that had been captured. The fourth company, which now advanced to

support, met with a series of misfortunes. Captain Delamater, the

officer in charge, was wounded, and Lieutenant J. C. L. Young, who

assumed command, was wounded soon after. The command now devolved upon

Lieutenant Tranter, who a moment later was killed. Company Sergeant

Major Owen then assumed charge, who proved himself fully equal to the

task in bravery and resource. When Lieutenant F. W. Campbell was

bringing up two machine guns to the rear of Captain Wilkinson's

company the whole crew of one gun were either killed or wounded. A few

men of the other crew reached the Germans' first-line trench and

pushed on toward Stony Mountain, preceded by bombers and under heavy

fire, until held up by an enemy barricade. Of the machine-gun crew

only Lieutenant Campbell and Private Vincent were fit to fight and

they still had the machine gun and tripod. Lacking a suitable base,

Lieutenant Campbell set up the gun on Private Vincent's broad back and

maintained a continuous fire on the enemy. When German bombers invaded

the trench Lieutenant Campbell was struck down, but succeeded in

crawling out of the trench and was carried in a dying condition to the

Canadian line by Company Sergeant Major Owen. Private Vincent

meanwhile had made his escape from the enemy trench and brought away

the machine gun in safety.

The Germans' heavy machine-gun fire forced the Canadian working

parties to abandon the attempt to construct the line joining the

Canadian trenches with the enemy trench that had been captured. The

battalion's efforts were now concentrated in building barricades

immediately south of Stony Mountain and to the north of Dorchester,

and to maintaining a strong hold on the second-line trench.

Owing to the explosion of the mine, as previously noted, the battalion

suffered from a lack of bombs. Private Smith of Southampton, Ontario,

son of a Methodist minister, a young man under twenty, undertook to

increase the supply. He had been buried when the mine exploded, but

dug himself out. This catastrophe deprived the Canadians in the

captured trench of bombs, and Private Smith, gathering bombs from the

dead and wounded around him, crawled forward on all fours, and under

fire, bringing the needed supplies to his comrades. Five times he went

forward loaded down with bombs to the points where they were mostly

needed, and while his clothes were reduced to tatters by the German

fire he miraculously escaped uninjured.

Despite Private Smith's heroic effort the supply of bombs ran out,

while the increasing machine-gun and rifle fire from Stony Mountain

added to the difficulties of the Canadians in holding the line.

Reenforcements from the 3d Battalion arrived, but little could be done

until more bombs could be found. Four volunteers were killed one by

one while on their way to get more. Sergeant Krantz of London,

Ontario, succeeded in bringing back a load, and Sergeant Newell, a

cheesemaker of Watford, and Sergeant Major Cuddy, a druggist from

Strathroy, went out on the same mission. The Canadians in the second

German line, having lost most of their officers, were slowly forced

back along the communication trench, and as nearly all the volunteers

who had gone after bombs were killed, the supply gave out and the

defense was in a perilous position.

Meanwhile the British division, owing to the strength of Stony

Mountain and of the German line north of that strong point, had been

unable to advance on the left. The Canadians meanwhile stood fast,

trusting that attack on the left would succeed.

The Germans having assembled strong forces for attack, the remnant of

the battalion, lacking bombs and other supplies, was forced to

withdraw from all the ground that had been gained, losing heavily from

the enemy's fire during the operation.

Only three out of twenty-three combatant officers who were in this

action escaped death or wounds. The fortunate ones were Colonel Hill,

who was in the thick of the struggle and displayed great courage and

resource, and Lieutenants S. A. Creighton and T. C. Sims.

The plan of the attack was prepared by the corps commander, the

operations of the 1st Canadian Battalion being directed by the Brigade

Commander General Mercer. A lawyer by profession, this distinguished

officer had taken an active part in Canadian militia affairs for

twenty-five years, and while commanding officer of the Queen's Own of

Toronto enjoyed universal esteem.

During the attack so many individual acts of bravery were

performed--it was such a common and indeed expected thing--that they

failed to attract much attention, but a few examples of heroism must

be noted.

On the day after the attack, when the space between the British and

German lines was swept by a heavy shell and rifle fire, a wounded man

was observed lying in the open. Lance Corporal E. A. Barrett of the

4th Battalion, who had been steward of the Edmonton Club, at once

volunteered to go out and bring the wounded man in. This act he

successfully carried out in safety though in clear view of the enemy

who made him their special target.

A few days later Lieutenant Houghton of Winnipeg, machine-gun officer

of the 8th Battalion, noticed a British soldier lying near a German

trench and evidently badly wounded. When dark set in, with the

assistance of Private G. F. Clark of the 8th Battalion, Winnipeg

Rifles, they dug a hole in the parapet, and Clark went out and brought

in the wounded man. A bullet through Clark's cap showed how narrowly

he had escaped with his life. As the opponents' trenches here were not

more than thirty-five yards apart the Germans must have been napping,

as they failed to get him. After the rescue of the wounded man Private

Clark went out and brought in a machine gun which the Canadians had

been forced to abandon near the German trenches in the recent attack.

For several days after the attack the Canadians were under heavy

artillery fire, when they were relieved, and the headquarters moved to

the north. Here they occupied a trench line taken over from the

British.

On Dominion Day the trenches were decorated with the flowers of

France, which seemed to enrage the Germans, who proceeded to destroy

the ornamentation by concentrated fire. Back of the lines the men of

the Dominion celebrated the holiday with athletic sports, the pipers

of the Scottish Canadian battalions enlivening the occasion by playing

the national airs of Great Britain and the Allies.

CHAPTER XIII

THE SECOND AND THIRD CANADIAN DIVISIONS--BATTLES OF ST.-ELOI AND

SANCTUARY WOOD--VICTORY AFTER DEFEAT

During the summer various units of the Second Canadian Division

arrived in England and went into training at Shorncliffe, where they

were more fortunate than the First Division, who worked through months

of rain, while they had the benefit of sunny summer weather.

Major General Turner took over the command from General Steele, who

remained to command the troops at Shorncliffe. On September 5, 1915,

the transportation of the troops to Havre was begun. Eight battalions

were left in reserve at Shorncliffe.

The First Division in the latter part of summer held a sector whose

right rested on the northern edge of Ploegsteert. As the troops of the

Second Division joined the fighting line the sector was extended

northward until the left rested on a point a short distance south of

St.-Eloi. The Second Division took over the northern line ending by

St.-Eloi, while the First occupied the Ploegsteert area to the south.

The Canadian Corps had been formed on September 13, 1915, the Second

Division arriving at Caestre on the following day. General Alderson,

being appointed corps commander, relinquished the command of the First

Division to General Currie and Brigadier General Lipsett succeeded to

the Second Brigade. Major General Turner, then in command of the

Second Division, was succeeded in the command of the Third Brigade by

Brigadier General Leckie, his brother, Major Leckie, taking over from

him the command of the 16th Battalion. The duty planned for the Second

Division was to relieve the Twenty-eighth British Division in what may

be called, for convenience, the Kemmel section of the line, which

extended north from the ground of the First Canadian Division.

The relief was carried through by September 23, 1915. The last week of

September in this year was the period of the Anglo-French offensive

when Loos and Champagne were on every tongue.

The Canadians staged a demonstration that would hold the enemy to

their trenches, and prevent them from reenforcing their sorely tried

comrades in the south. On September 25, 1915, the Germans could see

ominous activity in the Canadian trenches. Orders were shouted,

whistles blown, every preparation was made for attack. The enemy was

completely fooled, put down a barrage behind the Canadian firing line

to prevent the bringing up of supports and thronged their own

second-line trenches where they were heavily shelled. When it was too

late for them to move troops to Loos, the Canadian fire ceased and the

Germans could then see that no new attack was intended.

The winter of 1915-16 passed with periods of quiet broken by

bombardments, trench raids, and encounters between patrols. The chief

event of the New Year was the formation of the Third Division and at

the same time the Seventh and Eighth Brigade took shape. The Seventh

Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Macdonell, consisted of the

Princess Patricias, the Royal Canadian Regiment, the 42d Royal

Highlanders of Canada, and the 49th (Edmonton) Canadian Battalion.

The Eighth Brigade was made up of the six Canadian mounted rifle

regiments made into four infantry battalions under command of

Brigadier General Williams. Early in January, 1916, the Third Division

was constituted out of these brigades, and Major General Mercer was

appointed to the command.

In February, 1916, began a period of close cooperation with the Fifth

British Corps, which was to last for nearly seven weeks owing to the

fighting around the mound at St.-Eloi. Patrol encounters became

frequent in the days that followed. The Canadian corps on February 17,

1916, had an unfortunate day when Generals Macdonell and Leckie were

severely wounded by stray bullets.

The heaviest fight in which the Canadians were engaged since the

Second Battle of Ypres began in the night of April 3, 1916. The Battle

of St.-Eloi will always rank among the highest achievements of the

Canadian troops, who again demonstrated in this hard-fought struggle

their indomitable courage and stubborn tenacity. The Second Division

had taken over the ground won by the Third Division in recent

engagements. The opposing lines opposite St.-Eloi ran due east and

west. The new line won by the Third Division was a salient thrust due

south into the German position, receding slightly on the right and

abruptly on the left, to meet the old British line. To quote the

official story: "The old British line had been the arc of a bow turned

north and the new line became the arm of a bow pushed south. The

distance between these bows never exceeded 500 yards, and both of them

were less than 1,000 yards in length from end to end with a frontage

of 600 yards. In the middle, running as the string of both concave

bows, and separated by 200 or 250 yards from either old or new line,

was the original German line, blown to atoms in most places, and

represented through the center part of its length by a series of four

huge mine craters. These crowned the mound of St.-Eloi, a rise in the

ground which dominated the whole country."

The explosion of the great mine had damaged trenches on both sides,

and had created in the center of the arc of the bow a line of great

piles of earth. The trenches captured by the Third Division lay in

front. To the rear were the remains of the old line, a crater imposing

a barrier between troops holding either side. The new front trench

could not be reached except from the right or left, and a line is

always in danger when supports cannot be brought up from the rear.

The frontage at St.-Eloi was 600 to 1,000 yards, and the Germans' guns

had hammered it for three weeks until the whole surface of the ground

was uptorn. The Second Division occupied this area in the night of

April 3, 1916. Brigadier General Ketchen and the Sixth Brigade took

over the immediate front while the Fourth and Fifth Brigades were in

reserve. The 27th (Winnipeg) Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant

Colonel Snider, held the right of the line to the 31st (Alberta)

Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Bell on the left. The 29th

(Vancouver) Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Tobin was in support of

the 27th while the 28th (Northwest) under Lieutenant Colonel Embury

was behind the craters and in the center, supporting the 31st with its

left.

The Canadian communication trench from the right of the old British

line broke out straight to the left, running east to meet the old

original German firing trench at a spot that was known as Sackville

Center. It was held by a company of the 27th under Lieutenant Wilson.

To the left the line crossed the first of two roads that led to

Wytschaete, which, running north and south, meet at St.-Eloi; here the

front, after a stretch of fifty yards to the southeast, turned due

east to Bathurst Butts near the second road, then bent abruptly north

completing the salient by meeting the old German firing trench at

Campbelltown Corner. This line was 540 yards in length, the few firing

platforms facing the wrong way, the Third Division having failed to

turn it about when they took the line. The two companies of the 27th

shared the frontage. Machine guns were numerous along the line, and as

they were constantly put out of action there were frequent calls for

additional guns.

The relief was successfully carried out during the night of April 4,

1916. The British of the Sixty-first Brigade, Third British Division,

who had been fighting for five days under heavy shell fire, were found

to be in a thoroughly exhausted condition. To this badly hammered line

the 27th (Winnipeg) and the 31st (Alberta) succeeded.

General Turner had made plans to make the position secure and tenable,

but before they could be more than started the German advance checked

further operations.

The working of evacuating the British wounded began in the morning,

when the German guns were busy. Lieutenant McCaw's company held fast

while the bombardment destroyed the greater part of their position and

sixty-seven out of the ninety men present were killed or wounded.

Captain Meredith of the 27th found that the position he was to occupy

had been wiped out and it was only possible to find shelter for a few

groups of bombers and his sentries in shell holes and behind

improvised refuge barriers. It was necessary to send most of his men

back while forty tried to hold a position where 200 were needed.

In the night of April 5-6, 1916, Captain Gwynn of the 29th Battalion

took over Meredith's command from the left of the line while

Lieutenant O'Brien of the same regiment relieved the 27th Company on

the right.

Small parties of Germans during the night of the 5th, dashing through

the Canadian artillery fire, had been steadily massing within striking

distance on the front, while the battered 27th Battalion was being

relieved.

The German artillery preparation began at 3 a. m. on April 6, 1916.

Canadian officers around the telephone dugout discovered that the line

was cut. The bombardment increased to a tornado of fire. Officers were

unable to rejoin their units. To move even was certain death; while

shell holes opened everywhere and trenches were shattered. The Sixth

Canadian Brigade found that many of its rifle and machine guns had

become clogged with mud and were useless. As day broke, the Germans

were seen advancing up the Wytschaete road toward Sackville Center.

Every Canadian gun was brought to bear, but the mud thrown up by the

bombardment had put them out of action, and groups were too isolated

to make a counterattack with the bayonet. Lieutenant Browne of the 22d

French Canadians turned his Lewis gun on the Germans, but after a few

of the enemy were shot down it went out of action. The Germans dashed

by toward the craters in the rear, overpowering the small groups

holding them. Two or three hundred Germans with machine guns held

Craters 2 and 3, to the left of the Canadian position, and in the

course of the day working to the left won Craters 4 and 5. The trench

between Campbelltown Corner and the old British line became untenable,

and while some got back to the original line, others occupied Craters

6 and 7. While here they were presently attacked by the Germans, who,

however, gained nothing, being beaten off by Major Doughty of the

31st, who organized the defense. All this took place while the relief

of the 27th was being completed, a time when there is always some

confusion. Small parties found themselves in danger of being

surrounded and retired toward Sackville Center and Fredericton Fort,

where Captains Gwynn and Meredith were organizing the defense. The

officers determined to hold on though under heavy machine-gun fire,

and called on Colonel Snider, the nearest commanding officer, for

help. The cover was poor, and many men fell. Lieutenant Jackson went

out to discover the precise position of the enemy and returned with

one private, eight others having been immediately killed. The Germans'

fire on the communication trenches made it impossible for the Canadian

command to move up supports, and believing the enemy was only a

raiding party, hesitated to bombard for fear that more Canadians than

Germans would be killed. Not until 5 o'clock on the 6th did General

Kitchen learn that Craters 2 and 3 had been lost, when artillery fire

was opened on Crater 2.

The trench mortars in the right-hand trenches were out of action, but

some 18-pounders were brought up and turned on the enemy in Crater 2.

A bombing and infantry attack from the north and northeast was

prepared and the 28th Battalion was ordered to move up behind the

center of the position and aid in the assault.

Parties of the 27th and 29th and machine-gun teams of the Fifth

Brigade, struggling to reach the rallying point before Crater 1, lost

heavily. Only one gun was brought out of action by Sergeant Naylor of

the 24th. Parties of the 25th and 26th were never seen again.

Lieutenant Browne of the 22d (French-Canadians) and a handful of men

marched through the enemy line and after a hand-to-hand fight in an

enemy trench reached Fredericton fort with only two men of his section

alive.

Captains Meredith and Gwynn, who were defending Fredericton, held on

for two hours longer, their men falling fast around them and were then

forced to retire.

The Canadians had lost all the new line except a few outpost

positions, and the remainder of the struggle was devoted to attempts

to regain the lost ground and drive the Germans from the craters.

On the morning of April 6, 1916, when headquarters learned of the

German attack, supports and reserves of the Sixth Brigade were ordered

forward. Two companies of the 29th were by this time with the 27th in

the old British trenches and the new Canadian line beyond. The 28th

occupied Voormezeele in the support center line. The 18th (Western

Ontario) under Lieutenant Colonel Wigle, and 21st (Eastern Ontario)

under Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, were in reserve at Dickebush. Two

counterattacks were made simultaneously. Right-of-the-line bombers of

the 27th and 29th headed an assault on Craters 2 and 3. Bombers of the

28th and 31st Battalions from the left center of the line were to

occupy Craters 4 and 5. The troops of these two regiments had to come

up from behind St.-Eloi and the Germans turned a heavy barrage of fire

on them. They were unfamiliar with the ground, and seeing the outlines

of two craters before them assumed these were their objectives. No one

knew at the time that the craters on the left were in German hands.

The attack on Craters 2 and 3 met with such a sweeping machine-gun

fire from the Germans that the attack had to be abandoned.

Canadian artillery bombarded the craters during the day, and it was

decided to attack 4 and 5 (supposed to be Craters 2 and 3) in the

evening of April 6, 1916. Soon after dark fifty or sixty Germans, who

had been hiding all day in shell holes, suddenly attacked the 31st,

but were swept away by a heavy fire and only a few escaped.

Later in the evening the 28th moved forward in parties to the support

of the much-tried 31st Battalion, making a junction with Major Daly

(21st) behind the craters held by the Canadians. They were ordered to

assault and capture Craters 2 and 3, but actually advanced against

Craters 4 and 5. The bombers under Lieutenant V. P. Murphy, supported

by Captain Styles, established themselves near the hostile craters,

but owing to the darkness and impassable mud, and the ground a mass of

holes, further progress could not be made.

Daybreak on the 7th found the Canadian infantry occupying Craters 6

and 7, but no progress had been made against German positions. The

attackers had lost their way or were worn out from exhaustion. Though

the opposing forces were within forty yards of each other during the

night they had never come to grips.

Orders continued to come up from the rear to capture the enemy's

intrenchments at any cost, and while reenforcements went forward, in

the conditions existing at the front they mysteriously vanished.

That night the Fourth Brigade began to come up to the relief. The

Sixth Brigade had fought nobly for three days and nights, with

casualties of 617 officers and men. The 27th had lost eight officers

and 209 of its rank and file killed or wounded. The 31st came next

with 180 casualties, then the 29th with a roll of 180 casualties,

while the 28th lost 101. The brigade had achieved a glorious defeat.

The relief, which lasted over four nights, put the 21st instead of the

27th on the right in the trenches, the 18th replacing the 28th in the

center support position, while the 19th took the place of the 31st on

the left in the Canadian craters.

Before the relief was completed on the night of April 8-9, 1916, a new

attack was made against Craters 2 and 3. Captain Miller of the 21st,

leading the attack on the right, was wounded in the engagement. With a

bombing party he had gained the edge of Crater 2 without being

observed. Finding the crater too strongly held, an attack was not

attempted until Lieutenant Brownlee and fifty men reenforced the

party. By this time the Germans were alert and started such a heavy

fire that only a fourth of the party succeeded in struggling back to

the trench.

The assault on Crater 3 by the 18th was also a failure. Lieutenant

Kerr, who led the party, was wounded, and the blasting German gunfire

forced them to reoccupy the old British line, putting out an advanced

post before it fifty yards from the German crater. There was great

difficulty in getting in the wounded. Captain McKeough and Sergeants

Richardson, Cunningham, and Bowie again and again dashed through the

fire to bring in the casualties. Meanwhile the 19th Battalion was

engaged in relieving the 31st in the Canadian craters. Majors Moors

and Morrison (19th Battalion), who successively held this dangerous

position, could accomplish little as the German Crater 5 dominated it.

Attacks were made, but all failed. On the night of April 9, 1916, an

assault was pushed with some success. Lieutenant Davidson (21st) and

Lieutenant Brownlee with a strong party of bombers seized Crater 1 and

pushed north to capture Crater 2 from the rear. Here they failed, but

dug in close to its rim and consolidated the ground thus won.

The 19th Battalion continued to hold positions in the Canadian craters

until relieved on the 12th. Among conspicuous acts of bravery at this

time was that of Corporal A. F. Lynch, who went out and dragged in a

machine gun the entire crew of which had been killed.

Attempts were repeatedly made to wrest the lost positions from the

enemy, but all failed. On the night of April 11, 1916, the Fourth

Brigade was relieved by the Fifth; their casualties were 14 officers

and 389 men.

It was decided to reconstruct the old British line and hold fast to

the two craters then in possession. The Fifth Brigade under General

Watson began the work of reconstruction. The relief of the Fourth

started on the 11th, and General Watson took over the line the next

morning. By April 13, 1916, the relief was accomplished. The position

taken over consisted of trenches and posts in the old British line,

the Craters 6 and 7, advanced trenches in Crater 1, and Sackville

center and outposts to the north. The work of consolidating this last

position fell to the 24th (Victoria Rifles). In the night of April

14-15, 1916, Lieutenants Robertson and Duclos made two daring

reconnoissances. Major Ross and Lieutenant Greenshields also went out

on the same dangerous mission, gaining information that led to a

strengthening of the posts in the old German trench leading to Crater

2, and the approaches to Crater 1. Brigadier General Watson saw the

necessity of making over a strong front line, and this was carried out

under heavy fire.

The Germans launched four successive bombing attacks on the night of

the 14th which were repulsed by bombers under Lieutenant Farish,

grenade officer of the 25th. After that, action merged into ordinary

trench warfare though the artillery continued active. On the 16th the

weather conditions enabled aeroplanes once more to carry out

observations. Then it was discovered that Craters 4 and 5 were in

German hands and Craters 6 and 7 held by the Canadians.

So heavy was the German fire on the Canadian craters during the

succeeding days that the High Command considered abandoning them, but

finally decided that they must be held at whatever cost. Brigade

relieved brigade, and every effort was made to strengthen the

positions.

Early in the morning on the 15th the Germans made a powerful bombing

assault on Craters 6 and 7. Communications were broken and runners who

tried to get through to the main position were killed or driven back.

The 25th held on until relieved by parties of the 24th on the 16th.

The relieving force immediately were called on to beat off another

enemy attack.

At noon on April 17, 1916, the 24th Battalion was relieved by the

26th. The terrible strain to which the troops were subjected at this

time necessitated that these, too, should have relief. The 26th were

in turn relieved by the 29th Battalion of the Sixth Brigade in the

night of April 18-19, 1916. On the next day the defense collapsed.

Crater 6 was held by Lieutenant Myers and forty men on the left, and

Lieutenant Biggs occupied Crater 7 on the right. The Germans shelled

the crater so heavily in the afternoon that only a few of the

defenders were left alive. Then the Germans advanced. Lieutenant Biggs

appears to have allowed his few men to surrender, but Lieutenant Myers

fought to the last. Five men who tried to get away across the

fire-swept country escaped, though only one man was unwounded. They

were the sole survivors of the garrison. All the others were killed or

taken prisoner.

Thus the craters which the Canadians had clung to so long were lost.

That they were untenable was the German view, for no attempts were

made to occupy them. On the 20th Major Tait of the 29th on

reconnoissance with a small party found Crater 6 demolished around the

edges, and within a mass of mud full of dead bodies. No further

efforts were made by the Canadians to reoccupy the position. Crater 1,

which had been held throughout the fighting of the 19th, remained

definitely in their hands.

On May 28, 1916, General Alderson took over new duties and was

succeeded by General Sir Julian Byng, commander of the 3d (British)

Cavalry.

When the storm broke on June 2, 1916, the struggle began southeast of

Ypres, which lies in a depression, a ridge curving around southwest to

Mount Sorrel.

From ruined Hooge, beyond a mile of green water meadows, Zouave Wood

is seen running up one of the greatest gaps in the ridge. This gap

isolates Hooge from the system and through it the Germans could view

the British trenches in the plain. To the south the slopes are covered

by Sanctuary Wood and crowned by Hills 61 and 62, and beyond Mount

Sorrel completing the fighting area. Between Sanctuary Wood and Mount

Sorrel is a bare tongue of higher ground, Observatory Ridge, running

due west into the British positions toward Zillebeke village. Such was

the position occupied by the Third Canadian Division on the first day

of June, 1916, as viewed from the rear. They held the high ground, a

plateau, and were determined to retain it.

The First Canadian Division was on the right of the Third. The Second

Division was farther south at St.-Eloi, and was not called on until

later in the action.

The left of the line was held by the Seventh Brigade under Brigadier

General A. C. Macdonell and the right by the Eighth Brigade under

Brigadier General Victor Williams. Two companies of the Royal Canadian

Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel C. H. Hill were astride the Menin

road on the far side of Hooge, their left sloping down through bombing

posts to link with the British at Bellewaarde Beek, their right in

touch with the Princess Patricias at the gap under Lieutenant Colonel

Buller. In the southern section of Sanctuary Wood they met the 1st

Canadian Mounted Rifles of the Eighth Brigade under Colonel Shaw

holding Hills 61 and 62. Next on the right was the 4th Mounted

Canadian Rifles under Colonel Ussher holding Mount Sorrel, where the

Second Brigade of the First Division continued the line.

Back of the front line there was a support line left of the position.

From the Menin road support line trenches extended southeast, held by

the support company of the Princess Patricias and the Royal Canadian

Regiment. Northeast of Maple Copse, and in the middle of Sanctuary

Wood, the support line broke into two systems of trenches. A series of

communication trenches broke abruptly back to Maple Copse and the

southwest, forming an apex facing the enemy. From the apex the support

line continued back of the Canadian front-line trenches on Hill 62 and

Mount Sorrel. Fortified posts back of these covered the ground between

Zouave Wood and the southern slopes of Observatory Ridge. A second

line known as G. H. Q. nearer Ypres was the last defense.

The 5th Canadian Rifles support battalion under Lieutenant Colonel

Baker held the fortified post on the north, the 4th Canadian Mounted

Rifles the post on the south. The Princess Patricias held one fort.

Maple Copse was occupied by a company and a half of the 5th Canadian

Mounted Rifles, the 42d Battalion of Royal Highlanders and the

remaining company of the Royal Canadian Regiment. The 49th Edmonton

Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Griesbach was the reserve battalion

of the Seventh Brigade, and the 2d Canadian Mounted Rifles of the

Eighth.

The German offensive on June 2, 1916, was not unexpected, as for some

days they had been driving "T" saps in front of their lines and

linking them together to form advance trenches.

The German bombardment, which began about 8.30 a. m., surpassed

anything of its kind the Canadians had faced since landing on the

continent. A tornado of fire and steel swept defenses away. The

defenders were slain, or wounded, or buried under debris. The generals

and their staffs were caught in the storm. One of the first shells

wounded Brigadier General Williams, who was later made a prisoner by

the Germans. General Mercer was last seen encouraging his men, and his

fate was not known until ten days later when his body, with both legs

broken, was found in one of the side trenches. This gallant soldier

was buried at Poperinghe, where many other brave Canadian soldiers

lie.

The 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles were swept away by the storm of fire,

but afterward it was learned that some parties had escaped. The

garrison holding the last trench on the right reached the lines of the

Second Brigade when night fell.

The German advance was stubbornly resisted. Major Dennison fought a

rear-guard action and got back to the second line with five men. The

fortified post held by the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles was blown up.

One garrison was wiped out, and only three men got away from the other

post. Between thirty and forty men were rallied behind the support

line. The casualties were 637.

The 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion on their left had also met

with disaster. Their trenches were obliterated. The survivors retired

to the apex, and some on battalion headquarters.

The German attack launched just after 1 o'clock was made in four

successive lines from the southwest. Mount Sorrel was reached and the

German left flank began clearing the way, when the center attacked the

1st Canadian Mounted Rifles. Colonel Shaw in his redoubt found his

right flank exposed, and was attacked on all sides. The garrison

fought hard. Colonel Shaw fell and with him Major Palmer and

Lieutenant Rowles. At last all the officers but two and most of the

noncommissioned officers were killed and wounded. Lieutenants Key and

Evans led fifteen survivors back to a fortified post before the apex

where, with the help of stragglers, they held out until relieved the

next day. The total casualties of the regiment were 367.

The Princess Patricias had two companies in the firing line, one in a

communication trench leading up to it, and a fourth in the

support-line trenches. They were the next to withstand the German

assault. The company on the right hand in the firing line was blown

from the trenches. The survivors retired to the communication trenches

held by the support company. The German wave engulfed all the left

except the front-line company under Captain Niven, which turned and

volleyed into the German rear. The company held ground for eighteen

hours fighting hard and with excellent results. Their casualties were

heavy, but the enemy too was hard hit.

The Germans next attacked the Princess Patricias in the communication

trenches, bombing their way along to the apex line then lightly held.

Colonel Buller was killed while rallying the support platoons in the

communication trench. A close and dreadful struggle ensued between

Germans and Canadians in the communication trenches. The latter

endeavored to build blocks down the communication trenches to hold the

enemy from reaching the support line until it had been fully manned.

The garrison of each block perished while a new one farther on was

being built. They kept off the enemy long enough, however, for the

reserve company to come up and the vital position was saved. Had the

support line gone, the Ypres salient would have gone with it. Colonel

Buller saved the day by holding on until General Macdonell could bring

up his reserve.

Captain Niven meanwhile was clinging to the knoll of trenches in the

front line to the northwest, threatened on all sides by the Germans.

His right-hand platoon had been smashed by the bombardment and

Lieutenant Haggerty was killed. Lieutenant Molson took over the

command, but, being wounded, the section had to be abandoned.

Lieutenants Triggs and Irwin, the latter the only remaining subaltern,

were wounded later in the day. Captain Niven, though wounded, and the

only officer remaining of his company, continued to command. All

communication with the battalion was cut off, but some runners got

through. At twilight Captain Niven gave up his command to Lieutenant

Glascoe from headquarters, and after having his wound dressed returned

to his company, only to be struck down by a bullet.

Lieutenant Glascoe, seeing the surviving party would soon be

surrounded, brought away the remnant to the support line in safety.

Lieutenant C. P. Cotton of the First Divisional Artillery in command

of the gun crews serving two 18-pounders continued to fire upon the

enemy coming over Observatory Ridge until they were within a few yards

of the gun pits. Lieutenant Cotton and the gun crews fought to the

last.

The attack spread to Hooge in the afternoon when the Royal Canadian

Regiment repulsed two heavy attacks. But the Canadian position was

still serious, for the Germans had smashed the front and support lines

on the crest of the ridge and decimated the defenders. In strong force

they now advanced on Observatory Ridge, into the heart of the Canadian

position, and were also attacking farther north communication trenches

leading to the support lines. The enemy had won the support trenches

on Hill 62 and Mount Sorrel, and it was a matter of life and death for

the Canadians to hold on to the support trenches to the apex and Maple

Copse. The 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles offered a stout resistance, but

their position and that of the Seventh Brigade was seriously

imperiled, though General Macdonell was active pushing up

reenforcements. Early in the afternoon the 5th Mounted Rifles were

nearly blown out of Maple Copse. The Germans got into the support line

on the left, and the Princess Patricias bayoneted a large number in a

hand-to-hand struggle.

In the meantime the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade on the right was

threatened by the enemy from the rear. They got as far as Armagh

House, but were driven out by a patrol of the 5th Battalion. The 7th

Battalion (British Columbia) was brought up to support the 5th

Battalion.

The 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles held fast in Maple Copse, but their

brave commander, Colonel Baker, was slain. The Royal Canadian Regiment

still hung on to its position on the left. The center and support

trenches behind were intact, the Princess Patricias and the 42d still

held fast. Lieutenant Evans clung to the fortified post in front, and

the Germans could not shell the Mounted Rifles out of Maple Copse. To

the south the 5th Battalion of the First Division were in Square Wood

and the front line leading to Hill 60.

The Canadians launched a counterattack at 7.10 a. m. on June 3, 1916.

Major Stewart, formerly of the U. S. A., leading the 7th Battalion,

was slain. The objective of the 7th, supported by the 10th, was to

clear the enemy from the southern edge of Observatory Ridge and push

on to Mount Sorrel. The attacks were vigorously pressed, but all broke

down.

To the north the 15th Battalion attacked at 8.35 a. m. They were

astride the ridge, but the ground in front offered no cover and they

were forced to dig in just behind Rudkin House.

The 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal Regiment) went forward an hour

after the first attack took place, and linked up with the 15th at

Rudkin House.

The 49th and 60th on the extreme left were to attack through Sanctuary

Wood. The 52d and 60th were caught in barrages and most of their

senior officers were killed, and failed to arrive at the time fixed

for the assault. The 60th eventually reached the position assigned in

the support trenches and held the line all day under a withering fire.

The 49th in the apex and support line in Sanctuary Wood attacked at 7

a. m. Captain McNaughton and Lieutenant F. W. Scott and five other

officers were killed, while eight officers were wounded. They advanced

and established blocks in Sanctuary Wood, making the apex of the new

front line comparatively safe from assault. By early evening of June

3, 1916, it was known that the counterattack had failed in its main

objective. The Canadians had gained something by making good the line

that ran continuously from the Menin road to Hill 60, and the danger

that threatened on June 2, 1916, was now averted. But it was evident

that the situation could not be left as it was and preparations to

strike again were made by the High Command, which led to the fight for

Hooge.

From the knoll of Hooge one can look down on Ypres, hence its

importance. Advance trenches had been pushed to the east end of the

village overlooking Bellewaarde Lake. On the left the ground slopes

abruptly to Bellewaarde Beek, on the other side of which was the 60th

Battalion. The line here was open to German attack from the higher

ground.

The 28th Battalion went forward in the night of June 5-6, 1916, to

relieve the Royal Canadian Regiment, an operation which was

accomplished under heavy fire. At 7 a. m. on June 6, 1916, the Germans

began a bombardment that lasted for seven hours when the assault on

Hooge began. They knew the importance of Hooge, which must be captured

if the new line was to be made complete and the Ypres salient broken.

At 2 p. m. they exploded four mines under the Canadian front-line

trenches. One company of the 28th perished and many of the remaining

company were killed or wounded. Following the explosions the Germans

occupied the trenches in Hooge and attacked the Sixtieth British

Brigade opposite Bellewaarde Farm, but here they were repulsed. They

next advanced down the Menin road. Captain Styles of the 28th had

organized a defense in the support line and fortunately had numerous

machine guns, and a number of enemy attacks were beaten off. About 4

p. m. the 31st in the support trenches were attacked and the enemy

renewed their attempts in the evening through Zouave Wood. They lost

heavily and gained nothing. But the Sixth Brigade had suffered, its

casualties were 20 officers and 580 men. The village of Hooge was

lost, and the road to Ypres lay open to the enemy.

Preparations were now made by the Canadian High Command for a general

assault on the night of June 12-13, 1916. The Ninth British Brigade

took over the St.-Eloi sector, releasing the Second Division to occupy

ground in the north, while the First Division prepared for the attack.

General Lipsett commanded the 1st, 3d, 7th, and 8th Battalions for the

right attack. General Tuxford took command of the 2d, 4th, 13th, and

16th, while General Hughes remained as divisional reserve with the

5th, 10th, 14th, and 15th Battalions.

In the night of June 12, 1916, the German trenches were bombarded for

four hours and at 1.30 a. m. the battalions advanced in three

successive lines. All the battalions gained their objectives. The 16th

reached Mount Sorrel on the right, the 16th Hill 62 in center, and the

13th the old lines to the north of this.

During the night of the 12th German positions had been heavily shelled

and at 1.30 a. m. on the 13th, Lieutenant Colonel Allen led the 3d

Toronto Battalion forward with the 1st in support, and captured the

German first line. A fortified post in the enemy's hands was carried

by assault, and the objective was won forty minutes after the action

began. Colonel J. E. Leckie of the 16th Battalion (center attacked)

had discovered an old trench 100 yards nearer their objective and two

lines were passed up to the unmarked trench unknown to the enemy. The

Germans were hemmed in front and rear before they learned of the

presence of the Canadians. The two supporting lines did not have the

same good fortune, but suffered heavily from shell fire as they

climbed the parapet.

The second two waves of the 16th encountered strong resistance as they

approached the German front line, and Captain Wood, an American army

officer, was killed. The trench was taken and the defenders killed or

made prisoners. A machine gun a short distance away, which gave the

Canadians trouble, was silenced by Captain Bell-Irving, who dashed

from the line and killed the gun crew. Line after line was carried.

The 16th recaptured the heights, their old ground, and linked up with

the 3d Battalion.

The 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada) under Lieutenant

Colonel Buchanan, after some bombing encounters, broke through to the

north of Hill 62 and joined up with the 16th on the right. The 58th

(Colonel Genet) had fought their way up the communication trenches and

the circle from left to right was complete.

The First Division, through error caused by the dim light, occupied a

trench that was fifty yards from their objective. Bombing posts were

established down the German communication trenches, but the Germans

did not attempt a counterattack. When the morning dawned at last, the

Canadians were once more masters of the heights defending the Ypres

salient.

The Canadians broke into the great Battle of the Somme on September 4,

1916, when the First Division relieved the Australians before Pozieres

and the men from overseas fought together for thirty-six hours. On

September 15, 1916, the Eleventh Division (British) held the front

flank in front of Thiepval, but the Second and Third Canadian

Divisions shared in the general advance, pushing their line forward

over the Pozieres Ridge and down the slope to join the Fifteenth

Scottish Division in Martinpuich on the right. All Canada was

represented in this achievement. The capture of Courcelette was

largely the work of the 22d Battalion of the Fifth Brigade French

Canadians of the Second Division. The Third Canadian Division during

the Courcelette operation was working upon the left flank of the

Second, as it attacked the village, protecting it from enfilade

attack. The Canadians brought back 1,300 prisoners.

This important victory was followed by a day of failure. The Third

Division, still operating on the left of the Second, advanced to carry

the Zollern Trench and Zollern Redoubt north of Courcelette. The

Seventh and Ninth Brigades were in the attacking line, but the Seventh

was held up. The Ninth was halted by a barbed-wire entanglement. The

60th (Montreal) and the 52d (New Ontario) lost 800 men between them

and the operation was suspended.

CHAPTER XIV

VIMY RIDGE AND PASSCHENDAELE

During the early months of 1917 the Canadians, now forming a

self-contained corps under the command of General Sir Julian Byng,

continued on the front north of Arras where they soon were to win new

glory in the Vimy-Lens sector. January, February, and March, 1917, saw

no action of great importance, though many brilliant raids were

carried out successfully by the various units of the Canadian corps.

The chief work on hand at this time was careful training and

preparation for the part the Canadians were to play in the Battle of

Arras.

To them had been assigned the sector facing directly the menacing Vimy

Ridge, a long, gradual slope with a maximum elevation of 450 feet. The

four Canadian divisions were disposed in their numerical order with

the First (Currie) on the right wing, in touch with the Fifty-first

British Division, and the Fourth (Watson) on the left wing, in touch

with the First British Corps. The center was held by the Second and

Third Canadian Divisions (Burstall and Lipsett).

The infantry brigades were commanded by Brigadier Generals Garnet B.

Hughes, C. M. G.; W. St. P. Hughes, D. S. O.; F. O. Loomis, D. S. O.;

G. S. Tuxford, C. B., C. M. G.; Robert Rennie, C. M. G., M. V. O., D.

S. O.; A. H. Macdonell, C. M. G., D. S. O.; A. C. Macdonell, D. S. O.,

C. M. G.; H. D. B. Ketchen, C. M. G.; J. H. Elmsley, D. S. O.; F. W.

Hill, D. S. O.; Victor W. Odlum, D. S. O., and J. H. MacBrien, D. S.

O.

At half past 5 on Easter Monday morning, April 9, 1917, the great

attack was launched with terrible fire from massed artillery and from

many field guns in hidden advance positions. The Canadian "heavies"

bombarded the enemy positions on and beyond the ridge, and trenches,

dugouts, emplacements, and roads, which for long had been kept in a

continual state of disrepair by the Canadian fire, were now smashed to

uselessness. An intense barrage of shrapnel from field guns,

strengthened by the indirect fire of hundreds of machine guns, was

laid along the front.

At the same moment the Canadian troops advanced in line, in three

waves of attack. Flurries of snow drifted over the battle field as the

Canadians left their jumping-off trenches behind the rolling barrage.

The light was sufficient for maneuvering purposes and yet obscure

enough to obstruct the range of vision and lessen the accuracy of fire

of the German riflemen and machine-gunners.

The troops on the extreme left made a start under conditions as

favorable as those in the center and right, but they were soon

confronted by a strong and constantly strengthening opposition. The

advance of these troops was soon checked between the first and second

lines of objectives by heavy fighting, which was more formidable

against the center of the line than against the flanks.

A dip in the ground caused a change of direction, which swung these

troops off their central objectives. They reached their goals on the

flanks, only to find themselves subjected to heavy, close-range fire

of machine guns and rifles. To be enfiladed from the center and the

north was bad enough, but to add to the situation, caves or a tunnel,

in the hostile line over which we had already advanced, now disgorged

Germans, who promptly reoccupied their old front and opened fire on

the Canadian rear. The enemy at these points fought with unusual vigor

and resolution.

These troops on the extreme left fought all day, and by 10 o'clock at

night succeeded in disposing of the enemy in their rear and capturing

the major portion of the enemy trenches in their center. "The Pimple,"

in the north, still remained to the enemy, but by then snow was

falling heavily and it was wisely decided to consolidate the hard-won

gains and prepare for a counterattack rather than to undertake a

further assault that night. The "Pimple" would keep for the morrow.

In the meantime the other troops fought forward to one line after

another without serious check, but with many brisk encounters and not

without casualties. Most of these were the result of shrapnel fire,

only a small percentage were fatal, and the majority of the wounds

were of a minor character.

On the German second line the troops drew breath and consolidated

their gains. The Canadian barrage was laid before them steady as a

wall. Fresh troops came up and deployed into position. They waited for

the barrage to lift at the ordained minute and lead them on. The

enemy's artillery fire--their counterbarrage and bombardment of the

Canadian gun positions--was not strong as strength in such things was

considered in those days. Prisoners were already hurrying to the rear

in hundreds, pathetically and often ludicrously grateful to the

fortunes of war that had saved them alive for capture. They

surrendered promptly and willingly.

The barrage lifted, and the two divisions on the right followed it

forward to the German third line. Here again they paused for a time,

then advanced again, behind the ever-ready and unslackening barrage,

for a distance of about 1,200 yards. This advance included the capture

of several villages, Hill 140, a number of fortified woods, and

several trenches and belts of wire. And still the enemy surrendered by

hundreds and scuttled rearward to safety. Their resistance grew

feebler, their hands more eager to relinquish their weapons and ascend

high above their heads at each stage of the Canadian advance.

At 10 o'clock snow fell heavily from black clouds sweeping low across

the ridge. Half an hour later the snow ceased, the clouds thinned, and

the sun shone fitfully over the shattered and clamorous battle field.

Word was received at the advanced headquarters that the British

division on the immediate right was enjoying a degree of success in

its operations equal to the Canadian success.

Events continued to develop with rapidity and precision. By 1 o'clock

in the afternoon every point in the enemy's third line of the Canadian

objectives had been reached and secured. By this time the troops on

the right had consolidated their gains and advanced strong patrols.

From their new positions they commanded a wide view of enemy territory

to the eastward. They reported a massing of Germans on a road in the

new field of vision, and heavy guns immediately dealt with the matter.

By noon one of the battalions of a division had received and dealt

drastically with three counterattacks. Its front remained unshaken.

Shortly after this the Canadian corps was able to state that the

prisoners already to hand numbered 3 battalion commanders, 15 other

officers, and more than 2,000 noncommissioned officers and men--with

plenty more in sight--making for the "cages" as fast as their legs

would carry them.

The final stage of the attack of the troops on the right was now made.

They passed through the wide belts of enemy wire which fringed the

plateau by way of wide gaps torn by our heavy artillery at fixed

intervals. So they issued on the eastern slopes of Vimy Ridge--the

first Allied troops to look down upon the level plain of Douai since

the German occupation in 1914. They saw the villages of Farbus, Vimy,

and Petit Vimy at their feet, and beyond these the hamlets of

Willerval, Bailleul, Oppy, and Mericourt. They pressed on to Farbus

Wood and Goulot Wood, and possessed themselves of several hostile

batteries and much ammunition.

By an early hour of the afternoon all the Canadian objectives save

those of the left of the attack had been gained and the task of

consolidating and strengthening these gains was well in hand.

Throughout the day the most courageous and devoted cooperation was

rendered to the Canadian corps by a brigade and a squadron of the

Royal Flying Corps.

The night saw all of Vimy Ridge, with the exception of a few trenches

on Hill 145, secure in Canadian hands.

During the next two days the Canadians, greatly hampered by dreadful

weather, consolidated their new positions. When this had been

accomplished, operations were again resumed.

Attacks were delivered simultaneously at 5 A. M. on April 12, 1917, by

English and Canadian troops against the two small hills known as "The

Pimple," and the Bois-en-Hache, situated on either side of the Souchez

River. Both of these positions were captured, with a number of

prisoners and machine guns. Steps were at once taken to consolidate

these gains and patrols were pushed forward to maintain touch with the

enemy.

The results of this last success at once declared themselves. Prior to

its accomplishment there had been many signs that the enemy was

preparing to make strong counterattacks from the direction of Givenchy

and Hirondelle Woods to recover the Vimy Ridge. The positions captured

on April 12, 1917, commanded both these localities, and he was

therefore compelled to abandon the undertaking. His attitude in this

neighborhood forthwith ceased to be aggressive, and indications of an

immediate withdrawal from the areas commanded by the Vimy Ridge

multiplied rapidly.

The withdrawal commenced on the morning of April 13, 1917. Before

noon on that day Canadian patrols had succeeded in occupying the

southern portion of Givenchy-en-Gohelle, had pushed through Petit

Vimy, and had reached the crossroads 500 yards northeast of the

village. That afternoon English patrols north of the Souchez River

crossed no-man's-land and entered Angres, while Canadian troops

completed the occupation of Givenchy-en-Gohelle and the German trench

system east of it. Farther south other troops seized Petit Vimy and

Vimy, and Willerval and Bailleul were occupied in turn.

For the next two weeks these gains were maintained without any further

attempt to extend them.

In the meantime a great French offensive had been launched on the

Aisne and in Champagne and, in order to assist their allies, the

British had decided to resume their operations at Arras. The British

Commander in Chief, Sir Douglas Haig, in his report describes the

participation of the Canadians in these operations as follows:

"The first of these attacks was delivered on the 28th of April, 1917,

on a front of about eight miles north of Monchy-le-Preux. With a view

to economizing my troops, my objectives were shallow, and for a like

reason, and also in order to give the appearance of an attack on a

more imposing scale, demonstrations were continued southward to the

Arras-Cambrai road and northward to the Souchez River.

"The assault was launched at 4.25 a. m. by British and Canadian troops

and resulted in heavy fighting, which continued throughout the greater

part of the 28th and 29th of April, 1917. The enemy delivered

counterattack after counterattack with the greatest determination and

most lavish expenditure of men. Our positions at Gavrelle alone were

again attacked seven times with strong forces, and on each occasion

the enemy was repulsed with great loss.

"In spite of the enemy's desperate resistance, the village of

Arleux-en-Gohelle was captured by Canadian troops after bitter

hand-to-hand fighting, and English troops made further progress in the

neighborhood of Oppy, on Greenland Hill, and between Monchy-le-Preux

and the Scarpe. In addition to these advances, another 1,000 German

prisoners were taken by us in the course of the two days' fighting.

"Five days later, at 3.45 a. m. on the 3d of May, 1917, another attack

was undertaken by us of a similar nature to that of the 28th of April,

1917, which in the character of the subsequent fighting it closely

resembled.

"In view of important operations which the French were to carry out on

the 5th of May, 1917, I arranged for a considerable extension of my

active front. While the Third and First Armies attacked from

Fontaine-les-Croisilles to Fresnoy, the Fifth Army launched a second

attack upon the Hindenburg line in the neighborhood of Bullecourt.

This gave a total front of over sixteen miles.

"Along practically the whole of this front our troops broke into the

enemy's positions. Australian troops carried the Hindenburg line east

of Bullecourt, Eastern county battalions took Cherisy. Other English

troops entered Roeux and captured the German trenches south of

Fresnoy. Canadian battalions found Fresnoy full of German troops

assembled for a hostile attack, which was to have been delivered at a

later hour. After hard fighting, in which the enemy lost heavily, the

Canadians carried the village, thereby completing an unbroken series

of successes.

"Later in the day, strong hostile counterattacks once more

developed, accompanied by an intense bombardment with heavy guns.

Fierce fighting lasted throughout the afternoon and far into the

night, and our troops were obliged to withdraw from Roeux and

Cherisy. They maintained their hold, however, on Fresnoy and the

Hindenburg line east of Bullecourt, as well as upon certain trench

elements west of Fontaine-les-Croisilles and south of the Scarpe.

"Early in May, 1917, local attacks had been undertaken by Canadian

troops in the neighborhood of the Souchez River, which formed the

prelude to a long-sustained series of minor operations directed

against the defense of Lens. Substantial progress was made in this

area on June 5 and 19, 1917, and five days later North Midland troops

captured an important position on the slopes of a small hill

southwest of Lens, forcing the enemy to make a considerable withdrawal

on both sides of the river. Canadian troops took La Coulotte on June

26, 1917, and by the morning of June 28, 1917, had reached the

outskirts of Avion.

"On the evening of June 28, 1917, a deliberate and carefully

thought-out scheme was put into operation by the First Army to give

the enemy the impression that he was being attacked on a twelve-mile

front from Gavrelle to Hulluch.

"Elaborate demonstrations were made on the whole of this front,

accompanied by discharges of gas, smoke and thermit, and a mock raid

was successfully carried out southeast of Loos. At the same time real

attacks were made, with complete success, by English troops on a front

of 2,000 yards opposite Oppy, and by Canadian and North Midland troops

on a front of two and a half miles astride the Souchez River. All

objectives were gained, including Eleu dit Leauvette and the southern

half of Avion, with some 300 prisoners and a number of machine guns."

In the meantime the commander of the Canadian corps, General Sir

Julian Byng, early in June, 1917, had been promoted to the command of

one of the British armies. On June 19, 1917, Major General Sir Arthur

Currie, who only a short time before had been knighted by King George

on the battle field of Vimy, was gazetted as the new commander of the

Canadian corps and in July was promoted to the rank of Major General.

He was succeeded in the command of the first Canadian Division by

Major General A. C. Macdonell. Sir Arthur Currie had a most

distinguished career. Having joined the Canadian militia as early as

1895 as a private, he had gradually worked up his way to the command

of the Fifth British Columbia Regiment of Garrison Artillery. In 1914

he was given command of a brigade for active service, and in 1915 was

promoted to the command of the First Canadian Division, showing in all

his commands exceptional military capacity.

In the middle of August, 1917, the Canadians again became active in

the Lens sector. A highly successful operation was carried out in the

neighborhood of Lens, whereby the situation of the forces in that

sector was greatly improved. At the same time the threat to Lens

itself was rendered more immediate and more insistent and the enemy

was prevented from concentrating the whole of his attention and

resources upon the front of the British main offensive.

At 4.25 a. m. on August 15, 1917, the Canadian corps attacked on a

front of 4,000 yards southeast and east of Loos. The objectives

consisted of the strongly fortified hill known as Hill 70, which had

been reached but not held in the battle of Loos on September 25, 1915,

and also the mining suburbs of Cite Ste.-Elizabeth, Cite St.-Emile,

and Cite St.-Laurent, together with the whole of Bois Rase and the

western half of Bois Hugo. The observation from Hill 70 had been very

useful to the enemy, and its possession materially increased the

British command over the defenses of Lens.

Practically the whole of these objectives was gained rapidly at light

cost and in exact accordance with plan. Only at the farthest apex of

the advance a short length of German trench west of Cite St.-Auguste

resisted the first assault. This position was again attacked on the

afternoon of the following day and captured after a fierce struggle

lasting far into the night.

A number of local counterattacks on the morning of August 15, 1917,

were repulsed, and in the evening a powerful attack delivered across

the open by a German reserve division was broken up with heavy loss.

In addition to the enemy's other casualties, 1,120 prisoners from

three German divisions were captured by the Canadians.

Then came a period of well-deserved rest, not lacking, of course, in

plenty of drill and training for the battle-weary Canadians. On

October 23, 1917, the corps began its move to the north to participate

in the Battle of Passchendaele. Before long the Canadians were again

in the thick of the fighting.

At an early hour on the morning of October 26, 1917, in spite of heavy

rain, English and Canadian troops attacked on a front extending from

the Ypres-Roulers railway to beyond Poelcappelle.

The Canadians attacked on the right on both sides of the small stream

known as the Ravebeek, which flows southwestward from Passchendaele.

On the left bank of the stream they advanced astride the main ridge

and established themselves securely on the small hill south of

Passchendaele. North of the Ravebeek strong resistance was met on the

Bellevue Spur, a very strong point, which had resisted all efforts in

previous attacks. With splendid determination the Canadians renewed

their attack on this point in the afternoon and captured it. Two

strong counterattacks south and west of Passchendaele were beaten off,

and by nightfall the Canadians had gained practically the whole of

their objectives.

At this time the need for the policy of activity adopted by the

British had been still further emphasized by recent developments in

Italy. Additional importance was given to it by the increasing

probability that a time was approaching when the enemy's power of

drawing reenforcements from Russia would increase considerably. In

pursuance of this policy, therefore, two short advances were made on

the 30th of October and the 6th of November, 1917, by which possession

of Passchendaele was gained.

In the first operation Canadian and English troops attacked at 5:50 a.

m. on a front extending from the Ypres-Roulers railway to the

Poelcappelle-Westroosebeke road.

On the right the Canadians continued their advance along the high

ground and reached the outskirts of Passchendaele, capturing an

important position at Crest Farm on a small hill southwest of the

village. Fighting was severe at all points, but particularly on the

spur west of Passchendaele. Here no less than five strong

counterattacks were beaten off in the course of the day, the Canadians

being greatly assisted by the fire of captured German machine guns in

Crest Farm.

During the succeeding days small advances were made by night southwest

of Passchendaele, and a hostile attack on both sides of the

Ypres-Roulers railway was successfully repulsed.

[Illustration: At the left is Major General Sir Archibald Cameron

Macdonell, who commanded the Canadian First Division in 1917 and 1918;

at the right is Major General Sir Henry Edward Burstall, who commanded

the Canadian Corps Artillery, and later the Second Canadian Division.]

At 6 a. m. on the 6th of November, 1917, Canadian troops renewed their

attack and captured the village of Passchendaele, together with the

high ground immediately in the north and northwest. Sharp fighting

took place for the possession of "pill boxes" in the northern end of

the village, around Mosselmarkt, and on the Goudberg Spur. All

objectives were gained at an early hour, and at 8.50 a. m. a hostile

counterattack north of Passchendaele was beaten off.

Over 400 prisoners were captured in this most successful attack, by

which, for the second time within the year, Canadian troops achieved a

record of uninterrupted success. Four days later, in extremely

unfavorable weather, British and Canadian troops attacked northward

from Passchendaele and Goudberg, and captured further ground on the

main ridge after heavy fighting.

CHAPTER XV

HOLDING THE VIMY SECTOR

During the last year of the war in France and Belgium there were about

160,000 Canadians at the front, including an army corps of four

infantry divisions of 80,000 men under command of Sir Arthur Currie; a

cavalry brigade, 3,000 strong, under General Seely, and, after the

middle of the year, Brigadier General R. W. Paterson, D. S. O.;

numerous and effectively organized lines of communication units,

railway, forestry, engineer, medical, ambulance, sanitary, veterinary,

dental, salvage, and other services. The divisional commanders of the

infantry were as follows: Major General Sir A. C. Macdonell, K. C. B.,

C. M. G., D. S. O., First Division; Major General Sir H. E. Burstall,

K. C. B., C. M. G., Second Division; Major General F. O. Loomis, C.

B., C. M. G., D. S. O., Third Division; Major General Sir David

Watson, K. C. B., C. M. G., Fourth Division. Headquarters officials

included Brigadier General R. J. L. Hayter, C. M. G., D. S. O.;

Brigadier General G. J. Farmer, and Major General W. B. Lindsay, C. M.

G., D. S. O.; the artillery commander was Major General E. W. B.

Morrison, C. B., C. M. G., D. S. O., and his five divisional corps

commanders were Brigadier Generals H. C. Thacker, C. M. G., D. S. O.;

H. A. Panet, C. B., C. M. G., D. S. O.; J. S. Stewart, C. M. G., D.

S. O.; W. B. M. King, C. M. G., D. S. O.; W. O. H. Dodds, C. M. G.;

the Machine-Gun Corps was commanded by Brigadier General R. Brutinel,

C. M. G., D. S. O., and the Canadian representative at General

Headquarters was Brigadier General J. F. L. Embury, C. M. G., D. S.

O.; the Railway Troops were led by Brigadier General J. W. Stewart, C.

B., C. M. G., and the Army Medical Services by Brigadier General A. T.

Ross, C. B., C. M. G.; the Siberian Expeditionary Force was commanded

by Major General J. H. Elmsley, C. B., C. M. G., and Brigadier General

H. C. Bickford, C. M. G. The Infantry Brigade commanders in France and

Flanders were as follows: Brigadier General W. A. Griesbach, C. M. G.,

D. S. O.; Brigadier General G. S. Tuxford, C. B., C. M. G.; Brigadier

General George F. McCuaig, C. M. G., D. S. O.; Brigadier General T. L.

Tremblay, C. M. G., D. S. O.; Brigadier General Alex. Ross, C. M. G.,

D. S. O.; Brigadier General J. A. Clark, D. S. O.; Brigadier General

D. C. Draper, C. M. G., D. S. O.; Brigadier General D. M. Ormond, C.

M. G., D. S. O.; Brigadier General J. M. Ross, C. M. G., D. S. O.;

Brigadier General Victor W. Odlum, C. B., C. M. G., D. S. O.;

Brigadier General J. H. MacBrien, C. B., C. M. G., D. S. O.

After the Battle of Passchendaele the Canadian Corps was assigned to a

part of the front where it had won immortal glory early in 1917--the

Vimy sector. From January 1 to March 21, 1918, the corps held a front

of some 13,000 yards from Hill 70 to Acheville, slightly east of a

line drawn between Loos and Vimy.

This front was divided into five sections: Hill 70, St.-Emile, Lens,

Avion, and Mericourt. The corps now settled down to the routine of

trench warfare. Lieutenant General Sir A. W. Currie, of course, was in

command. His dispositions provided that three of the divisions held

the line while one was resting and training in reserve. Each of the

divisions had approximately one month out of the line. This

arrangement allowed the divisions to absorb more quickly the fresh

drafts and to train rapidly the new officers and N. C. O's.

The Canadians were no strangers to this sector. Having wrested it from

the enemy in April, 1917, in the Battle of Vimy and subsequent

actions, they had held it practically ever since, except for the short

interval late in 1917 when they fought the Battle of Passchendaele. It

had been considerably improved by comprehensive defenses and complete

systems of trench railways, roads, and water supply were in operation.

The great importance of this particular sector arose from the fact

that behind Vimy Ridge lay the northern collieries of France and

certain tactical features which covered the British lateral

communication. "Here," as the British Commander in Chief said in one

of his reports, "little or no ground could be given up."

A comparatively shallow advance beyond the Vimy Ridge would have

stopped the operation of the collieries, paralyzing the production of

war material in France, as well as inflicting very severe hardships on

the already sorely tried population. In conjunction with the shortage

of shipping, which practically forbade an increase in the importation

of coal from England, the loss of the northern collieries might have

definitely crippled France. On the other hand, a deep penetration at

that point, by bringing the Amiens-Bethune railway and main road under

fire, would have placed the British army in a critical position, by

threatening to cut it in two and by depriving it of vital lateral

communication.

The tactical and strategical results to be gained by a moderate

success at that point were so far-reaching in effect that,

notwithstanding the natural difficulties confronting an attack on that

sector, it was fully expected that the German offensive would be

directed against this the central part of the British front.

With the prospect of a German offensive now confronting the Canadians,

it was decided that the defenses should be revised, to take advantage

of the lessons recently learned and to embody the latest methods.

Moreover, instructions had been issued by the First Army defining the

policy of defense to be adopted and the methods to be followed.

The completion of the revised corps defenses and the execution of the

new army program resulted in the organization of a very deep defended

area, consisting of successive defensive systems, roughly parallel to

the general line of the front and linked together by switch lines

sited to protect both flanks.

As planned, the main framework of the defense in depth was based upon

machine-gun positions, protected by belts of wire entanglements so

placed, in relation to the field of fire of the machine guns, that

they were enfiladed over their entire length. The whole area was

compartmented in such a way that the loss of ground at any one point

could be localized, and would not cause a forced retirement from

adjoining areas.

Machine-gun emplacements of the Champagne type were constructed, and

dugout accommodation for the machine-gun detachments was provided in

the deep tunnels of these emplacements.

This framework was completed as rapidly as possible by trenches and by

defended localities organized for all-round defense.

A great many dugouts were made to accommodate the garrisons of these

localities, and for dressing stations and battle headquarters.

Advantage was taken of the possibility of utilizing the subways

tunneled in 1916-17 for the attack on Vimy Ridge, and in addition

steps were taken to create an obstacle on the southern flank of Vimy

Ridge by the construction of dams to enable the valley of the Scarpe

to be flooded as required. Trial inundations were made to insure the

smooth working of these arrangements.