The men of the 20th Canadian Battalion lay down in their trenches before
Hill 70 on the night of the 14th August, 1917, in a soft drizzle of
rain. They were to take part in the attack on the hill early next
morning and the artillerymen behind had already trained their guns on
the enemy trenches, ready to let loose the bellow of destruction when
the word was passed.
Hill 70 lies near the La Bassée-Lens road, in the vicinity of Loos, the
village of Cité St. Auguste on its right, Bois Hugo and Chalk Pit on its
left. Its sides and crest are scarred with trenches and bruised by much
shelling. The Allies have taken it from the Germans and have been pushed
out of it by the Germans more than once. On the 14th August, 1917, it
was in German hands.
Precisely at 4.25 o'clock on the morning of the 15th, just as a red
streak smeared the horizon, the word for which the Canadians had been
waiting was given and the artillery barrage fell like a hammer stroke on
the German front line. For six minutes it pounded the trenches into
pulp, then lifted to a hundred yards farther on, tore a line of
devastation there for another six minutes, lifted again in another
hundred yards' stride and so continued its work of destruction at
similar intervals.
As the curtain of our shells rose from the German front line the men of
the 20th Battalion, with other units, leaped from their jumping-off
trenches and waded across No Man's Land. They found the Germans--all who
remained of the front line garrison--shaken, bruised, more or less
subdued. Where they surrendered they were taken prisoners; where they
resisted they were killed. In Cowley trench only one enemy machine-gun
was working and soon it was out-flanked and captured. In Commotion
trench an emplacement was in action. It was smothered.
Sergeant Frederick Hobson and some men of "A" company went forward up
the enemy trench known as Nabob Alley. They bombed their way along,
beating back the Germans, who retreated slowly and grudgingly; and,
having conquered about seventy yards of the trench, they established a
post at that point. The objectives of the battalion elsewhere were also
gained and the position was consolidated. The attack was a success.
All this happened on the 15th of August. But to take a position is one
thing: to hold it is another. For three days the Germans kept probing
various parts of the line, hoping to find a spot which would yield. At
1.40 a.m. on the 18th, their artillery opened a heavy bombardment on the
whole Canadian Corps front and for half an hour shells were rained on
every part of the line. The general bombardment slackened for a short
time, during which the village of St. Pierre received an avalanche of
gas-shells; and at twelve minutes past four o'clock every gun the enemy
could muster opened again on the front.
The concentration of artillery was nerve-racking. It was almost
demoralizing. Up in the advance posts the majority of the Lewis gun
positions were obliterated, men and guns being buried in the vast
upheavals. Twenty minutes after the shelling began the headquarters of
the 20th Battalion was hit by a heavy shell and vanished. Every wire
leading to the posts was cut, every light extinguished. And in the
darkness and confusion came word from the battalion stationed on the
right of the 20th to the effect that the Germans were out in No Man's
Land, coming to attack.
Sergeant Hobson in his trench saw the grey figures swarming across the
open ground. The Lewis guns had all been wiped out except one--and as
this one was being brought into action a German shell landed beside it.
When the smoke cleared, only one man of the crew remained alive, and he
and the gun were buried in the debris. Hobson was no gunner, but he knew
the importance of the position. He raced forward, seized an entrenching
tool and hauled the dazed survivor out of the mud.
"Guess that was a close call," said the survivor, Private A. G. Fuller.
"Guess so: let's get the gun out," replied Hobson.
They began to dig. Across the open ground came the Germans, firing at
the two men as they advanced. A bullet hit Hobson, but he took no notice
of his wound. Together he and Fuller got the gun into position and
opened up on the Germans, who were now pouring down the trench. They
were holding the enemy well when the gun jammed.
Hobson picked up his rifle.
"I'll keep them back," he said to Fuller, "if you fix the gun!"
He ran towards the advancing enemy, a lonely, wounded, desperate man
against many and with bayonet and clubbed rifle barred their passage. No
man knows how many Germans were killed by Sergeant Hobson in that fierce
encounter; dead and wounded were heaped in front of him when a shout
from Fuller intimated that the gun was again ready for action.
And just at that moment a German pushed his rifle forward and fired
point blank at the Canadian Horatius.
As Hobson fell Gunner Fuller pressed the trigger of his Lewis gun and
threw a stream of death into the German mob. A few minutes later
reinforcements from "B" company took the enemy in the flank and chased
them back across No Man's Land; and the machine-guns of "B" company
cleaned them up as they ran.
They found Sergeant Frederick Hobson where he had fallen, still grasping
his deadly rifle. His enemies were sprawled around him, silent witnesses
to his prowess. His heroism had saved the situation--and he had fought
his last fight.
[Illustration]