Heavy rain had been falling on the Passchendaele country for two days
before the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles waded up to their positions in
the front line, between Wallemolen and Bellevue. All the dykes and
ditches of the low country were full and overflowing, and even in that
short space of time ground that was firm and solid had become dangerous
swamp. However, the men pushed on through the darkness, and the slipping
and splashing, the long halts, the interminable discussions with
somewhat vague guides, all came to an end at last, and at five o'clock
on the morning of October 25th the regiment had arrived at its battered
line. Through the day the weather cleared, the sun and wind considerably
improved the ground, and the men were able to discern their objectives
for the following day's attack--occasionally with mild misgiving, for
there seemed entirely too much water about the low hills and copses they
had to traverse.
The C.M.R. were on the extreme left of the Canadian Corps front, with
the Hood Battalion of the Royal Naval Division on their left, and the
43rd Battalion on the right. Their objectives were Woodland Copse and
Source Farm, and it was hoped to consolidate a strong line upon
Wallemolen Ridge, all with a view to the establishment of a good
jumping-off line for the capture of Passchendaele town itself. Though
the clearing of the weather had greatly improved the ground, it also
improved the visibility and the German artillery and riflemen made very
effective shooting upon our hastily improvised communication lines. The
persistent bombardment was very severe indeed, and while many gallant
attempts were made to supply the soldiers in the front line with
munitions, time after time the men of the carrying party were wiped out
and the supplies dispersed by the incessant shells. Ammunition was
plentiful, however, but the men went into action the following day with
practically empty water-bottles.
Soon after five o'clock on the 26th the troops were assembled in the
jumping-off positions, "C" and "D" Companies in advance of the front
line, and "A" and "B" Companies in close support. As our barrage opened
at twenty minutes to six, the heavy rain began again, making the ground
very difficult and slippery as our fellows went forward. Heavy fighting
occurred at once, a line of pill-boxes across the flanks of the low
hills maintaining concentrated machine-gun fire, and all these small
fortresses had to be stormed with the bayonet. But they did not take
long to clear, and after a few minutes of close bayonet work our
troops swept through and on to the stubborn resistance of the
Wallemolen-Bellevue line. Here was a serious check. North-east of Wolf
Copse a German pill-box was situated, its own strong defences
supplemented by a machine-gun mounted close to the building on each
side, and against their fire our men advanced, at times up to their
waists in water. It was not possible to advance quickly, and man after
man of our small attacking force went down into the mud. Reinforcements
from "A" Company came up on the right, and a series of gallant attempts
were made to rush the enemy's position, which was holding up our entire
local advance. Each time our men failed to get home, and eventually they
were forced to take whatever cover was possible some fifty yards from
the pill-box. At this moment Private Holmes advanced alone.
Making his way forward, indifferent to the concentrated fire of the two
guns, Holmes reached a point from which he could throw his bombs. Then,
with marvellous coolness, he hurled his missiles, with such precision
that he succeeded in knocking out each gun, one after the other, killing
or wounding every man about them. But this result was not sufficient for
him, and he returned to his comrades for more ammunition. Securing
another bomb from a friend, once more Holmes ran forward alone, this
time getting close to the pill-box itself. Landing his bomb within the
entrance of the concrete fort, he caused such an explosion in the
confined space that the unhappy survivors of the garrison crawled out
and surrendered. One does not know how Private Holmes escaped the
sweeping fire that was poured upon him, but there is no doubt that his
gallant action saved a critical situation, and allowed our men to push
forward and establish a strong line in advance of their intermediate
objective. Here they held back counter-attack after counter-attack,
subjected to intense bombardment and heavy machine-gun fire from the
high ground on the right, until later in the day the gallant capture of
Bellevue Spur by the 43rd and 52nd Battalions cleared the situation, and
permitted the consolidation of a strong line.
[Illustration]
LIEUTENANT (ACTING CAPTAIN) CHRISTOPHER PATRICK JOHN O'KELLY, 52ND
BATTALION
When the Canadians went up to take the ridges before Passchendaele the
men of the 52nd Battalion were in support, and were not pleased with
their minor share in the preliminary offensive. Their fears were not
justified, however, for no battalion engaged played a larger or more
gallant part in the attack.
The 9th Brigade attacked at "zero" hour with the 43rd and 58th
Battalions, and at first reports were good, and the Canadians appeared
to be making excellent progress up the difficult slopes of Bellevue
Spur. But by 8.30 a.m. the news had changed, weary parties of survivors
came straggling back in twos and threes to the jumping-off line, and the
52nd Battalion troops were aware that their services would be required
in short order. Colonel Foster, the Commanding Officer, went forward to
the front line and returned with news of a critical situation. On the
right the 58th had encountered terrible machine-gun fire and had been
unable to make any progress, while some forty men of Lieutenant
Shankland's company of the 43rd had managed to fight their way to the
crest of the spur, had roughly entrenched themselves, being able to
advance no more, and were still holding out after four hours of steady
fighting, under heavy close-range fire from pill-boxes on the ridge, and
in constant danger of a flanking move by the enemy on either hand.
Lieutenant O'Kelly, in charge of "A" Company, was ordered to move at
once to their assistance, advancing on the left flank of the 43rd
Battalion post upon the hill, and filling the gap between the 8th and
9th Brigades.
Drenched by the steady rain and pounded by the enemy's shells, the men
of the 52nd were very bored indeed with inaction. They went forward
strongly, penetrating the German barrage on the flank without losing
very heavily, and making good progress up the low northern slope towards
the crest of the spur, where their comrades of the 43rd were not only
doing most effective shooting on their own account, but were preventing
the Germans from paying very much attention to the manoeuvres of the
52nd. The top of the hill was defended by numerous concrete machine-gun
forts, and these fired spasmodically upon the advancing troops, causing
a number of casualties but no delays. Lieutenant O'Kelly had brought his
men up well, and sweeping over the brow, they caught the flank of the
enemy advancing against the 43rd Battalion post, driving the Germans
before them and shooting them down as they ran. For a moment it was a
most successful rout, but then the fire from the pill-boxes grew
heavier, and there ensued a series of gallant attacks upon the strong
points before them. Our troops rushed pill-box after pill-box, small
parties of men striving to win close to the walls of each fort, while
sections to the rear bombarded every opening and loop-hole with bullets
and rifle-grenades. This made it very difficult indeed for the Germans
to take aim, and allowed the actual assailants an opportunity of gaining
the dead ground close beneath the walls and hurling their bombs inside
through any aperture. The effect of quite a small bomb upon the mass of
men in the confined space of a pill-box is very terrible, and usually
the treatment requires no second application before the surrender of the
garrison. However, the reduction of these forts is a very costly
business, and many a time the attacking section would be caught within
the zone of fire of a machine-gun and practically wiped out, though on
more than one occasion the attack was carried to a successful conclusion
by two or three survivors, who would compel the garrison of thirty or
forty men to surrender to them. Through all this fighting Lieutenant
O'Kelly led his men with wonderful judgment, selecting the point and
method of attack with cool precision, and never losing sight of his main
object--to gain ground and consolidate the ridge. Finally his force was
joined by "B" Company, and the two companies of the 52nd set out to
advance their line. The buildings of Bellevue Farm proved excellent
cover for the retiring Germans, and there was stubborn fighting about
the ruined outhouses before our fellows got through. A clear half-mile
of ground was captured and consolidated, our men reaching the
Wallemolen-Bellevue Road and driving the enemy before them from the
country west of it. For a time the hostile bombardment was vague and
uncertain, though on occasion a barrage would be placed before our
advancing men, the enemy's gunners appearing to be supremely indifferent
to the scattered parties of their own troops who were still holding out
bravely enough before the Canadians. But directly our new line was in
process of formation the German shelling became intense. For an hour the
countryside was hammered and pounded, and then the inevitable
counter-attack developed at two points of our thinly-held line. However,
O'Kelly's men felt that they had saved the situation, his pluck and
initiative had pulled a victory from a defeat, and the men of the 52nd
had no intention of giving up a foot of the ground they had won. So
heavy a fire was developed upon the attacking enemy that the
counter-attack was shrivelled and dispersed two hundred yards from our
line. The shelling began again, but our position was strong and clear,
and consolidation was continued, while during the night Lieutenant
O'Kelly's men went forward again, and raided several strong points that
might have hampered the advance of our men in the next phase of the
offensive. The men of the 52nd Battalion have great reason to be pleased
with themselves for that day's work, for they captured 9 officers and
275 men, no less than 21 machine-guns, and more important still, saved a
very critical situation indeed.
[Illustration]