The 7th Machine Gun Company had been in the line for eight days before
the second phase of the Canadian operations against Passchendaele, and
the continual heavy rain that had fallen before the 30th of October made
offensive preparations very difficult indeed. But on the 29th, the day
before the attack, the weather cleared, and a strong west wind made
footing somewhat easier upon the higher ground--the lower ground was all
flooded, or consisted of almost impenetrable swamp. The night was very
clear, and the moon full, and our fellows blessed the welcome light as
they moved their guns to the forward positions; the enemy, too, took
advantage of the change in the weather, and there was some fairly heavy
shelling of our lines and communications, though few casualties were
caused among the machine-gunners.
Lieutenant MacKenzie, in charge of the four guns of his company, was
covering the 7th Brigade in the attack upon the difficult country about
Friesland, Meetcheele and Graf. With his gun-positions on the high
ground, he was prepared to bring direct fire upon the enemy as our
troops advanced, and to lay an effective barrage before our line upon
the occupation of the objectives.
At ten minutes to six on the morning of the 30th, the P.P.C.L.I. and the
49th Battalion attacked, the troops for a time keeping close to our
barrage and going forward wonderfully well, in spite of the terribly
heavy hostile fire. But soon after zero our communications were cut by
the intense shelling, and then came the usual anxious time in the
support areas, when news is vague and contradictory, and there is no
information available save that afforded by some wounded soldier
stumbling back to safety. At last at 7 o'clock a message came through
saying that all was going well, and subsequent communications were
fairly regular.
Lieutenant MacKenzie took forward his guns, two behind the Princess
Pat's, and two with the 49th Battalion, finding many opportunities for
effective fire. The casualties amongst his men were pretty heavy as they
advanced, but they stuck close to the infantry, and took advantage of
every piece of rising ground from which direct fire might be delivered.
But the critical point of the attack was still to come.
About the intermediate objective before Meetcheele the rising ground
supplied much natural cover to the German riflemen and machine-gunners
retreating before our men. In addition to the enemy's supplementary
defences of pill-boxes and concrete emplacements, the difficulties of
the assailants were enhanced by the swampy ground on each side of the
spur, limiting the field of attack to a narrow strip of ground, every
foot of which was exposed to the fire of the machine-guns upon the
slope.
One pill-box in particular on the crest of the hill maintained such a
murderous fire that the attacking company of the Princess Pat's was
brought to a halt upon the slope of the hill, with every officer and
N.C.O. shot down, and the men remaining seeking what cover they could,
unable to advance and unwilling to retreat. All this time MacKenzie had
been ploughing forward with his guns, seeking good positions and finding
them, rendering a German emplacement untenable, wiping out some hostile
formation that threatened a sudden counter-attack, and endeavouring to
keep down the heavy fire of the Germans immediately before our advancing
infantry. Noting the hesitation of our men on the slope of the hill, he
left a corporal in charge of his guns, and made his way through the
heavy fire to our fellows in their terribly exposed position. The
Company had been very hard hit, two thirds of its effectives were gone,
but still the men were determined enough. Taking command of the company,
he cheered them by his good spirits, and instantly set about arranging a
plan for the downfall of the pill-box above them. Not only was there the
pill-box to deal with, but the upper hill was a veritable nest of
machine-guns, and MacKenzie had to make a daring reconnaissance before
he could effect a suitable scheme of attack.
Detailing small parties, he sent them off to work their way round the
flanks, overcoming any hostile resistance they might encounter, and to
be prepared at a given moment to make an attack from the rear upon the
pill-box that was holding up the advance. Then he arranged the frontal
attack, choosing himself to lead a small party of men directly up the
slope to the fort, while the remainder of his men attacked the same
front from a different angle. At the word they went forward, MacKenzie
leading the forlorn hope on the most exposed front of the attack. It was
not possible to win through such fire unharmed, and he was shot through
the head and killed at the moment of the capture of the pill-box by the
flanking parties he had detailed. One may hope that he saw his object
attained.
This pill-box, in its dominating position upon the crest of the hill,
commanded the lines of our attack for many hundred yards. By its capture
Lieutenant MacKenzie and his men saved the lives of many soldiers, and
enabled the successful consolidation of our objectives upon the whole
local front.
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