We stayed on the Kimmel front from September 15th until sometime in
February. We were never in anything big here for it was winter time
and we had all our work cut out in repairing and rebuilding trenches.
Now I have made mention of the fact that we came out for a rest, but
that does not mean to say that we didn't work, for whilst we were
resting we figured in many working parties. We all learned to believe
that
Our section was the best in the Platoon
Our Platoon the best in the Company,
Our Company the best in the Battalion,
Our Battalion the best in the Brigade,
Our Brigade the best in the Division,
Our Division the best in the Corps,
Our Corps the best in the Army,
And that the British were the best in the world.
Our old Colonel would have concerts and lectures arranged for us when
we went to rest, and on Christmas day we had quite a big dinner,
thanks to the people at home who helped by sending us quite a lot of
nice things.
As you might know we had quite a lot of Cape Breton boys. They were
needed to do some mining and they were splendid at that work. The
miners work is as follows; first they sink a shaft so many feet down,
and then when they get down deep enough they start sapping forward,
putting up timbers as they go. They have to work very quietly as Fritz
also does some sapping and if too much noise is made the miners
themselves are liable to go up in the air and come down in pieces, and
I do not think that anybody would relish that idea. Mining is done now
on a very large scale. So you see this war is carried on underneath
the earth as well as underneath the water.
I will remember a certain officer who got the creeps after the October
affair and would always go around wearing armored body plates, and
every time he heard a rat scratch he thought it was a mine. He heard a
noise in his dugout and he cleared all the men out of his trench and
had the miners up. They dug down and found that his place must have
been over an old dugout and that there were quite a number of rats
running around having a good time all to themselves. Certainly, I must
admit that I was no hero myself. When our front trenches started to
cave in we had to get out in front into No Man's Land and dig a new
trench and what earth we excavated we had to throw up against our own
front line trench, and although at the present time I would think
nothing of it I was sure some scared. But after you are there awhile
you do not mind it at all. The first winter Bill Cameron, along with
his scouts used to live in No Man's Land. They thought nothing of
doing that. They used to be planning to do all sorts of things, but
the opportunity only seldom came for them to do anything out of the
way, except it was to go over No Man's Land searching for dead bodies
and curios, and those chaps were game enough for anything.
[Illustration: LIEUT. CANNING, M.M.]
[Illustration: MAJOR MACRAE
OFFICER COMMANDING "A" CO., 25th BATT.]
The whole time we were on this front everything went very smoothly,
for we had one great man at the head of our Battalion. We were great
friends with the French-Canadian Battalion, but there was another
Battalion in our Brigade with whom we did not pull at all, and there
was always a certain amount of jealousy between us, which was a good
thing as we were always trying to outdo the other. Their Commanding
Officer thought that they were the best battalion that ever left
Canada, and Hilliam, the bulldog that he was, would not stand for
that; so there was always a certain amount of rivalry between us.
On one occasion there were a few Canadians guarding a road where
people were not supposed to travel by night unless they had a pass,
and a "Twenty-fifth" man who had been having a good time was coming
home. "Halt," cried the sentry, "who goes there?" Answer "25th," "Pass
25th all is well," so the 25th man went on his way home. Along came
another belated traveller. The same performance was gone thru and he
gave the number of his battalion which was not the 25th. The answer
came back from the sentry, "Turn out the guard," and they put this
poor soldier into the guard room. It was all due to their petty
notions as to what they should not do. But still it always works out
well; a little jealousy between the battalions always makes one try to
outdo the other. But thanks to our Commanding Officer we never took
second place to any battalion in France.
Shortly after we were ordered to move up to the M. and N. trenches
where we relieved some of the 4th Brigade for a time. There was a
trench in this locality named the "International" because of it's
changing hands so often. Well, about a month before this the Germans
had made an attack on the Scotties and they were just relieving and
were not prepared for the Huns. But they fought until they saw that
they would have to plan a surprise attack to get it back. The Scottish
Division then went out for a rest and left Fritz master of the trench.
But the canny Scot was not giving in so easily. When they had been
reorganized they came back with one intention and that was to take
back the "International" trench and they did.
Well here we were in the Vierstrutt trench, and we held it for a week.
Our artillery would open up every couple of hours and we could look
over our parapets and watch them pounding Cain out of Fritz's
trench--it was wonderful. We kept this up for about four or five days
so that Fritz could not have much of a trench left. The idea of the
heavy bombardment was to give him the notion that we were going to
make an attack at this point. On the morning that the Scotties were to
take back the trench Bill Cameron, George Roberts, together with
Canning, and some of the other boys, played quite a trick on Fritz.
They got a couple of very long steam pipes and filled them up with
explosives; carried them across and put them underneath Fritz's barb
wire. There was a long fuse attached.
Now to describe it:--The hour is 4 a.m. Everybody is anxiously waiting
for the bombardment to take place. We never gave a thought to the
possibility of Fritz bombarding us. The attack starts, but we do not
leave our trench, but set fire to the fuse. That fuse did all sorts of
fancy turns and twists travelling across No Man's Land, and then the
explosion! Fritz's wires are all blown to pieces. He was sure then
that we are making the attack and sends up all sorts of S.O.S. signals
that look very pretty. His artillery opens up, but it seems there is
something the matter with his range for he cannot reach us at all. But
what is taking place on the right of us? The Scotties, without firing
a shot, walk over No Man's Land, jump into Fritz's trench and bomb the
dugouts, capturing quite a few prisoners, and once more the
"International" is ours and has not changed hands since.