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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Thirty Canadian V. Cs., 23d April 1915 to
-30th March 1918, by Theodore Goodridge Roberts and Robin Richards and Stuart Martin
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Thirty Canadian V. Cs., 23d April 1915 to 30th March 1918
-
-Author: Theodore Goodridge Roberts
-        Robin Richards
-        Stuart Martin
-
-Release Date: September 2, 2012 [EBook #40649]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 30 CANADIAN V.CS., 1915-1918 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by sp1nd, Paul Clark and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-    Transcriber's Note:
-
-    Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as
-    possible, including some inconsistencies in hyphenation and accents.
-    Some changes of spelling and punctuation have been made. They are
-    listed at the end of the text.
-
-    Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
-    Bold text has been marked with =equals signs=.
-    OE ligatures have been expanded.
-
-
-
-
-THIRTY CANADIAN V.Cs.
-
- 23rd APRIL 1915 to 30th MARCH 1918
-
- Compiled by the Canadian War Records Office
-
- The Author's royalties of this book are devoted to the
- Canadian War Memorials Fund.
-
- LONDON
- SKEFFINGTON & SON, LTD.
- 34, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND, W.C. 2.
- _Publishers to His Majesty the King._
-
-
-
-
-A DEDICATION
-
-BY
-
-LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR R. E. W. TURNER, V.C., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.
-
-
-It is difficult to write an introductory in words to adequately do
-justice to the gallant deeds performed by our Canadians since the
-outbreak of the war in France and Belgium.
-
-Canada's Army has grown beyond all the expectations of the world, and
-glorious pages will be written, in future history, of the self-sacrifice
-of those true sons, many of whom have laid down their lives for the
-highest traditions of the British Empire.
-
-No finer inspiration is needed for the future than the words of Corporal
-Joseph Kaeble, V.C., a French-Canadian, when mortally wounded in
-repelling a German attack--"Keep it up, boys! Don't let them get
-through. We must stop them!"
-
-To the Canadian V.Cs. of the Great War, and the many others deserving,
-this little volume is respectfully dedicated.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
-                                               PAGE
-
- LANCE-CORPORAL FISHER (13th Bn.)                 3
- COMPANY-SERGEANT-MAJOR HALL (8th Bn.)            6
- CAPTAIN SCRIMGER (C.A.M.C.)                      9
- LIEUTENANT CAMPBELL (1st Bn.)                   11
- CORPORAL CLARKE (2nd Bn.)                       13
- PRIVATE KERR (49th Bn.)                         15
- MAJOR MACDOWELL (38th Bn.)                      19
- LIEUTENANT HARVEY (L.S.H.)                      24
- PRIVATE MILNE (16th Bn.)                        26
- SERGEANT SIFTON (18th Bn.)                      28
- LIEUTENANT COMBE (27th Bn.)                     31
- CAPTAIN BISHOP (Canadian Cavalry and R.F.C.)    34
- PRIVATE PATTISON (50th Bn.)                     40
- PRIVATE BROWN (10th Bn.)                        43
- COMPANY-SERGEANT-MAJOR HANNA (29th Bn.)         47
- SERGEANT HOBSON (20th Bn.)                      50
- PRIVATE O'ROURKE (7th Bn.)                      53
- CAPTAIN LEARMONTH (2nd Bn.)                     55
- CORPORAL KONOWAL (47th Bn.)                     58
- PRIVATE HOLMES (4th C.M.R.)                     61
- LIEUTENANT O'KELLY (52nd Bn.)                   63
- CAPTAIN PEARKES (5th C.M.R.)                    67
- LIEUTENANT SHANKLAND (43rd Bn.)                 70
- PRIVATE KINROSS (49th Bn.)                      73
- LIEUTENANT MACKENZIE (C.M.G.C.)                 76
- SERGEANT MULLIN (P.P.C.L.I.)                    79
- PRIVATE ROBERTSON (27th Bn.)                    81
- CORPORAL BARRON (3rd Bn.)                       85
- LIEUTENANT STRACHAN (F.G.H.)                    88
- LIEUTENANT FLOWERDEW (L.S.H.)                   94
-
-
-
-
-THIRTY CANADIAN V.Cs.
-
-
-EDITOR'S NOTE.--These narratives are the work of three members of the
-Canadian War Records Office--Captain Theodore Goodridge Roberts, New
-Brunswick Regiment, late H. Q. Canadian Army Corps, B.E.F.; Private
-Robin Richards, late the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry,
-B.E.F., and Private Stuart Martin, late No. 5 Canadian General Hospital,
-Salonika.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LANCE-CORPORAL FREDERICK FISHER, 13TH BATTALION
-
-
-In March, 1915, Canadian guns took part in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle,
-and a Canadian regiment, the Princess Patricia's Light Infantry, fought
-well at St. Eloi; but it was not until April that the infantry of the
-1st Canadian Division came to grips with the enemy.
-
-The Canadian Division moved into the Ypres Salient about a week before
-the Germans commenced their terrific and wanton bombardment of the
-unfortunate city of Ypres. They relieved troops of the 11th Division of
-the French Army in five thousand yards of undeveloped trenches.
-
-Fisher, a lance-corporal of the 13th Canadian Infantry Battalion,
-performed the deed of valour (at the cost of his life) for which he was
-granted the Victoria Cross, on the 23rd of April, 1915. He was our first
-V.C., in this war, by one day.
-
-On the afternoon of the 22nd of April the Germans projected their first
-attack of asphyxiating gas against a point of our Allies' front. Turcos
-and Zouaves fell back, strangled, blinded and dismayed. The British left
-was exposed. A four-mile gap--a way to Calais--lay open to the enemy.
-The 1st Canadian Division, the only Canadian Division in the field in
-those early days, held the British left. It blocked the four-mile gap
-and held up Germany, gas and all.
-
-There were no such things as gas masks in those days; but the Canadians
-were undismayed by that new and terrific form of murder. They had left
-their offices and shops, their schools and farms and mills, with the
-intention of fighting the Hun, and, in return, of suffering the worst he
-could do to them. They did not expect him to fight like a sportsman, or
-even like a human being. So they accepted the gas as part of the day's
-work. It was the last day's work for hundreds of those good workmen.
-
-A battery of Canadian 18-pounders, commanded by Major W. B. M. King,
-C.F.A., maintained its original position well into the second day of the
-battle--the 23rd of April. The gunners were supported by a depleted
-Company of the 14th (Royal Montreal) Battalion, and kept up their fire
-on the approaching Germans until their final rounds were crashed into
-"the brown" of the massed enemy at a range of less than two hundred
-yards.
-
-This is a class of performance which seems to make a particular appeal
-to the hearts of gunners. It calls for more than steadiness and
-desperate courage, for technical difficulties in the matter of timing
-the fuses to a fraction of a second must be overcome under conditions
-peculiarly adverse to the making of exact mathematical calculations. But
-this sort of thing is frequently done--always with gusto and sometimes
-with the loss of the guns and the lives of their crews. The gunner then
-feels all the primitive excitement of the infantryman in a bayonet
-charge. He claps his gun, that complicated, high-priced and prodigious
-weapon, at the very head of the enemy, as if it were no more than a
-pistol.
-
-On this occasion the guns were not lost. They were extricated from
-beneath the very boots and bayonets of the enemy and withdrawn to open
-fire again from a more secure position and at a more customary range.
-They were "man-handled" out and back by the survivors of their own crews
-and of the supporting company of infantry; but all those heroic and
-herculean efforts would have availed nothing if Corporal Fisher had not
-played his part.
-
-Fisher was in command of a machine-gun and four men of his
-battalion--the 13th. He saw and understood the situation of Major King's
-battery and instantly hastened to the rescue. He set up his gun in an
-exposed position and opened fire on the advancing Germans, choosing for
-his target the point of the attack which most immediately menaced the
-battery of field-guns. His four men were put out of action. They were
-replaced, as they fell, by men of the 14th, who were toiling near-by at
-the stubborn guns. Fisher and his Colt remained unhit. The pressure of
-his finger did not relax from the trigger, nor did his eyes waver from
-the sights. Eager hands passed along the belts of ammunition and fed
-them into the devouring breech. So the good work was continued. The
-front of the attack was sprayed and ripped by bullets. Thus it was held
-until the 18-pounders were dragged back to safety.
-
-Not satisfied with this piece of invaluable work, Fisher advanced again,
-took up a yet more exposed position, and, under the combined enemy fire
-of shrapnel, H.E., machine-guns and rifles, continued to check and slay
-the Germans. The men who went up with him from his former firing
-position fell, one by one, crawled away or lay still in death. But the
-Lance-Corporal continued to fire. The pressure of his finger did not
-relax from the trigger until he was shot dead.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-SERGEANT-MAJOR F. W. HALL, 8TH BATTALION
-
-
-In the lesser wars of the past the Victoria Cross was more frequently
-awarded for demonstrations of valour in connection with the rescuing of
-wounded under fire than for courageous acts designed and carried out
-with more material and purely military advantages in view. To risk one's
-life, perhaps to lose it, in a successful or vain attempt to save the
-life of a disabled comrade was--granting favourable circumstances and
-conditions--to be recommended for that crowning award. When we consider
-the nature of those lesser wars we appreciate the admirable spirit in
-which those recommendations were made. Those were days of small armies,
-long marches and short battles. The fate of the Empire, say even of the
-world's freedom, never hung upon the turn of any one engagement. A
-soldier was something more romantic then than a unit of man-power.
-
-The length, the unrelieved ferocity and the stupendous proportions of
-this war, have somewhat altered the spirit in which recommendations for
-awards are made. The deed of valour must show material rather than
-sentimental results; the duty that inspires the deed must show a
-military rather than a humane intention. The spirit of our heroes is
-the same to-day as it was yesterday, whether the courageous act results
-in the holding of a position, the killing of a score of Germans, or the
-saving of one comrade's life. Only the spirit of official appreciation
-has changed; but this new spirit is logical.
-
-F. W. Hall was recommended for his Cross in the old spirit.
-
-The deed of valour for which Company-Sergeant-Major Hall, of the 8th
-Canadian Infantry Battalion, was awarded the Victoria Cross was
-performed on the morning of the day following the great achievement and
-death of Lance-Corporal Fisher. Hall, too, lost his life in the very act
-of self-sacrifice by which he won immortality.
-
-During the night of April 23rd the 8th Battalion, of our 2nd Infantry
-Brigade, relieved the 15th Battalion, of the 3rd Brigade, in a section
-of our front line. In moving up to our fire-trench the relieving troops
-had to cross a high bank which was fully exposed to the rifle and
-machine-gun fire of the enemy in the positions opposite. This bank lay
-about fifteen yards in rear of our forward position at this point. Its
-crest was continuously swept by bullets while the relief was taking
-place and the incoming battalion suffered a number of casualties. In the
-darkness and the confusion of taking over a new trench under such
-adverse conditions, the exact extent of the casualties was not
-immediately known; but Sergeant-Major Hall missed a member of his
-company on two separate occasions and on two separate occasions left the
-trench and went back to the top of the bank, under cover of the dark,
-returning each time with a wounded man.
-
-At nine o'clock in the morning of the 24th, the attention of the
-occupants of the trench was attracted to the top of the bank by groans
-of suffering. Hall immediately suggested a rescue, in spite of the fact
-that it was now high daylight, and Corporal Payne and Private Rogerson
-as promptly volunteered to accompany him. The three went over the
-parados, with their backs to the enemy, and instantly drew a heavy fire.
-Before they could reach the sufferer, who lay somewhere just beyond
-their view on the top of the bank, both Payne and Rogerson were wounded.
-They crawled and scrambled back to the shelter of the trench, with
-Hall's assistance. There the Sergeant-Major rested for a few minutes,
-before attempting the rescue again. He refused to be accompanied the
-second time, knowing that as soon as he left the trench he would become
-the target for the excellent shooting that had already put Payne and
-Rogerson out of action. It was his duty as a non-commissioned officer to
-avoid making the same mistake twice. He had already permitted the
-risking of three lives in the attempt to save one life and had suffered
-two casualties; but doubtless he felt free to risk his own life again in
-the same adventure as he had already successfully accomplished two
-rescues over the same ground. He may be forgiven, I think, for not
-pausing to reflect that his own life was of more value to the cause than
-the life of the sufferer lying out behind the trench.
-
-The fire from the hostile positions in front and on the flanks of this
-point in our line was now hot and accurate. It was deliberate, aimed
-fire, discharged in broad daylight over adjusted sights at an expected
-target. Hall knew all this; but he crawled out of the trench. He moved
-slowly, squirming along very close to the ground. The bullets whispered
-past him and over him, cut the earth around him, pinged and thudded upon
-the face of the bank before him. Very low shots, ricocheting off the top
-of the parados in his rear, whined and hummed in erratic flight. He
-reached and crawled up the slope of the bank without being hit. He
-quickly located and joined the wounded man, guided straight by the
-weakening groans of suffering. He lay flat and squirmed himself beneath
-the other's helpless body. Thus he got the sufferer on his back, in
-position to be moved; but in the act of raising his head slightly to
-glance over the way by which he must regain the shelter of the trench,
-he received a bullet in the brain. Other bullets immediately put an end
-to the sufferings of the man on his back.
-
-Hall had been born in Belfast, Ireland, but Winnipeg was his Canadian
-home.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-CAPTAIN FRANCIS ALEXANDER CARON SCRIMGER, C.A.M.C.
-
-
-During the terrible days from April 22nd till April 25th, 1915, the
-Canadian troops had their mettle tested to a supreme degree. In those
-four days the second battle of Ypres was fought and the German drive
-held up where its authors had thought it irresistible. Even the deluge
-of gas--the first used in the war--gained them less benefit than they
-expected. That battle of Ypres was decidedly a Canadian victory.
-
-Captain F. A. C. Scrimger, of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, was
-attached at the time to the 14th (Royal Montreal) Battalion. On April
-22nd he was in charge of an advanced dressing station situated in an old
-farm building near the battered city of Ypres. The house was surrounded
-by a moat over which there was only one road; and that afternoon, during
-the heavy fighting, the German artillery found the lonely house and
-began to shell it.
-
-For three days and nights Scrimger worked among the wounded, heedless of
-the pandemonium of the battle, in a situation which was perilous in the
-extreme. The Germans, in their forward rush, brought the farm within
-rifle range, but still Scrimger and his staff went about their work.
-
-On the afternoon of the 25th the German artillery sent over incendiary
-shells, and one of these, landing on the farm, set the place alight. The
-staff were at last forced to move.
-
-The single road was almost impassable owing to a heavy German shrapnel
-barrage, but the wounded were nevertheless taken back to places of
-comparative safety. Some of the staff, and some of the less badly
-wounded patients, swam the moat. They were all removed except one badly
-injured officer; for him swimming was out of the question.
-
-Scrimger took upon himself the task of saving this patient, but, as he
-was preparing to move, several direct hits were made on the house by the
-German artillery. Shrapnel burst through the rafters. Scrimger bent over
-his patient, protecting him with his body as the splinters fell around
-them, and finally, during a lull, carried him out of the blazing house
-on his back.
-
-But in the open there was not even the protection of the shaky walls of
-the farm, and Scrimger had not gone far with his burden when he saw that
-the officer was too severely wounded to bear this kind of journeying.
-There was no shelter in sight, nothing but the shrapnel-swept wastes and
-the torn, shuddering earth.
-
-Laying his patient down, Scrimger remained beside him, shielding him
-again with his own body, till help arrived later in the day.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LIEUTENANT F. W. CAMPBELL, 1ST BATTALION
-
-
-On the afternoon of the 15th of June, 1915, the 1st Canadian Infantry
-Battalion moved up to a jumping-off position in our front line, with two
-other battalions of the same brigade on its right, and a third in
-support. The 7th Division (British) was about to make an attempt to
-drive the Germans out of an important and formidable position known to
-our troops as "Stony Mountain," and the 1st Canadian Battalion had been
-told off to the task of covering and securing that division's right
-flank of attack. This meant the conquest and occupation of one hundred
-and fifty yards of the enemy's front line running southwards from "Stony
-Mountain" to another German stronghold called "Dorchester." It was too
-big a job to be undertaken in a casual, slap-dash manner or a
-happy-go-lucky spirit. Experts prepared it, and the artillery and the
-engineers took a hand in it.
-
-We know that our gunners are always eager to fight at pistol range.
-Major George Ralston, C.F.A., had two guns of his battery dug into place
-and sand-bagged at a point in our fire-trench called "Duck's Bill" by
-the morning of the 15th. These guns had been brought up to and through
-Givenchy during the night, in the usual way, and from the forward edge
-of the village they had been "man-handled" into the places prepared for
-them. One was commanded by Lieutenant C. S. Craig and the other by
-Lieutenant L. S. Kelly. All was ready before daybreak. The German line
-opposite was only seventy-five yards away
-
-During the afternoon our batteries, firing from normal positions in the
-rear, bombarded selected points of the hostile front. At 5.45 the field
-of fire of our two entrenched guns was uncovered by knocking away the
-parapet in front of them. They immediately opened fire; and in fifteen
-minutes they levelled the German parapet opposite for a distance of
-nearly two hundred yards, slashed the wire along the same frontage and
-disposed of six machine-gun emplacements.
-
-Then we sprang a mine close in to the German trench; and then our
-infantry went over.
-
-The leading company of the 1st Battalion charged across the open ground
-through the smoke and flying earth of the explosion. They were met and
-swung slightly from their course by withering machine-gun fire from
-Stony Mountain; but the unhit ran onwards, entered the hostile trench
-and took and occupied that system of defences called Dorchester. They
-fought to the left along the trench; but Stony Mountain itself held them
-off.
-
-With the second wave of the attack came Lieutenant Campbell, his two
-Colt's machine-guns and their crews. On the way, before reaching the
-shelter of the captured trench, all the members of one of his gun-crews
-were wiped out. He got into the trench with only one of his guns and a
-few unwounded men. He immediately moved to the left towards Stony
-Mountain, until he was halted by a block in the trench. By this time one
-Private Vincent was the only man of his two crews still standing and
-unhit. All the others lay dead or wounded behind him. Vincent, who had
-been a lumberjack in the woods of Ontario in the days of peace, was as
-strong of body as of heart and a cool hand into the bargain. When his
-officer failed to find a suitable base for his gun in that particular
-position, Vincent saved time by offering his own broad back. So
-Campbell straddled Vincent's back with the tripod of the gun and opened
-fire on the enemy.
-
-By this time our supply of bombs had given out and our attack was
-weakening. The Germans massed for a counter-attack. Campbell fired over
-a thousand rounds from his gun, from Vincent's back, dispersed the
-enemy's initial counter-attack, and afterwards maintained his position
-until the trench was entered by German bombers and he was seriously
-wounded. Then Vincent abandoned the tripod and dragged the gun away to
-safety.
-
-Campbell crawled back towards his friends. He was met and lifted by
-Sergeant-Major Owen and carried into our jumping-off trench, where he
-died.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-CORPORAL LEO CLARKE, 2ND BATTALION
-
-
-Twice veterans of Ypres, the 1st Canadian Division moved southward to
-the Somme on the first day of September 1916, and established
-headquarters near the battered town of Albert. A few days later they
-marched up the Bapaume Road, under heavy enemy shelling, and entered
-trenches behind Mouquet Farm, to the south of Courcelette, where they
-relieved the 4th Australian Division. This time the Headquarters were in
-the shaky shelters of Tara Hill. As soon as the division arrived in the
-new position the German artillery began to plaster the trenches with
-every variety of explosive missile, hoping to shake the nerve of the men
-from Ypres.
-
-About half-past two on the afternoon of the 9th of September the 2nd
-Battalion relieved the 4th Battalion in a trench on the right of the
-Canadian position. The 2nd had been chosen to attack a salient of
-German trench about 550 yards long, near the north end of Walker Avenue.
-This salient lay between the Canadians and Courcelette. Before they
-could attack the village, which was about a mile behind the German
-trench, the danger of the salient had to be swept from their path.
-
-The attack began that afternoon at a quarter to five. Only the first
-three companies of the battalion made the assault, the fourth being held
-in reserve; but when the attackers reached the German line they found
-that our barrage had not reduced the resistance of the enemy to the
-extent hoped for. Crowds of Germans were waiting to repel them.
-
-Corporal Leo Clarke was detailed by Lieutenant Hoey to take a section of
-the bombing platoon and clear out the Germans on the left flank. When
-the trench was captured, Clarke was to join up with Sergeant Nichols at
-a block which the latter was to build in the meantime.
-
-Clarke was the first of his party to enter the trench, which was found
-to be strongly garrisoned. His followers came close on his heels. They
-bombed their way along the trench from bay to bay, and forced a passage
-with bayonets and clubbed rifles whenever the need arose. But the odds
-were heavy against the Canadians, and at length, with his supply of
-bombs exhausted, Clarke found himself supported only by his dead and
-wounded. He decided to build a temporary barricade to the left of where
-Nichols was erecting the permanent block. As he was working at this, a
-party of Germans, including two officers, advanced cautiously towards
-him along the trench.
-
-The officers urged forward their reluctant men, who had already
-experienced more than they liked of Clarke's offensive methods. Clarke
-left his work of construction and advanced to meet them, determined to
-keep them at bay until Nichols had finished the job on the permanent
-block.
-
-His only weapon was a revolver. He emptied its contents into the mob,
-picked up a German rifle and exhausted its magazine in the same target,
-flung that aside, snatched up another and continued his hot fire.
-
-As Clarke was thus employed, the senior German officer took a rifle from
-one of his own men and lunged wildly at the Canadian. The point of the
-bayonet caught Clarke just below the knee; but that was the officer's
-last act in the war, for Clarke shot him dead where he stood.
-
-There were still five Germans left. They turned and ran--and Clarke
-dropped four of them as they dashed along the trench. The survivor,
-shouting in excellent English, begged so hard for his life that he was
-spared. Clarke had killed two officers and sixteen other ranks.
-
-But for Clarke's action, Sergeant Nichols could not have erected the
-permanent block, which was of vital importance to the security of the
-Canadian position.
-
-Though wounded in the back and the knee, Clarke refused to leave the
-trench until ordered to do so by Lieutenant Hoey. Next day he returned
-to his platoon in billets.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-PRIVATE JOHN CHIPMAN KERR, 49TH BATTALION
-
-
-The war was no new thing, many Canadians were veteran soldiers and many
-were in Flanders graves, when Kerr decided that his services were more
-urgently required on the field of battle than on his own new acres in
-the Province of Alberta. He had gone north and west shortly before the
-outbreak of war, from the home of his family in Cumberland County, Nova
-Scotia, to virgin land on Spirit River, fifty miles from the nearest
-railway.
-
-Kerr found other "homesteaders" on Spirit River who saw eye to eye with
-him in this matter--a dozen patriotic adventurers who were determined to
-exchange safe establishments in life for the prospects of violent
-deaths. Together they "footed" the fifty miles to the railway. In
-Edmonton they enlisted in a body in the 66th Battalion.
-
-Early in June, 1916, four hundred officers and other ranks were drafted
-from the 66th, then training in England, to the 49th, then fighting in
-France. Private J. C. Kerr was a more or less unconsidered unit in that
-draft. These reinforcements, with others, reached France shortly after
-the Battle of Sanctuary Wood, an engagement in which the Germans
-attacked with so crushing a superiority of men and metal and the
-Canadians fought so stubbornly as to necessitate the withdrawal of
-fragments of battalions of a whole division for reorganization. The 49th
-Battalion was represented by one of these indomitable fragments.
-
-The Canadians marched from the Salient to the Somme in the autumn of
-that year. The 49th, up to strength once more and with its old spirit
-renewed, reached Albert on the 13th of September.
-
-Forty hours later it took up a battle position at a point near the
-Sunken Road, before and to the left of the village of Courcelette, with
-other battalions of the same brigade.
-
-In the great Canadian advance of September the 15th, in which our
-morning and evening attacks drove the Germans from the Sugar Refinery,
-Courcelette, and many more strongholds and intricate systems of defence,
-the 49th Battalion supported the Princess Patricia's and the 42nd
-Battalion on the extreme left of our frontage of aggressive operations.
-These battalions advanced the line to the left of Courcelette, keeping
-abreast of the units that assaulted and occupied the village and mopped
-up its crowded dug-outs and fortified houses. Their activities were
-devoted entirely to the subjection and occupation of strong trenches and
-trench machine-gun posts. They moved irresistibly forward, cleaning
-things up as they went. They reached and occupied their final
-objectives--with the exception of a length of trench about 250 yards in
-extent, which remained in the hands of the enemy until the following
-day. But the defenders of that isolated section of trench could not
-retreat, for the head of their communicating trench was blocked, they
-dared not attempt a rearward flight on the surface and they were flanked
-right and left by the Canadians. So the matter rested for the night,
-with no more stir than an occasional exchange of bombs across the
-flanking barricades.
-
-On the afternoon of the 16th, a party of bombers from the 49th Battalion
-undertook to clear this offending piece of trench and so make possible
-the consolidation of the entire frontage gained in the previous day's
-offensives. Here is where the ex-homesteader from Spirit River steps
-into that high light which illuminates more frequently and glaringly the
-feeble activities of the music-hall stage than the grim heroics of the
-battle-field.
-
-Private John Chipman Kerr, as first bayonet-man, moved forward well in
-advance of his party. He twitched himself over the block in the
-communicating trench in less time than he had ever taken to negotiate a
-pasture fence on the home-farm. He advanced about thirty yards into the
-hostile position before a sentry took alarm and hurled a grenade. Kerr
-saw the grenade coming and, in the fraction of a second at his disposal,
-attempted to protect himself with his arm. He was partially successful
-in this, for when the bomb exploded it did no more than blow off the
-upper joint of his right fore-finger and wound him slightly in the right
-side.
-
-By this time the other members of the assaulting party were close to his
-heels. The exchange of bombs between the defenders and attackers now
-became general, though an angle in the trench hid each party from view
-of the other. Good throwing was done by our men, who were all experts;
-but Kerr felt that the affair promised to settle into a stationary
-action unless something new and sudden happened. So he clambered out of
-the trench and the shocks of that blind fight and moved along the
-parados until he came into close contact with, and full view of, the
-enemy. He was still armed with his rifle and two grenades; and, despite
-loss of blood, he was still full of enterprise and fight. He tossed the
-grenades among the crowded defenders beneath him and then opened fire
-into them with his rifle. Mud jambed the bolt of his rifle, whereupon he
-replaced it with the weapon of the second bayonet-man, Private Frank
-Long, who had followed him out of the trench and had just then caught up
-with him.
-
-While Kerr pumped lead into the massed enemy beneath his feet he
-directed the fire of his bombers so effectively, by voice and gesture,
-that the defenders were forced back to the shelter of the nearest bay.
-He immediately jumped down into the trench and went after them, with all
-the Canadian bombers and bayonet-men at his heels. A dug-out was
-reached; and while this was being investigated Kerr went on alone,
-rounded a bay and once again joined battle with the defenders of the
-trench. But the spirit of combat, even of resistance, had gone out of
-them. Up went their hands!
-
-Before having his wounds dressed, Private Kerr escorted the 62 Germans
-across open ground, under heavy fire, to a support trench, and then
-returned and reported himself for duty to his company commander.
-
-The official recommendation says: "The action of this man at this
-juncture undoubtedly resulted in the capture of 62 prisoners and the
-taking of 250 yards of enemy trench."
-
-This seems to be a conservative statement of the case. It takes no
-account of the other Germans who were involved in that brisk affair.
-They have been dead a long time.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-MAJOR T. W. MACDOWELL, 38TH BATTALION
-
-
-Major MacDowell won his D.S.O. on November 18th, 1916, for his quick
-decision and determined action in an attack made by his battalion--the
-38th, from Ottawa--on the British front, south of the Ancre, against
-Desire Trench and Desire Support Trench. With "B" Company, of which he
-was Captain, he advanced to within throwing distance and bombed three
-German machine-guns which had been holding up the advance, capturing,
-after severe hand-to-hand fighting, three officers and fifty of the
-enemy crews. It was this enterprise which cleared the way for the
-advance to the final objective.
-
-The same qualities of courage and swift decision were manifested on the
-occasion on which he won the Victoria Cross during the action of Vimy
-Ridge on the 9th of April, 1917. MacDowell delights in battle detail. He
-wants to know just where he is going when he enters an engagement, and
-before the big attack on Vimy he studied all the available Intelligence
-Reports and aeroplane maps, even selecting the particular German
-dug-out in which he intended to establish his headquarters after the
-position was won.
-
-The 38th, having been reorganized after the battle on the Somme, had
-moved up to the trenches at Vimy just after Christmas Day, 1916. For
-four long winter months the battalion remained in front of the famous
-ridge until, on that day in April, it went up, in conjunction with other
-Canadian units, in full battle array and snatched the position from the
-enemy.
-
-It is impossible to over-estimate the strategic value of Vimy Ridge. Its
-two spurs, flung out west and south-west in a series of heights which
-dominated the western plain, were regarded by military experts as the
-backbone of the whole German position in France. The Ridge was not only
-a naturally strong position made as impregnable as German skill could
-make it; it was more than that. Upon it, it was argued, hinged--and
-still hinges--the entire strategy of the enemy's retreat in the west.
-The enemy had held the heights since the third month of the war. They
-were the great bastion of his lines. Four times had the Allies attacked
-the position, biting deep into the German line; but still the enemy held
-the Ridge, though the holding of it had cost him sixty thousand men. It
-was to obtain possession of this famous series of hills that the
-Canadian battalions climbed out of their trenches at 5.30 a.m. on that
-April day.
-
-Few men slept soundly on the night before the great attack. The stern,
-hard training for the operation which had been in process for some weeks
-had tightened and toughened every link in the chain from the highest
-rank to the lowest, and the last few hours dragged fitfully. All watches
-had been synchronized and immediately 5.30 o'clock ticked a roar of
-artillery, awe-inspiring and stupendous, burst from the batteries, the
-hiding-places of which were only revealed by the short, sharp flashes;
-and Vimy Ridge was all afire with cataclysmic death and destruction.
-
-Behind the barrage, driving through No Man's Land towards their
-objective, went the Canadian battalions. Captain MacDowell reached the
-German line about fifty yards to the right of the point for which he was
-aiming; but most of his men, having worked slightly farther to the
-right, became separated from their leader, who found himself alone with
-two runners. The German dug-out where he aimed at establishing himself
-could be seen in the shell-torn line, but there was no time to collect a
-party to clean the place up. But on the way to his destination MacDowell
-captured two enemy machine-guns as an aside. He bombed one out of
-action, then attacked the other. The second gunner did not wait, but ran
-for shelter to a dug-out whither MacDowell followed and got him.
-
-Working their way along to the big dug-out the three Canadians saw that
-the place was more formidable than they had anticipated. It stretched
-far underground. MacDowell bawled down the deep passage, summoning the
-German occupants to surrender. No answer came from out the depths to his
-demand; but that Germans were down in the underground there seemed no
-doubt. The captain decided to go down and find out. It was a gigantic
-game of bluff he was playing, and it succeeded by reason of its very
-audacity.
-
-A flight of fifty-two steps led to the earthen floor below, and down
-those fifty-two steps went Captain MacDowell. Along a narrow passage he
-went and then, suddenly, as he turned a corner, which led into the main
-room of this subterranean fortress, he found himself face to face with
-a large group of the enemy. There were seventy-seven of them--though he
-did not know the exact number till afterwards, when they were
-counted--mostly Prussian Guards. Now, by all the laws of arithmetic and
-logic Captain MacDowell ought to have been taken prisoner or killed. But
-he was not out to be governed by the laws of arithmetic or logic. He was
-out to capture Boches and to kill those he could not capture.
-
-Quick as a flash he turned and began to shout orders to an imaginary
-force behind him--and up went the hands of the seventy-seven stalwart
-Guards. "_Kamerad!_" they said.
-
-It was one thing, however, to accept the surrender of this large party
-and quite another to get them out of the dug-out, for there was more
-than a chance that when they discovered there were but three Canadians
-to look after them they would try to overwhelm their captors. The
-captain decided to send the Germans up in batches of twelve, and the two
-runners, Kebus and Hay, marshalled them in the open at the top. Among
-the prisoners were two officers.
-
-What had been expected, once the Germans were marched up into the
-daylight, occurred. Some of them were furious at the trick which had
-been played on them and one of them caught up a rifle and shot at one of
-the Canadians. The rebellion did not last long, for it was checked by
-quick, drastic measures.
-
-That afternoon, when the riot of the attack had quietened somewhat,
-MacDowell and his two men made a thorough exploration of the dug-out and
-a report on the position was sent back to headquarters. Here is the
-report in his own hurried words, written with a stump of pencil, with
-his notebook on his knee as the German shells were crashing all around
-the entrance to the dug-out:
-
-     "While exploring this dug-out we discovered a large store of what
-     we believe to be explosives in a room. There is also an old sap
-     leading down underground in the direction of No. -- Crater. This
-     was explored ... we have cut all the wires, for fear of possible
-     destructive posts. The dug-out has three entries, and will
-     accommodate easily 250 or 300 men, with the sap to spare. It is
-     seventy-five feet underground and very comfortable. The cigars are
-     very choice and my supply of Perrier water is very large....
-
-     "They are firing at us all the time with their heavy guns from the
-     south-east, but I have no casualties to report since coming in
-     here, except being half scared to death myself by a 'big brute'....
-
-     "We have taken two machine-guns that I know of; and a third and
-     possibly a fourth will be taken to-night. This post was a
-     machine-gun post and was held by a machine-gun company. I believe
-     they are the Prussian Guards; all big, strong men who came in last
-     night. They had plenty of rations; but we had a great time taking
-     them prisoners.
-
-     "It is a great story. My two runners, Kebus and Hay, did invaluable
-     work getting them out of the dug-out.... There is a large number of
-     wounded in front of here, as I can see by the rifles stuck in the
-     ground. We are using German rifles as ours are out of commission."
-
-Five days later, when the enemy artillery slackened, reinforcements were
-sent up and succeeded in reaching the captain; and when, finally, he was
-relieved from the position and reported himself at his battalion
-headquarters, one can imagine that his brother officers--those who were
-left--were glad to see him.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LIEUTENANT FREDERICK MAURICE WATSON HARVEY, LORD STRATHCONA'S HORSE.
-
-
-The first Canadian cavalryman to win the Victoria Cross in this war is
-Lieutenant Harvey, of Lord Strathcona's Horse.
-
-The Strathconas, raised for service in South Africa, and originally
-recruited largely from the Royal North-West Mounted Police,
-distinguished themselves in the Boer War and afterwards were established
-as a unit of the Canadian Permanent Militia. Along with the other
-regiments of our cavalry brigade they fought as infantry in the trenches
-throughout the autumn and winter of 1915-16. The brigade was then
-withdrawn from the line, rehorsed and embarked upon a long course of
-training and waiting.
-
-March, 1917, found the Canadian Cavalry Brigade serving with the 15th
-Army Corps, north of Peronne on the Somme. At this time the brigade
-consisted of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lord Strathcona's Horse, the
-Fort Garry Horse, the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, the Canadian
-Cavalry Machine-Gun Squadron and a field ambulance.
-
-On the morning of March 24th the brigade received orders to form on a
-twelve-mile frontage, with Nurlu as its centre, and from there to
-advance beyond our infantry positions. By the evening of the same day
-the Royal Canadian Dragoons were in possession of several hostile
-positions, including the woods to the south-west of Lieramont; and
-during the night the Fort Garry Horse, on the left of the advance, took
-the villages of Ytres and Etricourt.
-
-On the afternoon of the 25th Captain Sharpe, with his squadron of
-F.G.H., dislodged the Germans from the smaller of two woods that they
-held in strength. From this first wood he launched an attack upon the
-second and larger, in open order at the gallop, and drove the enemy
-through and out of that cover and into the shelter of a trench beyond.
-This was the first instance, in more than two years, of cavalry riding
-straight at a position held by rifles and machine-guns.
-
-At six o'clock of the following day (March 26th) the Strathconas gained
-a wood south-east of Equancourt, where they dismounted, and from which
-they advanced upon and captured the village at the point of the bayonet.
-At the same time the Fort Garry Horse, attacking from the north, made
-their objectives in spite of heavy machine-gun fire. The admirable
-shooting of the R.C.H.A. had much to do with the success of the
-operation.
-
-During the night, and early in the morning of the 27th, the R.C.D's
-occupied the villages of Longavesnes and Lieramont. They handed the
-defence of the former over to the infantry; but they remained in the
-latter and there repulsed a strong counter-attack.
-
-High ground about the village of Guyencourt and Grebaussart Wood was the
-final objective of a series of attacks made by the Lord Strathcona's
-Horse and the Fort Garry Horse on the evening of the 27th. A heavy
-snow-storm delayed the initial stroke until 5.15; but then, the moment
-the air was clear enough for the leaders to see the way, a squadron of
-the Fort Garry Horse galloped forward to Hill 140 and there established
-two machine-guns in commanding positions. This squadron then pushed
-around the hill into Grebaussart Wood, Jean Copse and Chauffeurs Wood,
-and successfully posted three more machine-guns. Other squadrons of this
-regiment rode straight at the village of Saulcourt, and penetrated its
-outskirts. The Germans, retiring before them, were caught by our
-machine-gun fire.
-
-The Strathconas, with Guyencourt in view, charged on to a ridge on the
-left front of that village, where they were confronted by machine-guns
-and strongly wired positions; so they swung to the right, rode at the
-north-west corner of the village and won to the partial shelter of its
-walls.
-
-It was at this stage of the swift action that Lieutenant Harvey
-performed the conspicuous deed of valour that was recognized by the
-highest award. He commanded the leading troop of the charging
-Strathconas and rode well in front of his men. He was close to the edge
-of the village, when, by the failing light, he discovered a deadly
-menace to his command set fairly across his course--a wired trench
-containing a machine-gun and a strong garrison. He swung from his saddle
-and sprinted straight at the gun, firing his revolver as he ran. He
-reached the triple entanglement and hurdled it, shot the machine-gunner
-and jumped on to the gun.
-
-The man at the gun must have lost his nerve and his wits in the face of
-that amazing, swift frontal assault; his hands must have fumbled,
-misguided by his flinching brain: we know that his gun jammed and that
-he died a violent death.
-
-Thus the trench became ours, the Strathconas took Guyencourt, and Harvey
-won the Cross.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-PRIVATE WILLIAM JOHNSTONE MILNE, 16TH BATTALION
-
-
-The 16th Canadian Battalion (the "Canadian Scottish") occupied the left
-sub-sector of the 3rd Brigade front in the attack on Vimy Ridge on
-April 9th, 1917. On the left of the 16th was the 18th Battalion and on
-the right was the 14th Battalion. Private W. J. Milne was of the 16th.
-
-In due time the important and detailed story of the attack on the ridge
-will be given to the outside world and in that day the victory of the
-Canadian troops will be seen in its true perspective. The enormous
-amount of preliminary work required before the attack took place has
-been hinted at elsewhere in these pages. The 16th Battalion had its
-share in these preparations and also in the glory of conquest.
-
-The 2nd and the 3rd Brigades were appointed to capture the first two
-objectives, namely, Zwolfe Graben and Zwischen Stellung. After taking
-these two positions they were to consolidate and allow the 1st Brigade
-to pass through on their way to capture the farther objectives.
-
-Every unit was reported assembled and ready well ahead of "Zero" hour,
-which was 5.30 a.m. Two minutes after our barrage opened on the enemy
-front our infantry climbed out of their trenches and went forward. As
-they went over No Man's Land a rising north-westerly wind blew up a
-storm of snow and sleet which continued for several hours.
-
-As the 16th Battalion approached the first objective an enemy
-machine-gun opened a heavy fire on them, causing many casualties. Milne
-located the gun, and, crouching on his hands and knees, began to work
-his way forward. Over his shoulder was slung his bag of bombs. Several
-times he was fired at, but he continued to crawl till he was within
-bombing distance, then leaping to his feet, he hurled his bombs into the
-midst of the gun crew. Every German went down, dead or wounded. Milne
-rushed forward and captured the gun.
-
-The Canadian line reformed and the battalion continued its advance. They
-swarmed over the Zwolfe Graben, bundled out as prisoners those Germans
-who still crouched in the deep dug-outs, killed those who still offered
-resistance; and then went ahead to the second position.
-
-Here again the hidden German machine-gunners gave considerable trouble.
-Many of those nests of machine-guns were concealed in pockets near or in
-dug-outs, and as our men advanced they were met by unexpected bursts of
-fire. Just before reaching Zwischen Stellung the battalion was again
-held up by a concrete emplacement hidden in a hay-stack near Terry
-Trench.
-
-Milne undertook to clear out this nest as before. He repeated his
-tactics, stalking the gun in the same way. He was again successful. This
-time he knocked out the weapon, causing the garrison to surrender. The
-second objective of the battalion was taken soon afterwards.
-
-Milne, however, did not live to know his bravery had won him the
-Victoria Cross. He was killed not many hours afterwards; but his
-contribution towards the Vimy Ridge victory was officially recognized
-when the dust of conflict had settled down.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LANCE-SERGEANT ELLIS WELWOOD SIFTON, 18TH BATTALION
-
-
-On Easter Monday (April 9th), 1917, in a mixture of recurrent rain and
-driving sleet, the Canadian troops took Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
-
-When it is said that the Canadians "took" this ridge the literally
-correct phrase is used. No other word expresses the historic incident
-so well. The Canadian battalions took Vimy Ridge; and Lance-Sergeant
-Ellis Welwood Sifton, of the 18th Battalion, from Ontario, was one of a
-few men whose deeds on that tremendous day won for them the highest mark
-of admiration their fellows could offer for valour. He gave his life for
-the award.
-
-The taking of Vimy Ridge was an operation which involved practically
-every Canadian unit. It was a scheme the authors of which hardly dared
-to hope would be so completely carried out, for the ridge was the pivot
-of the German millions on the whole western front. It was an
-eight-thousand-yards-long fortress, deemed by its occupants to be
-impregnable, a bastion of inestimable strength and importance, an inland
-Gibraltar.
-
-British and French armies had tried several times to wrest it from the
-German grasp. The Germans had met their smashing blows, had quivered
-under them--but had continued to hold the ridge. On the morning of that
-Easter Monday they held it, arrogant as ever. In the evening they were
-gone!
-
-The slopes of Vimy were a maze of trenches of superb construction,
-fashioned to withstand the pounding of any artillery. The dug-outs were
-vast, fortified underground chambers--some capable of sheltering entire
-battalions--where enemy shells could not find the occupants. Its
-machine-gun fortresses were formidable as miniature battleships.
-
-To familiarize themselves with the difficulties which an attack on this
-ridge would involve, the Canadian Divisions went into strict training
-for weeks behind the lines. Battalion commanders were called in
-conference to the headquarters of their brigades, brigadiers to their
-divisions, divisional commanders to corps; the results of these
-deliberations were made known to regimental officers; officers lectured
-the non-commissioned officers, the non-commissioned officers passed it
-on, as non-commissioned officers do, to the rank and file. All ranks
-trained.
-
-At 5.30 on the fateful morning the 18th Battalion was in position on the
-right wing of the 4th Brigade front. The dawn was dull, uncertain,
-depressing. Heavy clouds lay over the battlefield and a biting
-north-west wind scudded across the waste lands.
-
-With the first crash of the barrage which fell on the German front the
-waves of assaulting troops rose out of their trenches like gnomes of the
-night and started for the enemy lines. The 18th Battalion assaulted on a
-three-platoon frontage in four waves. Before them the fire-edged barrage
-swept on, destroying with the completeness of a flaming guillotine.
-
-The first German line was gained and captured with very small loss to
-the attackers. The Germans were stunned and demoralized by the hurricane
-of explosives which was being hurled at them. They called "_Kamerad!_"
-and were dispatched, still meek and submissive, to a safer place.
-
-But at the second line, after the barrage had swept over it, the first
-opposition of importance was met. Here small parties of machine-gunners,
-tucked away in their concrete fortresses, had escaped the terrible
-shelling and as the Canadians advanced they enfiladed the waves of men
-as they passed.
-
-One such nest stemmed the advance of "C" Company. Men began to fall, hit
-by the unseen enemy. The others peered around in the gloom, trying to
-discover the nest. Lance-Sergeant Sifton saw it first. The barrel of the
-gun showed over a parapet.
-
-Sifton did not wait to work out an elaborate attack, for there was no
-time to lose. He rushed ahead, leaped into the trench, charged into the
-crew, overthrew the gun and turned on the gunners with his bayonet.
-Before they had time to resist, every one of the Germans was out of
-business. With the demolition of the machine-gun, the advance of the
-18th Battalion moved on.
-
-Sifton's men hurried up to support him, but before they reached the
-position a party of Germans advanced on him from down the trench. He
-attacked them with bayonet and clubbed rifle and held them off till his
-comrades jumped into the trench and ended the unequal fight. But none
-noticed a dying German, one of Sifton's victims, who rolled over to the
-edge of the trench, picked up a rifle and took careful aim.
-
-That was how he died--the man from Ontario, of whom it was stated in
-official phraseology that "his conspicuous valour undoubtedly saved many
-lives and contributed largely to the success of the operation."
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LIEUTENANT ROBERT GRIERSON COMBE, 27TH BATTALION
-
-
-When Captain Stinson, of the 27th Canadian Battalion, received a message
-from a breathless runner during the darkness of early morning on May
-3rd, 1917, to the effect that Lieutenant R. G. Combe had but five men
-left out of his entire company, he realized that matters were serious on
-the right wing of the attacking formations. How serious he did not know
-until later. By the time he had sent reinforcements and investigated the
-situation, Lieutenant Combe had lost his life and won the Victoria
-Cross.
-
-It had been planned by headquarters that the attack on the German
-front-line system in the vicinity of Acreville should take place before
-dawn. But Lieutenant Combe and a handful of followers were the only men
-of the 27th Battalion (City of Winnipeg) who reached their objective.
-Darkness and the enemy's concentration of artillery were responsible for
-the hold-up of the other sections of the advance.
-
-The battalion was in the ridge line with headquarters at Thelus Cave
-just prior to the attack, and they relieved troops who were already
-weary after a strenuous spell in the trenches. The attack began at 3.45
-a.m. on the 3rd May; but the Germans had guessed very accurately the
-time of the intended assault, and two hours before our barrage opened
-they began to shell the assembly area with determined severity. So heavy
-was the fire that the attacking forces sustained many casualties before
-they were in the jumping-off trenches, and it was plain to the leaders
-that the problem of maintaining any kind of formation would be a
-difficult one.
-
-The 31st Battalion worked on the left of the 27th. It was still dark
-when the first waves of infantry went over the top and forward behind
-our barrage. They left in perfect order, walking into a darkness as
-intense as that of the Pit, save for the fitful flash of exploding
-shells. Terrible gaps were torn in their ranks as they advanced; whole
-groups of men were blown out of the line, and those who continued to
-stumble on soon lost touch with their fellows. The fears of the
-battalion commanders were fulfilled. Formation was impossible, and it
-was only with small groups that touch could be kept.
-
-The leading companies were forced to take cover at a distance of seven
-hundred yards from the German front line. They lay down in shell-holes
-and on the torn, trembling earth, scratching feebly at the hard surface
-to secure cover while they got their second wind. In a short time they
-were up and stumbling forward again; but they had only gone two hundred
-yards when the German artillery shortened range and the full force of
-the barrage fell on them.
-
-Under that staggering blow men collapsed in dozens, crushed by the
-weight of uptorn earth or blown to fragments. In the right company,
-Lieutenant Combe was the only officer who had survived so far. His
-company was but a tattered remnant of what it had been a few moments
-before; but Combe had his orders surging at the back of his head, and he
-meant to carry them out. Collecting the handful of men left to him he
-began to work his way through the German barrage. He managed it. He
-brought his followers safely through that terrible curtain of fire, only
-to find that if he would reach the German line he must also get through
-the barrage of our own guns. He steadied his men and accomplished the
-second journey also. Just how he piloted them through the hail of shells
-it is impossible to explain; these things can only be guessed at. But he
-did it; and he had only five men left when he reached the German
-trenches.
-
-Back in the rear, Captain Stinson, of the supporting company, saw the
-advance checked on the right; but there was no sign of failure on the
-left. He concluded that the latter wing had reached its objective. With
-a runner he scrambled forward towards the German line. When he was
-within twenty yards of the enemy trench he stopped, amazed, for the
-Germans were lining their parapet, waiting to meet the assaulting
-battalions. That was how Captain Stinson discovered that the 31st
-Battalion had not reached its objective. He retired with the
-information.
-
-It was then that he received the message from Lieutenant Combe, asking
-for reinforcements and stating his position. Captain Stinson ordered
-Sergeant Boddington, of "A" Company, to send forward twenty men to help
-Combe. The Captain himself went forward in advance, with a runner. He
-found Combe in the act of winning his posthumous decoration.
-
-Combe and his men had entered the German trench after a terrible
-struggle, aided by a few men of another company whom they had picked up.
-They bombed the Germans along the trench with German bombs, having
-exhausted their own long before. Eighty prisoners had been captured and
-were on their way back to our lines, and 250 yards of trench were in the
-hands of the invaders.
-
-Again and again the gallant little band charged the enemy, Combe always
-at their head, leading them around traverses and into dug-outs. Along
-the whole of that 250 yards of trench lay dead and dying Germans.
-
-Combe was killed by a rifle bullet as he was leading his gallant bombers
-up the trench in the climax of his triumph.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-CAPTAIN WILLIAM AVERY BISHOP, R.F.C. (LATE CANADIAN CAVALRY).
-
-
-"Give me the aeroplane I want," said Captain W. A. Bishop, "and I'll go
-over to Berlin any night--or day--and come back too, with any luck."
-
-It was during a discussion in the mess on the question of air reprisals
-that Canada's champion airman slipped in the quiet remark; and when a
-man who has won the V.C., the Military Cross and the D.S.O. with a bar,
-says he could bomb the German capital it may be taken that he means
-what he says. He had then brought down nearly fifty German flyers,
-besides a few balloons.
-
-Born at Owen Sound, Ontario, in 1894, a son of the registrar of Grey
-County, this stripling received a commission in the Canadian Cavalry in
-March, 1915, and went to France with a cavalry unit. He was in the
-trenches in the days when our Cavalry Brigade held a section of the line
-as infantry. Later, after only one experience of fighting Germans from
-horseback, he decided that he wanted more excitement and joined the
-increasing host of airmen.
-
-His headquarters in France as a flying man were until recently in the
-cosiest of aerodromes, cuddled close up against a small bunch of cool
-trees, which looked innocent enough from the air. An ancient farm is in
-the vicinity and the title of the young airman's hut was "The Abode of
-Love." It is a fitting answer to the Hymn of Hate.
-
-Commanding this squadron of airmen, he brought it to perfection, and
-none disputed that he was a fitting successor to Captain Ball, the
-famous English V.C. hero, who was the leader until his death. Every man
-of the squadron has brought down at least ten Germans and the cheerful
-group is reputed to have the greatest percentage of flying nerve on the
-western front.
-
-His best and most daring work, however, has been done when he has been
-"solo" flying. It is true that he attributes most of his success to
-"luck," but his comrades know that more than luck is needed to bring an
-airman safely out of some of the awkward situations in which he has been
-placed. On the 24th April, 1917, he was climbing slowly against the wind
-a few miles east of Monchy when he saw an enemy two-seater busily making
-observations of the Allied line and sending wireless messages to the
-German headquarters in the rear. He dived at the big machine, firing in
-bursts from his Lewis gun as he went. But his gun jammed and he was
-compelled to wheel round, tinkering with the weapon as he flew. In a few
-moments he had remedied the trouble and banged fifteen more shots at the
-enemy; but again his gun jammed, and before he could clear it the big
-German had escaped.
-
-When he got the gun into working order again he flew eastward towards
-Vitry, hawking the air lanes for other opponents. Before long he
-observed another two-seater, also on observation work. This time he
-tried his gun at long range, then rushed at the enemy, firing in bursts
-as he charged.
-
-The German machine wriggled, flying first one way then another, with the
-Canadian hanging on at its tail and spouting gusts of bullets at it in
-short intervals. Hit at last in the fusilage, the German made a dive for
-earth. Swift on the track of the two-seater came the captain, firing all
-the way; and when the German machine finally landed in a meadow he
-finished the remainder of his ammunition drum into it as it lay on the
-ground. Neither pilot nor observer climbed out. Both had been killed as
-they sat in the 'bus.
-
-Ten minutes later, after he had recharged his gun, Bishop climbed into
-the clouds to continue his cruise of the front line. As he rose he saw,
-away ahead, a British Nieuport being attacked by three Albatross scouts.
-He flew to his compatriot's assistance, and, coming up from behind,
-emptied his gun into one of the enemy. The German collapsed and went
-down like a stone. The Nieuport by this time had started in pursuit of
-one of the other Albatrosses, which was trying to escape, so Bishop
-tackled the third. A few buzzing, manoeuvring circles, a few bursts
-from the deadly little gun--and the German was diving steeply to earth.
-Captain Bishop slid down in his smoking wake and saw him crash, a heap
-of broken spars and flames.
-
-There is no trick of aircraft that this young Canadian does not know,
-though he is not a showy flyer. The number of his exploits is endless,
-and as his squadron moved from one part of the line to another he
-constantly found new pastures for adventure, new opponents to defeat,
-more Germans to kill. He has fought German airmen high over the waves of
-advancing battalions and has heard, as a faint whisper coming up to him,
-the cheers of his fellow countrymen when he shot down his enemies at
-their feet. He has chased a German Staff automobile along a dusty road
-and opened fire on it so that the driver lost his nerve and ditched the
-car, and the occupants threw their massive dignity to the winds and
-scrambled for shelter into a dug-out.
-
-Not very long ago, when he was roaming alone, twelve thousand feet high,
-he heard the stutter of machine-guns from out the clouds, and drove in
-their direction to find his own juvenile major fighting single-handed
-against five formidable German battle machines. Down swooped the captain
-on the tail of the nearest enemy, riddled the pilot and observer with
-bullets, fought another for a few minutes and sent him also to the
-ground, dived down, reloading his gun as he went, then up again and blew
-a third into eternity with a terrific burst of fire; and then, joyfully
-and with calm happiness, escorted his major home in a merry, zig-zag
-course which told the watchers of his aerodrome that all was well with
-the world.
-
-The incident which brought him his Victoria Cross occurred one June day
-in 1917, when he was working, as usual, independently. He _zoomed_
-across No Man's Land, over the German front and support trenches,
-driving on to where he thought was game worth seeking. The game in this
-instance was an aerodrome. But as he circled above the enemy hangars at
-fifteen thousand feet the place seemed to have a strangely deserted
-appearance. Down he came to within three hundred feet of the hangars to
-investigate; and the only occupant of the aerodrome proved to be a very
-nervous gunner who feebly turned a machine-gun on him. The nervous
-gunner was sent scuttering to cover by a few bursts of fire. Then the
-disappointed captain turned the nose of his machine upwards, wondering
-whether he would find any hostile craft waiting for him above the
-clouds. Through the thin clouds he mounted into the clear spaces above.
-No enemy was to be seen, nothing but the blue void; and the warm, soft
-atmosphere was very pleasant that day. The captain was out for
-adventure. He flew on deeper into the German lines.
-
-Twelve miles from the German front line he looked over the side of his
-'plane and saw, basking in the pleasant sunshine, the very thing he had
-come to smash. It was another German aerodrome, with a number of
-machines lined up in front of the sheds, ready for a journey.
-
-Bishop counted the machines--one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
-Seven new, beautiful bombers all in a row, brass burnished, oiled, a few
-of the engines running, all ready for a trip into Allied territory--or
-perhaps to England! It was a very tidy aerodrome and the seven machines
-on the lawn looked very trim. The captain descended to have a closer
-look--and the Germans spotted him and raised the alarm; guns began to
-splash white puffs of shrapnel around him.
-
-Down dived this youngster through the barrage till he was within fifty
-feet of the ground and then his machine-gun began to spray the German
-machines and the lawn with bullets. A mechanic, who was trying to start
-one of the aeroplanes, fell beside the propeller, riddled with shot. Up
-raced the Canadian then, rising in sharp spirals as fast as his machine
-could travel. Up after him went a German, throbbing with a desire for
-revenge. But Bishop was expecting this very thing; and as the German
-reached sixty feet from the ground he swooped down and around suddenly
-and fired into the chasing machine at close range. The German 'plane
-crashed to earth, carrying a dead pilot with it.
-
-Turning swiftly, the captain saw a second Albatross rising. He closed
-with this one till about 150 yards separated them; then, getting the
-German full on his sights, he sent a blast of thirty rounds into him.
-Away went the Albatross, side-slipping into a tree, where it hung a
-wretched, broken thing.
-
-A third Albatross came up to the combat, while the invader swung over
-the aerodrome sheds in the midst of a storm of shrapnel from the enemy
-guns. Bishop cleared the sheds and swept upward a thousand feet, met his
-third enemy as he mounted and emptied the remainder of his drum of
-ammunition at him. The Albatross swerved, slid, fluttered and fell to
-earth within three hundred yards of the spot from which it had mounted
-but a few moments before.
-
-The invader quickly inserted a new drum and swung round again to where a
-fourth machine was humming towards him. He took no chances with this
-antagonist, but opened fire at a fair range as it headed at him.
-
-Already a fifth German was coming out of the blue, trying to sandwich
-him between it and its fellow. He had no time to waste on the fifth. He
-kept hammering at the fourth till it also left the fight and planed
-down to the green sward below, out of control and little better than a
-wreck.
-
-He faced the fifth--had him, indeed, in a favourable position for ending
-his career also--when he realized that he had finished his ammunition.
-That fact saved the life of the German airman. Captain Bishop
-regretfully raised his empty drum and waved a farewell to this, his
-latest adversary, and started on his hundred-mile race for home.
-
-The solitary German was soon left behind; but from another aerodrome
-came four German scouts who had been sent to the rescue of their friends
-of the now untidy aerodrome. They had seen the latter part of the
-battle. Though they were about a thousand feet above him they did not
-attack, but fell behind after following for about a mile.
-
-With his machine slashed almost to ribbons, Bishop made a safe landing
-near the bunch of green trees beside the ancient farm. That night there
-was great rejoicing at the "Abode of Love," for the news spread
-quickly and men came from neighbouring parts of the line to offer
-congratulations.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-PRIVATE J. G. PATTISON, 50TH BATTALION
-
-
-During the morning of April 10th, 1917, the 44th and 50th Battalions
-were instructed to capture and consolidate, as an outpost line, the
-Eastern edge of Vimy Ridge lying beyond Hill 145. The men of the 10th
-Brigade had been in reserve while their comrades swept over Vimy on the
-previous day and were anxious to get in some good work with the rest of
-the Corps. There is no doubt that they succeeded.
-
-The men of the 50th made their way to Beer Trench, and at zero hour,
-3.15 p.m., went forward with a rush. Opposition was immediate and
-severe. From every broken tree and battered piece of cover machine-gun
-fire swept the attack, and casualties were extremely heavy; but the men
-continued to push forward.
-
-On the right "C" Company attacked, with "D" Company in close support; on
-the left "A" Company, with "B" Company in support. The leading companies
-found the "going" extremely hard, but for a time all went well, and
-though the advance was slow, steady progress was made.
-
-As the incessant fire thinned the waves of attacking troops, greater
-difficulty was encountered in enveloping the machine-gun nests that
-barred our progress. In the first stage of an attack made by determined
-troops the resistance close at hand is easily swamped; but as the men
-continue to push forward the innumerable obstructions and perils of the
-battlefield gather against their weakening impact, fatigue slows them,
-their front is broken and their connecting files are shot down; and so a
-steady enveloping movement becomes a series of bitterly contested little
-battles, where small parties in twos and threes fight strategic
-engagements with isolated strong points of the enemy. Finally a series
-of partial checks culminates in an abrupt cessation of the advance--and
-a gathering company finds itself held up before an embattled
-fortification whose point of vantage covers the whole local zone of
-attack.
-
-Then the real trouble begins. Time and again in the history of the war
-one hostile fortification left in otherwise captured territory has
-changed or materially affected the final issue of the engagement. It
-may serve as a rallying-point for a determined counter-attack, or by its
-wide zones of fire hamper the advance of reinforcements on the flanks,
-or prevent the supply of vital munitions to a new and precarious front
-line; its effectiveness is limited only by its natural position, and as
-this has been selected with care and forethought by an efficient enemy,
-one small but actively hostile strong-point may prove a very capable
-thorn in the side of a harassed general.
-
-On that April afternoon the 50th Battalion encountered just such a
-check. It was on the left of the battalion attacking zone, and the men
-of "A" Company, gradually gathering in the nearest cover, had organized
-and carried out several gallant attempts to rush the position. Each time
-they had been beaten back with heavy losses.
-
-Now "B" Company arrived to reinforce the assault. Another attack was
-organized, with no more success than the last; and then, as so often
-occurs, a critical situation was relieved by the clearheaded bravery of
-a single soldier.
-
-Private Pattison, an engineer from Calgary, proceeded to deal with the
-situation. He advanced single-handed towards the machine-gun post in a
-series of short rapid dashes, taking cover on the way in available
-shell-holes while deciding his next point of vantage. In a few moments
-he had reached a shell-hole within thirty yards of the vital
-strong-point. He stood up in full view of the machine-gunners and under
-their point-blank fire threw three bombs with such good aim that the
-guns were put out of action and the crews temporarily demoralized. This
-was Pattison's opportunity, and he took it without hesitation. As his
-last bomb exploded amidst the Germans he rushed across the intervening
-space and in a moment was using his bayonet upon the unhappy enemy. He
-had killed them all before his companions had caught him up.
-
-Twenty minutes later all objectives were gained and the Canadians busy
-consolidating the captured line. Pattison came unscathed through the
-day's fighting, and through the successful attack on the Pimple on the
-following day; but he never wore his V.C., though he was aware that he
-had been recommended for the honour. He was killed on June 2nd in the
-attack upon the Generating Station.
-
-Very few men of Pattison's age now reach the honour of the Victoria
-Cross, as this war has set almost too high a standard for their physical
-activity. Pattison was 42 years old--a smart soldier and a good fellow.
-His son, a young soldier in his father's battalion, wears the ribbon
-upon his right breast, and probably will wear it on his left side too,
-before this war is over.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-PRIVATE HARRY BROWN, 10TH BATTALION
-
-
-Most men who have won the Victoria Cross have gained it by some act of
-violent, passionate valour. Private Harry Brown, Number 226353, of the
-10th Battalion, won it by suppressing the impulse to violence. Whilst
-others on the same field of battle were earning the decoration in the
-impetuous fury of assault Harry Brown was earning it by the terrible,
-pitiless restraint which he imposed on his emotions. His was the supreme
-courage of self-control, the silent valour of abnegation.
-
-The 10th Battalion took part in the attack on Hill 70, near Loos, which
-began on the 15th of August, 1917, and lasted for several days. Before
-midnight of the 14th the battalion was in position, and at 4.25 a.m. the
-attack began. The first German line was captured in face of fierce
-opposition, the fighting continuing intermittently throughout the day;
-but the position was held. During the night, attempts were made to
-consolidate the new line; but the 7th and the 8th Battalions were in
-difficulties and the 10th Battalion was ordered next morning to move to
-their assistance.
-
-This second attack began at four o'clock on the afternoon of the 15th.
-Chalk Pit, the redoubt on the left of Hill 70, was assaulted by "A," "B"
-and "C" companies. "A" company encountered terrible enemy machine-gun
-fire when within two hundred yards of the pit and were forced to take
-cover in shell-holes for a time. After a short rest the position was
-captured in a rush, the waves of attackers, carried forward by the
-impetus of the advance, reaching a trench seventy-five yards beyond
-Chalk Pit. The German occupants were all either killed or captured.
-
-The position was being consolidated when Sergeant J. Wennevold and a
-party of men of "C" company went out to reinforce a post to the right of
-the new battalion front in order to protect the flank from a
-counter-attack. Consolidation of that position was terrible work. To the
-men who tried to dig into the hard, chalky soil that attempt must always
-remain a nightmare. They could make little impression on the earth. In
-one part of the front the result of the previous night's labour was a
-trench scarcely two feet deep, blunted tools and aching hands and backs.
-
-While the work was in progress the Germans poured a hurricane of fire
-from machine-guns and field-guns on the position. Men were killed and
-wounded faster than others could take their places. The crisis of that
-day and night of endurance and agony came at a quarter to five o'clock
-in the afternoon, when the Germans were seen massing for an attack on
-the right.
-
-By this time every wire to headquarters was cut by the enemy artillery.
-If they were allowed to attack, the companies in the trench would be
-annihilated and the hard-earned position lost. The situation was
-desperate.
-
-Only one chance of averting disaster remained.
-
-A runner must get through with a message to our artillery asking them to
-smash the German attack. Private Harry Brown and another runner
-undertook to deliver the message. When they set out on their desperate
-mission a hostile barrage was raking the open behind the newly occupied
-ground, the enemy's intention being to prevent supports coming up. The
-messengers had to get through this curtain of fire, a curtain under
-which nearly every yard of ground was being churned into a mess or
-torn up savagely in tons and tossed on high as if by some unseen
-Brobdignagian hand.
-
-They had gone but a little way on their adventurous journey when one was
-killed and Brown was left, the only link between his isolated battalion
-and its hope of succour. If he failed to get through his comrades would
-be wiped out to a man.
-
-He continued to stumble along, sinking into new, smoking craters, now
-and then up to the waist, dragging himself out and crawling through the
-debris, lying still for short intervals till the shock of the explosions
-had passed. Flying missiles hit him and shattered an arm. He was
-bleeding and exhausted. He sat down, dazed and uncomprehendingly. But
-his will forced him to his feet again. He staggered onward towards the
-support lines, walking like a man in a dream, his brain in constant
-dark motion, his thoughts in a flux even as the ground on which he
-strove for a footing.
-
-It was a pained, dreary thing, sore and weary, that kept doggedly
-crawling and staggering on through the intensity of the shrapnel and the
-high explosive. His strength ran from him with the blood from his
-mangled arm. His steps were automatic. The last part of the journey was
-the worst. It was his _Via Dolorosa_.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-An officer standing in a dug-out in the support line was peering out at
-the devastation which the enemy artillery was spreading so prodigally.
-Shells rained on every side, the earth shuddered and shrank at every
-blow. But the telephone to headquarters was working.
-
-A dark form crawled out of the ruin and stumbled towards the dug-out. It
-was a soldier--hatless, pale, dirty, haggard, one arm hanging limp and
-bloody by his side, his clothing torn and stained. He reached the steps
-of the dug-out, and seeing the officer, tried to descend. But his
-strength was gone, his limbs refused to act. He fell down the short
-stairway, spent--utterly spent and dying.
-
-The officer lifted him gently and brought him into the dug-out and laid
-him down. Then Brown handed over his precious slip of paper.
-
-"Important message," he whispered.
-
-And Private Harry Brown lay back and drifted into unconsciousness. He
-died a few hours later in the dressing station.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-COMPANY SERGEANT-MAJOR ROBERT HANNA, 29TH BATTALION
-
-
-When the first big attack was made by the Canadian troops on Hill 70 on
-the 15th August, 1917, the 29th (Vancouver) Battalion moved forward to
-the support of the 5th Brigade, remaining in the area for three days
-while the battle raged in the forward lines.
-
-The first stage of the attack ended on the 18th; and that night, under
-severe shelling, the 29th Battalion took over Commotion trench from the
-junction of Caliper and Conductor trenches to the junction of Nabob
-Alley and Commotion trench. On the morning of the 21st August the second
-stage of the offensive was resumed. It was then the battalion took an
-active part in the struggle.
-
-The opening of the second phase was timed for 4.35 a.m. At 1 a.m. the
-companies began to move into the assembly positions. At 3.15 a.m. the
-scouts reported that the tapes had been laid, the companies were getting
-into position uneventfully and none of the enemy was to be seen.
-
-But about 4.10 a.m. the German artillery began to plump shells along the
-front of the parapet, increasing the intensity of the barrage towards
-4.30, when a sudden deluge of "fish-tails" descended on the trenches.
-Accompanying this bombardment was a curious kind of bomb, square in
-shape, which exploded with a great flame and sent out a dense,
-suffocating smoke. One of those dropped in the trench occupied by "D"
-company, wounding practically every man in a platoon.
-
-While attempts were being made to clear the débris, Sergeant Croll, who
-was stationed near the corner of Nun's Alley and Commotion trench, heard
-the word passed along: "Heine has broken through the 25th and is coming
-down the trench."
-
-Croll collected five unwounded men and kept the advancing Germans at bay
-by bombing them till reinforcements arrived from the 28th Battalion and
-drove the enemy out.
-
-Major Grimmett, who was in command of "A" company in support, hearing
-the bombing and concluding that something had gone wrong with "D"
-company, sent forward a platoon under Captain Abbott. Our opening
-barrage by this time had begun and was moving forward. Abbott's platoon
-took up the fight, carried it into Nun's Alley and established a block
-there.
-
-The other companies--"B," "C" and the remainder of "D"--had gone forward
-behind the barrage. One platoon of "D" company, which attempted an
-overland attack on Nun's Alley, was wiped out almost to a man by
-machine-gun fire. "C" company, attacking in the centre, was badly
-mauled. The left platoon was swept away by German machine-gun fire
-before it reached its objective. The right platoon had almost reached
-its objective--Cinnebar trench--when it ran into a strong enemy
-machine-gun post surrounded by barbed wire. Lieutenant Carter, who had
-already been wounded, was killed in an attempt to drive the Germans out
-of this stronghold.
-
-Lieutenant Sutherland, on the extreme right, got into Cinnebar trench
-and gave the order for rapid fire on a party of Germans who were
-advancing overland. In the act of picking up a rifle he was mortally hit
-by a sniper's bullet. Sergeant Stevens, who then took command, was
-lifting Sutherland's rifle when he too was shot through the head. A
-corporal took the sergeant's place. A moment later he also was killed.
-The remainder of the men fought on desperately till a platoon of the
-28th Battalion came to their aid.
-
-In the meantime "B" company, to which Sergeant-Major Hanna belonged, had
-reached the objective in Cinnebar trench. Believing that all was well
-with "C" company, Lieutenant Gordon, the commander, was about to send
-off the pre-arranged signal when it was discovered that the signal
-cartridges were wet. Before a substitute could be found word was brought
-that "C" company, on the left, was being badly smashed, all the officers
-having been killed. Lieutenant McKinnon was sent along with a bombing
-party to aid "C" company. He was killed just as he joined the fight.
-
-Gordon then went along to the relief of the company on his left, after
-ordering Lieutenant Montgomery to get a party of snipers outside the
-trench so that they could take toll of the enemy. Gordon was badly
-wounded in the arm. Lieutenant Montgomery was soon afterwards killed by
-a German sniper. The leadership fell upon Sergeant-Major Hanna.
-
-Hanna saw that the crux of the position was a German post protected by a
-heavy wire and armed with a machine gun. He collected a party of his men
-and led them against the post amid a hail of rifle and machine-gun fire.
-Rushing through the wire he bayoneted three of the Germans, brained a
-fourth, and overthrew the machine gun. The redoubt was captured.
-
-The Germans arrived in force and counter-attacked. Hanna, who was now
-short of bombs, built a block. Again and again the enemy tried to rush
-his position; but he and his handful of men held it until they were
-relieved later that day. Next day the battalion frontage was taken over
-by another Canadian unit and the 29th went back to a well-earned rest.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-SERGEANT FREDERICK HOBSON, 20TH BATTALION
-
-
-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]
-
-PRIVATE MICHAEL JAMES O'ROURKE, 7TH BATTALION
-
-
-Down by the docks of the city of Victoria, B.C., you may observe a man
-who keeps a fruit stall and wears about an inch of dark red ribbon on
-his left breast. That fruit vendor is Michael James O'Rourke, late of
-the 7th Canadian Battalion; and the inch of dark red ribbon means that
-he has won the Victoria Cross.
-
-O'Rourke gained the decoration when he was a stretcher-bearer in the 7th
-Battalion during the big attack on the German positions near Lens which
-began on the 15th August, 1917, and continued for several days.
-
-At 4.25 on that morning the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Canadian Brigades
-attacked and captured Hill 70 and the German defences about Cité St.
-Laurent. In conjunction with this operation a gas attack was
-successfully launched in the Avion sector and a subsidiary attack west
-of Lens.
-
-The opening of the main operation was no surprise to the enemy.
-Prisoners taken during the attack admitted that they had expected it and
-had been "standing-to" for a fortnight in anticipation; and orders which
-were captured confirmed this statement, for they contained elaborate
-instructions in the method of procedure to be adopted when the attack
-was launched.
-
-Two hours before the advance began that summer morning the Germans were
-sending streams of gas shells into the district around Maroc and the
-Lens-Béthune road, while a 5.9 howitzer was playing on Loos at intervals
-of five minutes.
-
-When our barrage opened the 7th Battalion went forward and formed up in
-No Man's Land in the rear of the 10th Battalion which was to capture the
-front German line. At first there was a slight mix-up of battalions
-owing to enemy fire, but before long, though only after heavy fighting,
-the objectives were gained with the exception of the centre where our
-men were held up by machine-gun fire from Cité St. Auguste and the
-brickworks. In time, however, reinforcements arrived and that obstacle
-was removed.
-
-For three days the fighting was the fiercest the Canadian battalions had
-up till then experienced. The Germans were in no mood to give up their
-positions without stubborn resistance and the struggle ebbed and flowed
-day and night with bitter violence. On the front on which the 2nd
-Division attacked many Germans held out in small parties hidden in
-ruined houses and in deep cellars until cleared out by bomb and bayonet,
-while counter-attack after counter-attack was thrown against the
-battalions which had succeeded in clearing the German trenches.
-
-With the 7th Battalion were sixteen stretcher-bearers, including
-O'Rourke. Out of that sixteen, two were killed and eleven were wounded,
-for the Germans sniped at them as they worked to carry the wounded from
-the field. During those three days and nights O'Rourke worked
-unceasingly rescuing the wounded, dressing their injuries under fire and
-bringing food and water to them. The area in which he worked was
-continually subjected to the severest shelling and was frequently swept
-by machine-gun and rifle fire.
-
-Several times he was knocked down and partially buried by shell-bursts.
-Once, seeing a comrade who had been blinded stumbling along in full view
-of the enemy who were sniping at him, O'Rourke jumped out of the trench
-and brought him in, being himself heavily sniped at while doing so.
-Again he went forward about fifty yards in front of our barrage, under
-very heavy fire from machine-guns and snipers, and brought in another
-wounded man; and later, when the advanced posts retired to the line, he
-braved a storm of enemy fire of every description and brought in a
-wounded man who had been left behind.
-
-It was for these acts, in which he showed an absolute disregard for his
-own safety, that O'Rourke gained the highest award--one of the
-comparatively few men who have been given the Victoria Cross in this war
-for saving life under fire.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-CAPTAIN OKILL MASSEY LEARMONTH, 2ND BATTALION
-
-
-With the Military Cross already in his possession, Captain O. M.
-Learmonth, of the 2nd Battalion, was one of that small number of
-Canadians who won the highest decoration during the capture of Hill 70
-in August, 1917.
-
-The weather in which that attack began on the 15th of the month was
-unsettled and sultry. The weather in which the fighting ended on the
-18th of the month was clear and sunny. It was during the fighting on the
-latter date that Learmonth died.
-
-On the 15th, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Canadian Brigades attacked the
-hill and the German defences about Cité St. Laurent. For the next two
-days they held the new trenches against constant counter-attacks and
-under incessant bombardment from every gun the Germans could bring to
-bear on the position. At midnight on the 16th the 2nd Battalion relieved
-the troops of the 3rd Brigade in the trenches from Chalk Pit down Hugo
-Trench to Hurray Alley. During the whole of the 17th the German
-bombardment continued with an even intensity which made the position one
-pandemonium for the men of the 2nd Battalion.
-
-The line was very thinly held. The whole strength of the battalion was
-only 614 souls when day broke on the 18th. That was the day which knew
-the climax of the situation.
-
-At four o'clock in the morning the German artillery opened a terrific
-fire on the whole battalion front line and supports. For forty minutes
-the bombardment continued at full pressure. Then it lifted and the
-German troops attacked, using liquid fire. On the left wing the Germans
-succeeded in entering the trenches held by No. 4 Company; but a bombing
-party was at once organized, and they were driven out again, leaving
-behind a _flammenwerfer_ and a considerable number of dead.
-
-Learmonth (who was then Acting Major) was in command of Nos. 2 and 3
-Companies. He saw that a number of the Germans, after their advance had
-been checked within a few yards of our trenches, had found shelter to
-some extent in a small wood; and to rout them out of the wood a bombing
-party from No. 3 Company was sent forward. They bombed the Germans out
-of the wood and down a trench named Horse Alley, driving them into the
-open, where our snipers and machine-gunners engaged them and cleaned
-them up.
-
-Throughout the whole of the attack Learmonth showed what his Commanding
-Officer has named a "wonderful spirit." Absolutely fearless, he so
-conducted himself that he imbued those with whom he came into contact
-with some of his personality. When the barrage started he was
-continually with his men and officers, encouraging them and making sure
-that no loophole was left through which the enemy could gain a footing.
-When the attack was launched against the thin Canadian line, Learmonth
-seemed to be everywhere at once. When the situation was critical, he
-took his turn at throwing bombs. He was wounded twice, but carried on as
-if he were perfectly fit and whole. He was wounded a third time, his leg
-this time being broken, but still he showed the same indomitable spirit.
-Lying in the trench, he continued to direct his men, encouraging them,
-cheering them, advising them.
-
-At a quarter past six that morning the battalion headquarters received
-word that Learmonth was badly wounded and was being carried out of the
-line on a stretcher; but the enemy attack had been repulsed. He had
-waited till he saw the finish.
-
-They brought him down to headquarters, and, lying on his stretcher, he
-gave valuable information to the officers there before he was taken to
-hospital. He died shortly afterwards--the man who would not give in.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-CORPORAL FILIP KONOWAL, 47TH BATTALION
-
-
-The fighting about Lens in August, 1917, called for more individual dash
-and initiative on the part of the troops engaged than had been required
-before. The house-to-house fighting, the repeatedly isolated and
-difficult positions, the many knotty problems which required instant
-solution--all these combined to make leadership, whether of a section or
-a battalion, more arduous and responsible and, with it all, much more
-fascinating. Such fighting is after the hearts of most Canadians. As was
-expected, our men did well at it.
-
-After the successful attack on Hill 70, incessant fighting was forced
-upon our troops to maintain the new positions. The enemy's bombardment
-was constant and intense. It was decided to continue the offensive and
-improve our line. The 10th Brigade was instructed to capture Green
-Crassier and the enemy's defences about this point, and accordingly the
-attack was arranged for the 21st, with two companies each of the 50th,
-46th and 47th Battalions, the 47th Battalion on the right to attack
-through Cité du Moulin to the Lens-Arras Road and Alpaca Trench.
-
-At 4.35 a.m. our men went forward, penetrating the immediate German
-barrage without hesitation, and moving as if on parade. The morning was
-bright and sunny, and our fellows got away in splendid style, though
-they were badly harassed by machine-gun fire from Green Crassier, a
-barren expanse of slagheaps and broken railway tracks on the right
-front. However, our smoke barrage was most effective, and the drums of
-blazing oil thrown upon the enemy's communication lines and attempted
-formations did much to take the heart out of his resistance. Crossing
-the Lens-Arras Road, the troops plunged into the ruined houses beyond,
-and stiff fighting, in cellars, long dark tunnels, and comparatively
-deserted outhouses, ensued. Many were the isolated heroic combats that
-took place, and many men were reported missing after the battle who had
-fought out their lives in some underground chamber.
-
-Corporal Konowal was in charge of a mopping-up section. In fighting of
-this description it is an undecided point whether the original
-assailants or the moppers-up get most excitement. The main attack sweeps
-on; but in such a rabbit-warren of broken houses and tunnelled
-foundations many Germans and frequent machine-guns are left to be
-eliminated at some cost by our following waves. The buildings about the
-Lens-Arras Road proved difficult enough to clear. The main body of our
-troops had passed through and continued to the objectives beyond, but a
-couple of buildings still held Germans and German machine-guns, and
-there was heavy firing upon the rear of our advancing men. Entering one
-of these houses Konowal searched for the Germans, and finding no living
-traces of their occupation, dropped daringly into the cellar. Three men
-fired at him as he landed, but this he escaped unharmed. Then ensued a
-sanguinary battle in the dark, a mêlée of rifle fire and bayonets, with
-the odds three to one. Finally the scuffling ceased and Konowal emerged
-into the daylight--he had bayoneted the whole crew of the gun!
-
-But this is all taken for granted in the business of mopping-up, and the
-corporal and his section continued their way along the road, every
-sense alert to locate the close rifle-crack that might betray the wily
-sniper. There was a large crater to the east of the road, and from the
-bodies of our good men before the edge it seemed obvious that a German
-machine-gun had been in position there. Halting his men, Konowal
-advanced alone. Upon reaching the lip of the crater he saw seven Germans
-endeavouring to move the ubiquitous machine-gun into a dugout. He opened
-fire at once, killing three, and then, charging down upon them,
-accounted for the rest with the bayonet.
-
-These drastic methods rapidly concluded the clearing of their section of
-the line, and the corporal and his men moved on up to our new front,
-where the enemy was delivering heavy and incessant counter-attacks.
-
-Heavy fighting continued throughout the night, and in the morning troops
-of the 44th Battalion, who were making an attack upon the Green
-Crassier, requested the aid of a party of the 47th in a raid upon a
-machine-gun emplacement in a tunnel about Fosse 4. Corporal Konowal was
-an expert in this subterranean fighting, and his party succeeded in
-entering the tunnel. Two charges of ammonal, successfully exploded,
-somewhat demoralized the German garrison, and then Konowal, dashing
-forward in the darkness with the utter disregard of his own safety he
-had displayed all through the fighting, engaged the machine-gun crew
-with the bayonet, overcoming and killing them all. Altogether this good
-fighting man killed sixteen men in the two days of the actual battle,
-and continued his splendid work until he was very severely wounded.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-PRIVATE THOMAS WILLIAM HOLMES, 4TH CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES
-
-
-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]
-
-CAPTAIN (ACTING MAJOR) GEORGE RANDOLPH PEARKES, M.C., 5TH C.M.R.
-
-
-There are many wonderful deeds recorded in the history of the Canadian
-Corps at Passchendaele, but for stubborn endurance carried far beyond
-previous standards of physical limitations, for cool pluck and
-pertinacity under very terrible conditions, the story of the 5th
-Canadian Mounted Rifle Battalion on October 30th, 1917, is remarkable.
-
-The night of the 29th was clear and fine, and the moon was nearly full,
-the light helping our men to pick their way through to the assembly on
-the comparatively firm ground between the flooded shell-holes. Soon
-after 5 o'clock on the morning of the 30th the troops were in position,
-and at ten minutes to six "A" and "C" Companies went over the top and
-forward to the attack on Vapour Farm and the outlying defences of
-Passchendaele. The ground immediately before the 5th C.M.R. was very
-swampy, and owing to this it had been previously found impossible to
-send troops straight through Woodland Plantation. Accordingly the waves
-of our attacking infantry divided, and "A" Company went forward and
-round the south of the Plantation, while "B" Company attacked on the
-north. For nearly an hour the smoke covering the plantation prevented
-any observation of our progress, but soon a wounded runner stumbled into
-Headquarters with a report that the left of our attack had reached the
-intermediate objective. On the right the men of "A" Company had
-encountered the enemy south of the wood, and fierce hand-to-hand
-fighting was still going on, with the Canadians steadily making their
-way forward. In this bayonet work, with the opponents waist deep in mud
-and water, our men won the advantage, for the knowledge that a mis-step
-or a disabling wound meant a peculiarly unpleasant death in suffocating
-mud was an incentive to desperate fighting, and the Germans hated it
-from the start.
-
-By the time the smoke had cleared our troops had won their way around
-the copse, and the two companies, now barely half their original
-strength, had joined and were resting while our barrage hammered the
-line of the intermediate objective. But this halt was a mistake. The
-Germans, retreating before our advance, were given time to re-form, and
-in a moment or two machine-gun and rifle fire became terribly heavy from
-the high ground to the east. However, led by Major Pearkes and
-reinforced by the remaining companies, the 5th C.M.R. went forward
-again, until our observers lost sight of them as they went over the
-ridge. Then occurred a time of anxious suspense for the men at
-Headquarters, until half an hour later a message came through from Major
-Pearkes saying that he was holding a line near to his final objectives
-with some fifty men, that the fighting was close and desperate, and that
-help was required.
-
-Major Pearkes was in a very difficult situation. He had taken his men
-forward, fighting his way through obstacle after obstacle until he had
-reached his objective, and now he was holding a hastily improvised line
-with both his flanks exposed to any German attack. The troops attacking
-with him on each side had been unable to make any headway, and only the
-well-directed and aggressive shooting of his men prevented a flanking
-move that might have cut him off completely. On his left the Artists
-Rifles had been unable to capture Source Farm, and from this point heavy
-enfilading fire was poured upon his exposed line. It was impossible to
-maintain any position under such fire, and the major realized that the
-only hope of holding his ground lay in the capture of this strong point.
-With the few men at his command he organized and led an attack, and the
-gallant recklessness of the assaulting party carried the place by storm.
-Now he could get forward again, and he did so, only halting to establish
-his line when it became obvious that his handful of men, though willing
-enough, could hardly fight their way through an entire army corps.
-
-He withdrew his men from Vanity House, consolidated a line of
-shell-holes from Source Farm to Vapour Farm and prepared to meet a
-strong counter-attack. His fighting strength was now twenty men. It is
-hard to conceive how so small a party may hold a previously unprepared
-position against a determined attack, but these men did so, and beat the
-Germans back in disorder. However, it was scarcely possible to withstand
-another such attack--ammunition was running short, the rate of
-casualties was much too high for so slight a garrison, and a flanking
-attack by the enemy could hardly fail to be successful--but Major
-Pearkes and his men held on, praying for reinforcements and determined
-to see it through.
-
-A company of the 2nd C.M.R. had been sent forward to reinforce the
-original assailants, and finally, as the fresh troops advanced, they
-came within sight of the weary garrison. Most of the ground behind the
-latter was low and swampy, and all of it was swept by the enemy's
-machine-gun fire, but the supporting company came over the heavy ground
-in splendid style. The men in the shell-holes could see the casualties
-occurring in the wave of men, but never for a moment was there any
-hesitation, and at last the reinforcements tumbled into Pearkes' rough
-line of defence.
-
-Affairs were still in a serious condition. The shell-fire was very heavy
-and counter-attacks were imminent, and it was not until after dusk that
-sufficient supports were available to cover the flanks and enable the
-successful consolidation of our new line.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LIEUTENANT ROBERT SHANKLAND, 43RD BATTALION
-
-
-The attack made by the 3rd and 4th Canadian Divisions on October
-26th formed an essential preliminary to the capture of the whole
-Passchendaele Ridge and town. It was necessary to establish a good
-jumping-off line for the attack on the village itself, and this was
-accomplished, though our men went through some very stiff fighting
-indeed before the position was won. The troops of the 9th Brigade had as
-their objectives Bellevue Spur and the high ground about it, and after
-the fighting a captured German officer remarked that the Spur was
-considered to be the key of Passchendaele town, and that its capture by
-the Canadians was a notable feat of arms, considering the efforts made
-by the German Higher Command to ensure its successful defence. One does
-not know if the officer was merely endeavouring to alleviate the mild
-rigours of his captivity, but in any case the fighting was most
-difficult and critical, and too much praise cannot be given to the
-scattered parties of men who hung on to isolated positions in
-shell-holes and ditches along the crest of the hill, under the most
-intense shell-fire, and held back the enemy until reinforcements arrived
-and consolidated the line.
-
-The 43rd Battalion held the centre of the 3rd Divisional front, on the
-left of the Gravenstafel-Bellevue Road, with the 58th Battalion on the
-right and the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles on the left. At 5.40 a.m. the
-troops went forward in the steady rain, advancing splendidly over the
-muddy, wet ground, and by half-past six men of the 43rd were seen
-against the sky-line going over the crest of Bellevue Spur. The German
-artillery fire had been immediate and heavy, and formidable pill-boxes
-on the top and flanks of the hill maintained steady fire upon our
-troops, causing many gaps in the waves of infantry stumbling and
-slipping upon the muddy slopes. "D" Company, led by Captain Galt and
-Lieutenant Shankland, made good progress up the hill, until checked by
-the heavy fire of a machine-gun in a strong emplacement to the right
-front. Collecting a few men, Captain Galt attempted its capture, while
-Lieutenant Shankland continued the advance with the remainder of the
-company. He gained the crest of the hill, and here close fighting won
-our men more ground. The pill-boxes were captured, but a trench some
-fifty yards beyond them checked the advance, and the weary survivors of
-the attack dug themselves in as well as possible.
-
-In the meantime the battle was going badly enough. On the right the
-troops of the 58th Battalion, held up by determined resistance and the
-concentrated fire of many machine-guns at Snipe Hall, had been unable to
-make good their objective, and were drifting back in twos and threes to
-the comparative shelter of the jumping-off line. But a few parties of
-men held out with Shankland's company on the crest, and maintained a
-rough and disjointed line of shell-holes, of which there were many,
-across the hill top. Upon this line the Germans poured a relentless
-stream of lead. At no time previously had our men experienced such
-shelling. The mud and water dispersed by the bursting shells clogged the
-weapons of the Canadians, and, in spite of instant attention, in many
-cases rendered them temporarily useless. The going was terribly hard,
-but Lieutenant Shankland held his battered line for four hours along the
-crest of the Spur, keeping his men together and in good spirits,
-recruiting those soldiers of other companies who had gained the hill but
-were left without officers, and maintaining against heavy counter-attack
-the Canadian position that had cost so much to win. But here a new
-danger asserted itself. On his left Shankland had established rough
-connection with the 8th Brigade, but now these troops were forced to
-withdraw, while on the right his flank was completely exposed, and
-German troops were advancing from the direction of Snipe Hall,
-enfilading his line, and threatening to cut him off altogether. After a
-careful survey of the whole position, he handed over the command to the
-Machine-gun Officer, who, though wounded, had refused to leave the line
-while his guns were in action, and making the best of his way back to
-Headquarters, handed in a very valuable report, giving a clear summary
-of a critical situation, and enabling steps to be taken that previous
-lack of information had rendered unwise. While the men of the 52nd and
-58th Battalions drove back the enemy on the flanks, the Lieutenant got
-back through the mud and shell-fire to his own company on the hill top.
-The Germans had attempted to rush this precarious position, and had been
-beaten back by our machine-gun fire with heavy losses. They had
-continued to lose, for the 52nd Battalion, advancing in splendid style,
-drove many of them back across the fire of Shankland's company of the
-43rd upon the crest of the Spur. Finally, the flanks were firmly
-established, and our troops consolidated the new line, with the object
-of our attack accomplished, though they had not penetrated as far into
-enemy country as they had hoped.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-PRIVATE CECIL JOHN KINROSS, 49TH BATTALION
-
-
-On October 28th, 1917, the 49th Canadian Infantry Battalion, under
-Lieutenant-Colonel R. H. Palmer, moved from Wieltje area and relieved
-three companies of the 116th Battalion in the front line south-east of
-Wolf Copse, on the left of the Gravenstafel-Bellevue Road, the
-P.P.C.L.I, relieving the remaining company on the right of the road. The
-strength of the Battalion consisted of twenty-one officers and 567 other
-ranks. The relief was a difficult business, the enemy very alert, and
-the bad weather and heavy going rendering the operation exceedingly
-arduous. However, by 1.50 a.m. on the 29th the relief was effected, and
-preparations for the morrow's offensive were immediately undertaken.
-
-The 3rd and 4th Canadian Divisions were to continue the attack on the
-outlying defences of Passchendaele; to capture Vapour Farm, Vanity
-House, Meetcheele, Friesland, the high ground about Crest Farm, and
-other strong points; and to establish a line approximately from Goudberg
-Copse in the north to the railway line just south of Vienna Cottages in
-the south. Six battalions were to attack at zero hour, 5.50 a.m. on the
-30th, the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, the 49th Battalion, P.P.C.L.I.,
-72nd, 78th, and 85th Battalions, in order from left to right.
-
-The troops of the 49th Battalion had as their objective Furst Farm and
-the pill-boxes about and beyond, and the strong points to the north of
-Meetcheele. Late in the afternoon the barrage maps were received at
-Battalion Headquarters, and Colonel Palmer found it would be necessary
-to evacuate the front-line positions occupied by "A" and "D" Companies
-and establish a jumping-off line to the rear, as the conformation of the
-ground rendered the establishment of a really effective barrage a most
-delicate task. Of late the enemy had developed a mischievous habit of
-keeping very close indeed to our front line, making his way inside our
-barrage at the moment of its inception, and so being enabled to meet our
-attacking troops with a volume of fire quite unmitigated by the curtain
-of lead designed to eliminate such resistance.
-
-About midnight October 29th-30th the troops moved to the assembly, the
-evacuation of the forward positions being postponed until the very last
-possible moment. The night was very clear, and as it was possible to
-discern almost any movement from a distance of two hundred yards it is
-probable that German patrols were aware of the gathering. At any rate,
-about 4.30 a.m. two green flares went up near Furst Farm, were repeated
-in a moment from the rear, and at once the hostile shelling became more
-local and intense. By a quarter past five assembly was complete, and at
-5.48 a.m., two minutes before zero hour, our barrage opened on the right
-and the troops went forward.
-
-The morning was clear and bright, a strong wind drying the ground
-somewhat during the night and making better foothold possible for the
-men; but such a hurricane of fire encountered the troops as they
-advanced that only slow progress was possible. "B" Company, on the
-right, lost most of its effective strength before crossing the
-Wallemolen-Bellevue Road. "B" and "C" Companies, forming the first wave,
-were met at once by intense rifle, machine-gun and artillery fire, and
-progressed in a series of rushes, going forward indomitably in spite of
-their heavy losses. The supporting waves, "A" and "D" Companies, fared
-little better, and it was painfully evident that the advance would be
-brought to an early conclusion through sheer lack of the men to force a
-passage. Considering the resistance, however, good progress was made,
-the men taking no heed of their losses and fighting every inch of the
-way. Near Furst Farm the first real check occurred, a well-mounted
-machine-gun covering our whole local advance and holding up the
-assailants, who took what cover the torn ground afforded, continuing to
-reply as well as might be expected to the heavy fire, until the
-situation was lightened by the heroic action of a private soldier.
-
-Private Kinross, completely indifferent to the bullets directed upon
-him, surveyed the whole position coolly and carefully, deciding upon a
-plan of action that pleased him thoroughly.
-
-Returning for a moment to cover, he cleared himself of all unnecessary
-equipment and made his way by devious courses to a point as near as
-possible the vicious machine-gun. Arrived there, he rushed the position,
-against point-blank fire, alone and in broad daylight, killing the six
-men of the crew and finally destroying the gun. It is impossible to tell
-properly of such deeds, but the daring of it, and the complete success,
-so heartened our men that in their immediate advance our line was
-carried forward a full three hundred yards and two strong positions
-stormed without a halt. This brought our men to the intermediate
-objectives, where the line was cleared of the enemy, held and
-consolidated.
-
-By this time the strength of the Battalion had decreased to four
-officers and 125 men, and no further advance was possible, incessant
-fighting being necessary to maintain the position already gained.
-Throughout the day and night the troops held on, several platoons of the
-Royal Canadian Regiment reinforcing the sadly depleted ranks of the
-49th, and assisting in the defeat of three strong counter-attacks. By
-the evening of the 31st all our wounded had been removed from the
-forward area and the tired troops were relieved by the 42nd Battalion.
-In the fighting of October 30th the 49th Battalion gained more glory
-than German ground, yet a great deal of German ground was captured.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LIEUTENANT HUGH MACKENZIE, CANADIAN MACHINE GUN CORPS
-
-
-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.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-SERGEANT GEORGE HARRY MULLIN, M.M., P.P.C.L.I.
-
-
-The conformation of the country about Graf and Meetcheele made the
-arrangements of a really effective barrage a highly technical affair. In
-that district of swamps and hills and copses it was impossible that our
-line should be straight, and on the night before their offensive the men
-of the P.P.C.L.I. were compelled to establish their assembly position
-close in rear of the front line. This enabled our artillery to place a
-heavy barrage just before our attacking troops without too much risk of
-casualties among our own men.
-
-On the morning of October 30th, when the Princess Pat's went forward to
-the attack upon Graf and Meetcheele, our artillery fire was effective
-enough, and good progress was made, though our casualties were heavy.
-Stubborn bayonet fighting took place about the enemy's pill-boxes on the
-flanks of the hill, and along the valley of the Ravebeek, where the
-heavy smoke barrage covered the right of our advance.
-
-For a time all went well: but the enemy's fire was close and intense,
-and our men suffered so heavily that for a time it seemed as if our
-advance might die out through sheer numerical weakness. But we kept on,
-and reached the foot of the hill at Meetcheele before a really serious
-check was encountered. A German pill-box was situated upon the top of
-the hill, and all the higher ground was dotted with the machine-gun
-emplacements of the enemy. From the commanding position of the concrete
-fort upon the crest, direct observation could be obtained over our whole
-local advance, and the sweeping fire of its guns inflicted casualties
-upon our men attacking half-a-mile away, who were in complete ignorance
-of the existence of such a strong point.
-
-As in many cases during the Passchendaele fighting, the front of this
-attack was dangerously narrowed by marshy ground on each side of a dry
-spur leading direct to the top of the hill.
-
-It is an interesting fact to consider that the Germans, after the first
-Canadian attack, altered the zones of fire of a number of their
-machine-guns so as to cover swamps and marshy ground that previously had
-been considered impregnable from their natural difficulties. This was a
-real compliment to our men--for apparently the enemy thought the
-Canadians quite capable of attacking over ground impassable to other
-troops.
-
-However, in this case, the Princess Pat's fought their way up the slope
-until most of their effective strength was gone; and then Sergeant
-Mullin went forward to reconnoitre the possibilities of a flanking
-attack. Finding a place where one man could advance unobserved, but
-where the movement of a party would certainly bring disaster, he made
-his way forward alone.
-
-Crawling through the brush, he reached a point close to a sniper's post
-just before the master pill-box on the top of the hill. He destroyed
-this post and its garrison with bomb-fire, then made straight for the
-pill-box. It must have appeared most heroically absurd--this attack by
-one man upon a concrete fort bristling with men and guns--but Mullin
-knew very well what he was about. It was all done before the eyes of our
-men, who were swarming up the slope, regardless of the heavy fire in
-their anxiety to be in at the finish. Mullin climbed on to the roof of
-the pill-box. Crawling to the centre, he fired down upon the German
-machine-gunners inside, laying them out across their weapons. Then,
-sliding down the roof, he landed beside the entrance just in time to
-receive the surrender of the thoroughly demoralized garrison.
-
-The capture of this fort decided the issue upon the local front, for the
-offensive capacity of the pill-box proved as great in the hands of the
-Canadians as it had in those of the enemy. Our objective was gained and
-consolidated, and excellent positions assured for the next attack.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-PRIVATE JAMES PETER ROBINSON, 27TH BATTALION
-
-
-Late in the afternoon of November 5th, the 27th (City of Winnipeg)
-Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel P. J. Daly, D.S.O., left Hill 37
-and began the weary tramp along the duckboard trail to the front line.
-The village of Passchendaele was to be captured by the 2nd Canadian
-Division on the morrow, and all along the Corps front soldiers, weary
-with long days in the trenches, were being replaced by fresh men. The
-relief of the 29th Battalion was completed early in the evening, but the
-move to the assembly position was not made for several hours, Colonel
-Daly contenting himself with establishing a line of posts some fifty
-yards in advance of the front line, to intercept any inquisitive Hun.
-Soon after midnight the men moved to the assembly, and by 3 a.m. the
-gathering was complete and the troops resting in the mud after their
-long tramp from the reserve area.
-
-The night was very dark, and, though the enemy did not spare his
-artillery, few casualties were caused. On the left of the 27th Battalion
-lay the troops of the 31st, and on the right those of the 26th. Their
-objective this time was the village of Passchendaele itself, and the men
-were pleased because it was their part to attack the real objective of
-the whole offensive, after the stubborn preliminary operations of the
-26th and 30th of October.
-
-Promptly at 6 a.m. our barrage came down, 150 yards in advance of our
-front line, and from there it advanced, at a rate of 100 yards in eight
-minutes, with our men close behind. The morning was dull and overcast,
-and the attack appeared to be a complete surprise, the assailants
-following so close upon the curtain of shell-fire that they were amongst
-the enemy and using their bayonets freely before the surviving Germans
-had recovered from the whirl of flame and explosions that had so
-suddenly enveloped them.
-
-The German front line of defence consisted of fortified shell-holes,
-and many of the machine-guns established there were knocked out at once
-by our heavy fire; the occupants stood no chance against our men with
-the bayonet, and the Canadians swept over with scarcely a halt, catching
-up the barrage and reaching the outskirts of Passchendaele town just
-behind it. The troops holding the enemy's main line before the village
-had no desire to try conclusions with the owners of those free-swinging
-bayonets, and without hesitation they bolted, unfortunately for
-themselves, arriving in the middle of the ruined town simultaneously
-with our barrage, which had been arranged to play on this portion of the
-objective for a double space of time. But strong emplacements amongst
-the masonry still gave our men pause.
-
-On the left flank of the 27th Battalion a German machine gun, surrounded
-by uncut wire and broken, reinforced walls, formed an ideal point for
-stubborn defence. The flanking platoon charged this position three
-times, and on each occasion was driven back. The assaults were met by
-the point-blank fire of the machine-gun, and by bullets from riflemen in
-the ruined houses along the main street of the village. Then, while his
-platoon brought as heavy rifle and Lewis gun fire as possible to bear
-upon the emplacement, Private Robertson crossed the open line of fire
-alone, and running round the flank of the position, leapt the barbed
-wire and got in with his bayonet among the garrison. He had bayoneted
-several men before the gun crews had gathered their wits to meet the
-sudden onslaught, and his furious fighting daunted the remainder. They
-fled, nothing left them but the instinct of self-preservation. But
-Robertson did not intend to let them escape--he had been told too often
-at his training camp that his aim in life, nay, his whole ambition and
-purpose, should be centred on the elimination of the Bosche. Seizing
-the captured gun, he swung it about and opened fire on the running men,
-killing most of them before his platoon had arrived at the position he
-had captured so gallantly. Then, bearing the captured gun with him, he
-continued on his way towards the final objective, the eastern outskirts
-of the town, meeting with several opportunities to use his new weapon
-and wasting none. The troops followed him down the main Passchendaele
-street, past the broken church, mopping up the enemy's strong points
-among the masonry as they advanced, and taking few prisoners. About each
-damaged machine-gun and every ruined cottage they left German dead,
-almost every man killed with the bayonet.
-
-Little further resistance was encountered. The enemy had no taste for
-the brand of fighting in vogue, and our snipers, passing through the
-foremost line, lay out in advance of our busy troops, harassing points
-of possible hostile observation, and making an end of many Germans who
-sought refuge in the woods behind the town. But the enemy's shell-fire
-was intense and destructive. With his range noted to a nicety from his
-previous occupation of our new line, he pounded the unfortunate village,
-occasionally revenging himself for our successful shooting with a burst
-of shrapnel just in advance of our line.
-
-During the consolidation, Private Robertson had been busy with his new
-machine-gun, but, seeing two of our men lying wounded well in advance of
-the line, he abandoned the gun and without hesitation went forward to
-bring them in. He got in successfully enough with the first man, but now
-the Germans, stiffened by reinforcements, had returned on their tracks
-and were establishing posts behind every available piece of cover. In
-spite of a veritable storm of bullets, Robertson went out again. He
-fell before reaching the second man--he was probably hit--but picking
-himself up, he continued his way, and secured his wounded comrade.
-Slipping on the sticky mud, nearly exhausted, he stuck to his man, and
-had put him down close to our own line, when an unlucky shell exploded
-near by, killing him instantly. He did not live to know the honour he
-had won, but the men of his battalion who fought through Passchendaele
-village will not forget him.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-CORPORAL COLIN BARRON, 3RD BATTALION
-
-
-The two preliminary assaults on the high ground before Passchendaele had
-secured the Canadians an excellent jumping-off position for the attack
-on the village itself. The capture of Crest Farm on October 30th by the
-4th Division gave our men almost direct observation into the town, and
-the consequent concentrated fire of our riflemen and machine-gunners
-rendered the position of the German garrison most uncomfortable.
-
-The 6th of November was the date chosen to justify the costly operations
-of October 26th and 30th, and at 6 a.m. the Canadians resumed the
-offensive, the 2nd Division troops on the right going forward to the
-capture of Passchendaele town, while on the left the 1st Division
-occupied the hills to the north.
-
-The 1st Division had difficult country to manage. Not only were there
-many pill-boxes to occupy, but ways and means of progress were terribly
-limited and clearly defined by the areas of swampy and impassable ground
-that lay before our advance. In view of the fact that we had so
-recently driven the Germans from the ground we were to cover, it was too
-much to hope that they were unaware of our limited attacking fronts, and
-the subsequent machine-gun barrages that swept our lines of progress
-proved the contrary.
-
-The 3rd Battalion attacked on the extreme left of the Canadian Corps
-front, with the intention of reaching the Goudberg Spur. But between our
-line and the Spur there lay a very formidable strong point indeed, the
-pill-box at Vine Cottage. Now the pill-box itself was a standing
-testimonial to the thoroughness of German defensive works, but, in
-addition to its 18-inch walls of reinforced concrete and its appropriate
-armament, no less than six machine-guns had been placed in positions
-commanding every approach to this _chef d'oeuvre_. Our fellows had
-attempted the reduction of this minor fortress a week before Corporal
-Barron and his section of the 3rd Battalion took the matter in hand, and
-had gained no appreciable results beyond a somewhat depressing casualty
-list and a raised estimation of German defensive ingenuity. However, its
-capture was imperative, and a special plan of attack was arranged.
-
-At zero hour, Lieutenant Lord's platoon jumped off towards the
-south-east, intending to capture Vine Cottage and swing round northwards
-to the final objective. Advancing through the rain, our men got near the
-strong point and were met at once by heavy fire. Vine Cottage itself,
-though hardly justifying its name, was a pleasant building enough in its
-Belgian way, and it was not until the observer had approached it nearly
-that he could define German handiwork behind the crumbling bricks.
-
-The enemy, with simple cunning, had raised a concrete building within
-the broken walls, with such successful camouflage that our scouting
-aeroplanes had not reported it as a pill-box for some time, while the
-easy unconcern with which the building received a direct hit by an
-18-pounder shell had caused our gunners anxiety to a degree. As the
-Canadians drew near they extended and attacked the position from three
-sides. Their advance was slow over the sodden ground. It was impossible
-to win close enough to the building or gun positions to throw bombs with
-good effect. Time and again our fellows charged, but from every point
-machine-gun fire drove them back, and finally they were forced to take
-whatever cover they could find, while a fresh scheme of attack was
-planned. The going was very heavy, and the mud and constant rain made
-the condition of the wounded terrible beyond description. Our men
-started to attack once more, and as they rose to their feet a diversion
-occurred to the front.
-
-Corporal Barron, a Lewis gunner, had worked round the flank with his
-weapon, and was knocking out the German crews one after the other with
-his well-directed fire. Completely exposed, he directed his gun
-undisturbed by the point-blank shooting of the enemy, until he had
-silenced two of the opposing batteries. Then, without waiting for his
-comrades, he charged the remaining position with the bayonet, getting in
-among the gunners and killing four of them before the rest of his
-platoon could arrive. The slackening of the heavy fire gave the
-Canadians a chance to get well forward, and in a moment they were about
-the position. The guns Barron had been unable to reach kept up a heavy
-fire until our fellows were on top of them, when most of the crews
-surrendered, while others attempted to escape to the rear. But the
-Canadians had lost too many of their comrades to feel merciful, and they
-were infuriated at the general morale of men who would maintain
-murderous shooting until imminent danger pressed, and then calmly sue
-for mercy. They took few prisoners.
-
-Corporal Barron, however, had not finished his good work. Turning the
-enemy's guns about, he opened fire upon the retreating Germans, catching
-the groups upon the hillside, and shooting them down with such good
-effect that hardly a man escaped.
-
-That was a job well done and the remaining men of the platoon moved
-northwards to the consolidation of Goudberg Spur with the capture of six
-machine-guns and a strong pill-box to their credit, and the satisfying
-knowledge that the German losses were double the number of their own.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LIEUTENANT HARCUS STRACHAN, FORT GARRY HORSE
-
-
-It is generally admitted that initiative and an aggressive spirit are
-very necessary concomitants of the successful cavalry leader. Their
-possession does not prove an infallible rule--cavalrymen claim no
-monopoly of these qualities--yet on occasion a cavalry officer's
-possession of them to a degree marks an exploit abnormal in its
-exceptional dash and daring. Such an exploit was that of Lieutenant
-Strachan of the Fort Garry Horse, in November, 1917, at Cambrai.
-
-During the morning of November 20th, the Canadian Cavalry Brigade moved
-forward to the outskirts of Masnieres, and there the troopers halted,
-awaiting word from the G.O.C. 88th Brigade, whose men were preparing the
-way for the cavalry. The British infantry and tanks had broken the
-enemy's line between Gonnelieu and Hermies, and it was the intention of
-the Higher Command to push the cavalry forward through the gap, and with
-the mounted men to seize Bourlon Wood and Cambrai, to hold the passages
-across the Sensee River, and to cut off the enemy's troops between
-Havrincourt and the Sensee.
-
-Riding forward into Masnieres, General Seely received word that the
-attacking troops had secured their objectives, and accordingly the
-brigade advance guard, the Fort Garry Horse, entered the town and
-managed to get across the river bridge in the main street. The canal
-bridge beyond, however, had been broken down, either by the weight of a
-tank or blown up by the enemy during the crossing of one of these
-machines. At any rate, one of our tanks had plunged through into the
-canal beneath, and, without very radical repair, the bridge was
-impassable to mounted men.
-
-Another bridge, in a rather better condition, was discovered to the
-south-west, and Major Walker, of the Machine Gun Squadron, commandeered
-the help of every available man, including civilians and German
-prisoners, and by three o'clock the bridge was strong and practicable.
-This work was accomplished under very heavy fire.
-
-Upon the completion of the bridge, "B" Squadron of the Fort Garry Horse,
-under the command of Captain Campbell, pushed forward across the canal
-and attacked the enemy's line upon the ridge, while the remainder of the
-regiment prepared to follow. But conflicting statements arrived from the
-infantry--there had been a check--and before the rest of the mounted men
-could advance, Colonel Patterson, commanding the Fort Garry Horse,
-received orders instructing him not only to remain west of the canal,
-but to withdraw any of his troops that might have crossed.
-
-Colonel Patterson immediately sent messengers after "B" Squadron, but
-the orderlies were unable to deliver their instructions. The Canadian
-troopers had wasted no time--opportunity had been denied them too
-long--and there had been little delay in getting to grips with the
-enemy. They were well away.
-
-Captain Campbell's men came under machine-gun fire directly they left
-Masnieres, and for a few minutes the horses were hard put to it in the
-marshy ground about the canal. Before them the infantry had cut a gap in
-the German wire, and winning through the swamp they charged for this at
-the gallop, taking little heed of the heavy fire.
-
-Casualties were rather heavy at the gap. Captain Campbell went down, and
-command was taken by Lieutenant Strachan. There was no delay. Sweeping
-through the gap, Strachan led his men north towards Rumilly, and soon
-encountered the camouflaged road just south-east of the town. This
-obstacle was negotiated successfully enough, with some slight damage to
-the screens and an occasional telephone wire, and, forming in line of
-troop columns, the men went forward at the gallop to an objective dear
-to any cavalryman's heart. A battery of field-guns lay before them.
-
-A good horse, firm ground and guns to be taken--a cavalryman wants no
-more. The Canadians charged down upon them, and in a moment were among
-the guns, riding the gunners down or sabreing them as they stood. Two of
-the guns were deserted by their crews as our fellows came thundering
-down, the third was blown up by its gunners, and the crew of the fourth
-fired a hasty round point-blank at the advancing troopers. This shot
-might have seriously disorganized the mounted men, but fortunately the
-gunners were much too demoralized to train their weapon surely. The
-shell went wide. There was a brief mêlée of plunging horses and
-stumbling artillerymen. Then the business was finished, and the men
-hoped for a breathing-space.
-
-But there was no rest for a while. Behind the guns a body of German
-infantry appeared, and, swinging his men about, Strachan led the
-troopers on into the thick of them. A few saddles were emptied, but the
-firing was vague and ragged. The Germans were not accustomed to this
-kind of thing and would not stand. They fled, our fellows cutting them
-down as they ran.
-
-Strachan gathered his men and continued towards Rumilly, under constant
-fire from block-houses on the outskirts of the town. A sunken road
-crossed his line about half a mile east of the town, and here the
-troopers halted and prepared a hasty stronghold. All this time
-Lieutenant Strachan had been anxiously waiting for news or sight of the
-main body of the Cavalry Brigade, and as the day passed and there was no
-sign of his regiment he realized that something had gone wrong. He could
-not face the German Army with less than a hundred cavalrymen, however
-determined, but he decided to hold on awhile in the rough cover of the
-sunken road until it became obvious that no supports were coming to his
-assistance that night.
-
-The enemy had collected what troops he could, and the band of dismounted
-troopers were surrounded on three sides. Several tentative rushes had
-been made, but the steady fire of the Canadians had driven these back in
-disorder. Still, without rapid support it was impossible for the party
-to hold out much longer. Only five horses remained unwounded, and the
-strength of the squadron was under fifty men. Ammunition was none too
-plentiful, and Strachan called for two volunteers to carry messages back
-to Headquarters in Masnieres.
-
-The job was risky enough, but there was more difficulty in selecting
-applicants than procuring them. Two troopers, Privates Morrell and
-Vanwilderode, were dispatched, and in the meantime the lieutenant set
-his men to cutting three main telephone cables that ran along the side
-of the sunken road. This small operation in itself should have caused
-the enemy some slight annoyance.
-
-The light was going fast, and Strachan decided to abandon his horses and
-cut his way through to Masnieres. He imagined, shrewdly enough, that
-though the Germans were in no manner of doubt as to his presence, they
-were very vague about the strength of his party, and were by no means
-anxious to try for a definite conclusion until their numbers were
-assuredly overwhelming.
-
-The light was just strong enough to distinguish the church tower of
-Rumilly, and taking a compass bearing from the building, Strachan
-started off to fight his way back to the brigade. First he collected his
-horses, and with some commotion stampeded them to the eastwards. This
-manoeuvre drew the fire of every machine-gun in the vicinity upon the
-unfortunate animals, for the Germans thought that, not content with
-the havoc that they had already created behind their lines, the
-irrepressible cavalrymen were starting off again upon their destructive
-mission.
-
-With the mêlée at its height, Strachan gathered his men, and led them
-off quietly towards the British lines.
-
-The journey back was hardly less eventful than the outgoing trip, though
-it was a great deal slower. Leading his men through the dark, Strachan
-made as straight a line as possible for the town where he had left the
-brigade. One might have imagined that the military ardour which had
-fired these troopers throughout the day would have been temporarily
-damped, but there was no sign of it. No less than four parties of
-Germans were encountered on the homeward route, and each time attacked
-and dispersed. On two occasions the enemy was numerically a great deal
-stronger, but disregarding the obvious, the dismounted troopers went
-forward with the bayonet, routed the unsuspecting Germans and captured
-more prisoners than they could conveniently handle.
-
-However, most of them were brought along, and after an hour of somewhat
-nervous travelling the remainder of the squadron reached the wire. At
-this point there was some slight difficulty in finding a gap that would
-admit the passage of the men, and in the search in the darkness the
-party became separated. Lieutenant Cowen with the prisoners and half the
-men made the best of his way back to Masnieres, while Strachan sought
-another road with the rest of his squadron. Both parties were successful
-and came in without a further casualty.
-
-Comment on the day's action would be superfluous. Strachan had destroyed
-a battery, inflicted well over a hundred casualties, most effectively
-tangled German communications over a wide radius, and captured or caused
-the surrender of a number of the enemy exceeding the original strength
-of his squadron. Had conditions been favourable for the use of cavalry
-upon a larger scale a very great victory might have been won.
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration]
-
-LIEUTENANT GORDON MURIEL FLOWERDEW, LORD STRATHCONA'S HORSE
-
-
-March 30th, 1918, dawned full of menace for the Allied line.
-
-Early that morning the Canadian Cavalry Brigade received information
-that the Germans had captured Mézières and were advancing on Amiens. The
-brigade was ordered to cut across country and arrest the advance.
-
-Already the Germans had occupied the Bois de Moreuil, the strategic
-importance of which could hardly be over-estimated. From the wood they
-could overlook the whole of the valley leading up to Amiens and to the
-main railroad to Paris. The cavalry decided to attack.
-
-Reaching the north-east edge of the wood, headquarters were established
-in a small wood adjoining the large one. The smaller wood had not then
-been occupied by the Germans, but they were sending bursts of rifle and
-machine-gun fire at the cavalry from their cover and it was imperative
-that the attack should not be postponed.
-
-The Royal Canadian Dragoons, who were leading, sent an advance-guard
-squadron, commanded by Captain Nordheimer, around the north-east corner
-at a gallop. A second squadron, under Captain Newcomen, rode at the
-south-east face, intending to get into touch with Nordheimer's squadron.
-A third squadron, under Major Timmis, followed in support of Captain
-Nordheimer.
-
-Though raked by a heavy fire, Nordheimer's squadron charged into the
-north-east corner of the wood, and came to grips with the enemy in a
-hand-to-hand combat. Many of the enemy were killed, for they refused to
-surrender; but at last a large party, of about three hundred, driven
-from cover, retired from the wood south of the point at which the
-cavalry had entered.
-
-It was then that Lord Strathcona's Horse received the order to advance,
-Lieutenant Flowerdew's squadron in support of Nordheimer, while the
-remainder of the regiment moved, dismounted, against the southern front
-of the wood.
-
-The mounted squadron rounded the corner of the wood at a gallop, to cut
-off the retreat of the enemy on the eastern side. They were nearly at
-the destination when suddenly in front of them they saw, from the top of
-a road in a cut bank, two lines of Germans facing them. There were about
-sixty Germans in each line, and machine-guns were posted in the centre
-and on the flanks of both, the rear line about two hundred yards behind
-the first. Immediately the enemy saw the horsemen they opened fire.
-
-Flowerdew quickly ordered a troop under Lieut. Harvey, V.C., to dismount
-and carry out a special movement. With the remaining men he charged the
-German lines.
-
-From the enemy machine-guns came a concentrated stream of fire on the
-rushing cavalry. There is little need to describe that charge. It was a
-return to the days when battles were decided by the strength of men's
-arms. It was the charge of the Light Brigade over again, on a smaller
-scale--smaller in physical weight of onslaught and opposition, but equal
-in spirit.
-
-The Germans stood up boldly to the attack. They never expected that the
-horsemen would penetrate into their midst. There was no question of
-surrender, nor much time for it. Through the first line went the
-squadron, across the intervening space and through the second line,
-cutting down the enemy as they passed. Behind the second line they
-wheeled and rode through again full tilt. Over seventy per cent. of the
-attackers were casualties, but the fury of the charge was more than the
-Germans could face. They broke and fled. Nor was this all, for the enemy
-who were still fighting in the wood, hearing the clatter of hoofs behind
-them, believed themselves surrounded and their resistance to our
-dismounted troops weakened.
-
-The survivors of Lieutenant Flowerdew's men established themselves in a
-position in which they were joined later by Harvey and those of his
-force who were left. Both leaders had been wounded, Flowerdew having
-been shot through both thighs.
-
-Only after the action was the full importance of the victory realized,
-and of Flowerdew it is written in official language that "there can be
-no doubt that this officer's great valour was the prime factor in the
-capture of the position."
-
-
-
-
-THE END
-
-
-_Printed at The Chapel River Press, Kingston, Surrey._
-
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-
-
-
-    Transcriber's notes:
-
-    The following is a list of changes made to the original.
-    The first line is the original line, the second the corrected one.
-
-    German line opposite was only seventy-five yards away
-    German line opposite was only seventy-five yards away.
-
-    27th, the R.C.D's occupied the villages of Longasvesnes
-    27th, the R.C.D's occupied the villages of Longavesnes
-
-    up the low northern slope towards the cres
-    up the low northern slope towards the crest
-
-    CAPTAIN (ACTING-MAJOR) GEORGE RANDOLPH PEARKES, M.C., 5TH C.M.R.
-    CAPTAIN (ACTING MAJOR) GEORGE RANDOLPH PEARKES, M.C., 5TH C.M.R.
-
-    afforded, continuing to reply as well as might be
-    afforded, continuing to reply as well as might be expected
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Thirty Canadian V. Cs., 23d April 1915
-to 30th March 1918, by Theodore Goodridge Roberts and Robin Richards and Stuart Martin
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