Thirty Canadian V. Cs., 23d April 1915 to 30th March 1918 Part 7

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 a.s.saulting 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 sh.e.l.l-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 a.s.sailants, 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 sh.e.l.l-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 sh.e.l.l-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.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

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 Pa.s.schendaele 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 Pa.s.schendaele 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 sh.e.l.l-holes and ditches along the crest of the hill, under the most intense sh.e.l.l-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 sh.e.l.l-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 sh.e.l.ling. The mud and water dispersed by the bursting sh.e.l.ls 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 a.s.serted 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 sh.e.l.l-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.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

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 Pa.s.schendaele; 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 a.s.sembly, 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 sh.e.l.ling became more local and intense. By a quarter past five a.s.sembly 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 pa.s.sage. 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 a.s.sailants, 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 a.s.sisting 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

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 Pa.s.schendaele, 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 sh.e.l.ling 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 sh.e.l.ling, 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 a.s.sailants 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

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 a.s.sembly 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 Pa.s.schendaele 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 impa.s.sable 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 un.o.bserved, 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.