CHAPTER I

HOW WE PREPARE FOR AN ATTACK

When we make an attack on the Boche, we don't double over No Man's Land with bayonets fixed, shouting and cheering and making a terrible din. To be sure, the bayonet plays an important part in this great war as a weapon of warfare, but it is only used when you get to close quarters. While a man has any cartridges left in his magazine, he is not likely to use the bayonet.

A successful attack requires a great deal of preparation. Every detail has to be gone over very minutely, and every officer and man must know exactly what he has to do and be prepared to take all the chances and risks that go to make an attack successful.

A great deal of the enemy's barbed-wire entanglements must be cut down by means of constant artillery fire, which for days shells their wire and trenches. When the artillery has completed its work the infantry is told to be prepared to go "over the top."

Each arm of the service is assigned a share in the work in the "Big Push." The engineers have various duties to perform, such as the planning and building of roads to allow the guns to move up with the advance of the infantry. In this work they are assisted by the pioneer and labour battalions.

The army service corps looks after the rations, supplies, etc., working in conjunction with the ammunition columns and other branches of the service. We have, therefore, a true cooperative spirit, each branch doing its share of duty in its own particular way.

The infantry is the queen arm of the service and the most important one. All other arms of the service are aids to assist it. In this great war, good artillery support is essential. On March 15, 1917, I arrived back to my battalion from a course of instruction that I had been attending at Pernes, which is one of the many schools of instruction where officers and men are sent for special courses. I located my battalion after considerable trouble at Masnil Bouche, a small village.

I reported to the commanding officer of the battalion who assigned me to No. 2 Platoon of "A" Company. It was raining as usual--it seems to rain in the northern part of France every day from the middle of October until the early part of April. My company commander brought me over to my billet, which was an old-fashioned, low roof stone house. It was occupied by an old woman and two of her daughters who kept an _estaminet_ for the benefit of the troops, and incidentally a source of income for themselves.

We entered the doorway and passed along a passageway to the rear of the house leading to a room about ten feet square. Until the morning of April 8th six officers slept in this small place. It also served the purpose of officers' company mess room, and some of the junior officers of "B" Company joined our mess on account of lack of accommodations, as there were only a few available houses in Masnil Bouche.

The room had one double bed, which the company commander and second in command of "A" Company occupied. The junior officers slept on the stone floor. Our kitchen was outside in what might have once been a chicken coop, adjoining the house, not many yards from the window of our room, through which our meals were served. The kitchen could not even boast of a stone floor--underfoot was nothing but MUD, MUD, MUD!

I was very glad to meet my brother officers as they came in for dinner that night. It is usual in France to have individual company mess, but as previously mentioned, being cramped for accommodation, "B" Company's junior officers had joined our mess.

We were a very merry group, everyone in excellent spirits, which reminded me of a little song that we all hum in France: "A Merry Life, but a Short One." Two of the very officers who dined at our mess were killed at Vimy Ridge on April 9th.

The following morning at 9 A.M., "A" Company was drawn up in close column of platoons, in fighting order, ready for company inspection. It was raining slightly and very muddy underfoot. The men were equipped as they would be to go "over the top."

Only three platoons were drawn up for company inspection. It is customary for one platoon per company, each in its turn, to remain out of the line. These platoons with their officers form the nucleus of a new battalion in case the battalion meets with heavy losses while in the trenches. They may also be called upon to reinforce their respective companies in the line.

After each platoon had been carefully inspected by their respective platoon commanders, and then by the company commander, we were marched off to our training ground, a distance of one kilometre, where there was an extensive stretch of open ground.

When we reached our training area, we saw hundreds of yards of white tapes two inches wide, stretched out before us. These tapes represented to us the outline of the German trenches which we were to attack and capture on Vimy Ridge. They lay on the ground in exactly the same position that we would later find the German trenches.

A tape was laid to represent our battalion jumping-off trench. When I reached my platoon's position in the jumping-off trench I halted and formed line. We were then supposed to be in a shallow trench, two and one-half feet wide by four feet deep. For practice purposes the "Zero Hour" was ten A.M. A few minutes before ten o'clock, a runner (this is a man whose special duty is to carry messages) gave me a message from my company commander that we would make the practice attack and go "over the top" at two minutes past "Zero Hour"--that is, two minutes past ten o'clock.

Our artillery was to lay a barrage on the first line of presumed German trenches at the same moment. A barrage is simply a moving wall of shell fire, which precedes the troops, who advance beneath the trajectory of the shells. We were to keep within fifty yards of our barrage in diamond formation. This barrage was indicated by men on the right and left flanks of our battalion frontage, which was a lateral distance of 335 yards.

Our battalion furnished four waves, each wave having its own mission to accomplish--the whole battalion having one final objective.

Men with flags would continue waving them until the barrage was supposed to lift, then they would double forward and indicate by their flags where the barrage was then falling.

I was in the first wave, commanding No. 2 Platoon. The first and second waves, composed of "A" and "B" Companies, went through until they reached the final objective. The "moppers up" came next and stopped and mopped up each trench in succession. We advanced in diamond formation, then extended as we arrived within 50 yards of our barrage. When the barrage had lifted, we advanced in extended order, and made a rush for the presumed German trenches, with the idea of surprising the Germans before they could get out of their dugouts. Each succeeding wave acted in a like manner, until our battalion obtained its final objective. We had four trenches to capture. The fourth German trench was our battalion's final objective and was named the _Zwischen Stellung_ Trench.

As the waves went "over the top" they were accompanied a short distance in the rear by some Stokes guns under the command of the brigade Stokes gun officer. These Stokes guns were trench mortars, of short range, but very fast firing guns. The shells are simply dropped down the muzzle of the gun and are discharged as they strike the base. They can do very good work, but to satisfy their appetite when they start going in earnest, it requires a great number of shells.

Our first objective was a trench called the "Fringe Trench," and after we had captured this we then moved forward under our barrage. When it lifted we took our second objective, which was the Furze Trench. Our barrage lifting again, we advanced from the furze trench end captured a German support trench which had been dug by them recently. After capturing this trench, we then proceeded and captured our final objective, the _Zwischen Stellung_. On reaching the _Zwischen Stellung_ trench I was detailed with my platoon to bomb and to clean out any Germans I would find in part of a trench called the _Grenadier Graben_, which was from the intersection at the _Zwischen Stellung_ to the Lens-Arras road at right angles, which, of course, was beyond our battalion's final objective by 150 yards. Then I had to retire and dig in with my company some distance in front of the _Zwischen Stellung_.

As each objective was gained by us, men were detailed to mark it with a signpost that was driven into the ground on top of the parapet. On this signpost was a yellow coloured tin square decorated with the Maple Leaf in black.

A contact patrol aeroplane was assigned to our brigade for the purpose of reporting successes to General Headquarters some distance in the rear. Our signallers had red shutters on a white cloth background, and by means of cord and elastic bands they signalled to our contact aeroplane.

Our aeroplane hovered over us at a comparatively low elevation. Its work was certainly very dangerous as it was liable to get in the way of the trajectory of the shells both from the enemy and ourselves. Our signallers had instructions not to delay an instant sending the required signals. The contact patrol aeroplanes are slow-going machines as a rule. Ours was distinguished by two long streamers attached to struts of the wings of the machine. The observer is seen hanging over the side of the fuselage, tooting a Claxton horn in a series of dots and dashes, and watching every movement we make. He must circle around continually, as he cannot stop his aeroplane.

For three weeks we practised going over the tapes. On the night of the 6th of April, the officers were informed that our Brigadier General would be over to inspect the battalion on the morning of the 7th. We were pleased to inform our boys of this news, as we all knew that the visit of the Brigadier General meant we were to go in the line for attack very soon. Every officer and man was keyed up to concert pitch with excitement. We had no thoughts of death--we were to do a man's work in a man's way, and we were all eager for the fray. Many times we had observed the German front line trenches through our periscopes in daylight. At times we had raided small sectors of their front line trench at night, and this front line and the other trenches in the rear were soon to be captured and occupied by us.

That night, three officers and one hundred men were sent up the line to dig the jumping-off trench for our battalion. This trench was to be dug in No Man's Land a short distance in front of our front line trenches and well clear of our barbed-wire entanglements. The night before the attack we had to crawl out of our front line trenches, through our barbed wire, and then into this jumping-off trench and lie there until the "Zero Hour." The Germans did not dream we would be so near to them.

The morning of the seventh arrived, and with it our Brigadier General McDonnel. He was an excellent soldier, well-liked and respected by both the officers and men of his brigade. He took a great interest in the planning of this attack and gave good advice to both officers, N.C.O.'s and men. He then inspected the battalion which had been drawn up in mass formation. After inspection, he complimented both officers and men on their soldierly bearing and smart appearance. He then outlined briefly the plan of attack and informed us that we would be going into the line (when we go into the trenches, we always say we are going into the line, whether it is the front, support or reserve trenches) the following night, April 8th. He requested that both officers and men should treat this information as confidential. Wishing every officer and man who were to participate in the attack the "best of luck," he told us that there was no doubt in his mind of our success in capturing Vimy Ridge. The men were then given the balance of the morning to spend as they saw fit around their billets.

In the afternoon the battalion fell in for church service, and most of us took communion--some for the last time on this earth. The scene was very impressive as our Padre or Chaplain read the service and rendered a very appropriate sermon for the occasion. Can you imagine what this sermon meant to those brave men out there on the battlefield? No mother, wife, sister or sweetheart should ever think that their men folk lose their religion when they go to war. Out there, we have a deep sense of religion which is entirely different from the religion of the folks at home. We all know what we have to face, and we strive to keep our mind and thought on the highest ideas of religious belief. The mothers, wives, sisters and sweethearts of the brave men who fell at Vimy Ridge can be consoled by knowing that their men entered into the Kingdom of Peace prepared to meet their Maker. Their epitaph is, "They did their bit, and rest content."

Colonel, the Rev. Canon F.G. Scott, of the 1st Canadian Division, has been in the fighting zone since the 1st contingent arrived in France. Two of his own sons were fighting in the trenches, one of them was killed and the other wounded. Colonel Scott is a poet of considerable note and in April, 1917, he wrote "The Silent Toast," in remembrance of the brave boys who fell in the attack on Vimy Ridge.

All the officers of the brigade who were to participate in the "Big Push" were invited over to Brigade Headquarters that evening by the Brigadier General. We were shown some aerial photographs of the German trenches that had been very recently taken, and given more minute details of the attack, with the information that the "Zero Hour" would be 5.30 A.M., and that the first wave was to go "over the top" at one minute past "Zero Hour." The reason that the first wave was to go over at one minute past "Zero Hour" was to give time to the barrage to play three minutes on the German front line. We thus had two minutes to work under the barrage before it lifted to the next objective. As it lifted, we would make a rush for our first objective and follow our barrage to within 50 yards. The "Zero Hour" was to be kept secret.

The General then gave us a history of Vimy Ridge, again telling us he was certain, on account of the wonderful artillery support we would have, that we would gain all our objectives. How true his words were is now history.

Between the city of Arras, held by the French and British, and the city of Lens, held by the Germans, was Vimy Ridge which stretched north, west and southwest in front of the village of Vimy. Since 1914, the Germans had held it, resisting all Allied assaults. Its strategical importance was fully recognized by both the Allies and the Germans. Every artificial means had been taken to increase its natural strength, the best scientific devices of fortifications had been made use of by the Germans, and for two years it had defied all attacks.

The French vainly attacked it all through the month of December, 1914, and January, 1915. General Foch in May, 1915, delivered several attacks known as the Battle of Souchez. He gained a little ground on the lower slopes, but failed to weaken to any extent the Main Ridge. In September, 1915, while the British were making an attack around and near Loos, the French under General Foch once more attacked the Ridge. Again they failed. As long as the Germans retained Vimy Ridge, their line was secure in this quarter, so its retention allowed them to contemplate with a certain degree of equanimity withdrawals of troops from the line. On either side of the Ridge, it was flanked with Lens on the north, and Arras on the south--both cities under distant artillery fire.

The Canadian corps was working in conjunction with the Imperial troops, and the attack by the British troops, including the Canadians, extended from Givenchy-en-Gohelle to Henin-sur-Cojaul, an approximate distance of fifteen miles. The actual assault upon Vimy Ridge which was four to five miles long was entrusted to the Canadians. The forces engaged in this advance were to be commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Edmund Allenbury and Lieutenant-General H.S. Horne. The Canadians in the First Army Corps were under the command of Major-General Byng. He is now in command of the Third British Army with the rank of Lieutenant-General.