THE YPRES TIMES
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torrent of high explosives fairly obliterated the Canadian defences. Here and there
men climbed from wrecked posts and took cover in shell craters. At certain points
the entire trench garrison was wiped out, machine guns buriedno one left to aim
a rifle.
Danny Dick was twice knocked to earth by the force of shell explosions, but he
strove frantically to release his buried comrades, and finally, working on his knees,
cleared the debris to find the lad who had been his chum since enlistment was
already dead, smothered by the bags. He uncovered the others and they, too,
were dead. At that very instant a tremendous shock rocked the trench. Danny
huddled to the parapet to avoid falling earth; there came a second shock, and he
was buried by a toppling wall of sandbags. Fortunately, the three rifles of his
pals were stood in such a manner that the bags and earth lodged against them
and formed a tunnel which gave Danny air to breathe. He was forced down on the
three dead men in such a manner that he was almost helpless, though only a wedge
of sandbags held him. Shell after shell exploded near the wrecked trench,
concussions that caused fresh slides of earth and bags, and caused the debris to
settle about him. After ceaseless efforts he managed to pull some of the broken
sandbags down beside him, and partly thrust himself in the space they had
occupied. It was not until then that he discovered that he had been wounded. His
puttee was soaked with blood and his leg was numb.
The shelling continued without abate. A particularly heavy shock rendered
Danny unconscious, and when he revived he found that his head and shoulders were
almost free, but he could not get room to use his arms. As he peered through an
opening he discovered that not a trace of the parapet remained near his position,
and he could gaze direct at the German lines. The continual roar and shock of
explosions reduced the imprisoned man to a state of coma. Finally, he saw the
men in field-grey leave their trenches and come toward the remnant of the
Canadian line. They were in extended order, and carried their packs and full
kits. It was evident that they were coming to stay, and that they expected little
opposition. They had a right to think no one would oppose them. It was 1.30 p.m.
before the German artillery raised their fire from the C.M.R. trenches, five hours
of the most violent shelling the Salient had known. But there were survivors in
the shell craters, in isolated trench bays that had escaped total destruction, and
these survivors were endowed with the courage and will to endure that has made
the British Empire a name which will live through history. They crawled from their
refuges, a mere handful of men, and met the Hun with a fury and1 determination
that halted the grey ranks. Here and there an officer had survived, and he rallied
his men beside him and they fought to the end. At Maple Copse the Canadians
hung on, and reinforcements came across that shell-swept zone to assist them. The
Germans were amazed. Their plans miscarried. They met with opposition that
by all the rules of war, should not exist. English batteries found the range of the
German line and shelled it with grim steadiness. All night the battle waged. The
edge of the Salient was swept with fire, and the Germans died as the Canadians
had, until the entire field was a shambles. Out of three thousand fighting men in
the ranks of the C.M.R. Brigade, twenty-two hundred were casualitiesbut the
Hun was held. And eleven days later the reorganized forces that wore the
Maple Leaf attacked with steel and bombs, drove the Germans from their trenches
and took back their original line. The ground was another ghastly shambles. So
terrible had been the artillery fire that the Huns had not been able to consolidate
their positions, but had lain hidden in shell holes, in bits of trench, behind sandbags,
among the dead. At one place a German officer and one hundred and thirteen men
threw down their weapons and surrendered, abject, discouraged fighters. We
knew you would come and drive us out," they said. This war is madness."
