48
THE YPRES TIMES
rifles and machine guns of the 7th Division, and charged by the Oxfordshire Light
Infantry, and killed to a man. The enemy, evidently forgetting this experience,
attacked Zouave Wood in the afternoon and renewed their attempts in the evening,
but only succeeded in establishing a few bombing posts in old communication
trenches in Zouave Wood. Early in the night of June óth-yth the bombardment
died down. On that night the Germans imagined that they had finally conquered
the Salient. The Canadians lay below them in hastily constructed trendies on the
plain. We thought that their next step would be to turn on their artillery and
blast us out of the Salient, and yet they allowed the initiative to pass into our
hands.
And so it came to pass that the enemy was to have a taste of his own medicine.
We borrowed men and) guns from the divisions to our right and left, and there is
nothing pleasanter in the last campaign than the feeling of comradeship which
existed between the Imperial Services and the Canadian Corps. We had borne the
brunt of the fighting" in the Ypres Salient and, as far as the Imperials were con
cerned, what we asked for we could have. An Imperial brigade was moved into
Saint Eloi to let our 2nd Division free for retaliation. An Imperial Cavalry
Brigade1 was moved into our third line trenches so that our Generals might have
more men for the final attack. It was a personal matter between the Wurtembergers
and the Canadians, and the Canadians were determined to see it through.
The failure of the first counter-attack was partly due to the lack of artillery
preparation. So we must have guns. And the guns were on the march. Some
were asked for and some freely offered by the Imperials. General Burstall, of the
Canadian Corps Artillery commanded the greatest assembly of guns on a British
front up till that time. From the 7th until the 12th these guns were registered.
At 12.45 a.m., June 13th, the guns began their final bombardment on a front
of 1,500 yards, with a depth of 1,000 yards. At 1.30 a.m. they lifted and the
infantry went forward. So tangled was the brushwood in Armagh Wood that the
men went forward as sections in file and, advancing with great dash, they got
inside the enemy's counter-barrage and were soon plying the bayonet. The old
1st Division was familiar with this ground, and before the enemy was aware that
the attack had started they were almost completely surrounded.
In regarding the action, even in the cold light of after years, there is much
to be proud of. Our advance took place in the final hours of darkness which
preceded the dawn. The weather was of the vilesthigh winds and drenching rain
with the darkness tended to produce confusion. Only in the final hours of the
attack was there enough light to distinguish the uniform of the enemy. Each
battalion maintained its original line of attack on the objective; each company
commander was reinforced at the right time by the company in rear. The fury of
the enemy fire did not disturb the orderly advance of our disciplined battalions, who
moved steadily over a ground ravaged by British and German gun-fire until not a
landmark remained. A few patches of barbed wired still stood to mark the place
where a trench had been. Through this dark desolation the Canadian Corps moved
as if on parade, and when the dawn broke it saw our men, unshaken in spirit, their
line correct and intactonce more the masters of the Ypres Salient.
What great memories are leftPride and a great thankfulness. Time will
heal all wounds and make friends of enemies, but to us the immortal City of
Ypres will remain as it was in those days.
O Ypres! Silent tomb; to us a sacred trust,
We of an alien race in paths of duty lead,
Will guard thy broken walls and watch thy shattered shrines.
And with the help of God keep faith with all thy dead."
