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By the spring of 1915
General Haig had completed the reorganization of the 1st
Canadian division and had located it on the right wing
of the 4th corps in the 1st Army. They were charged with
holding the La Bassee Canal north to the Canadian
Orchard. On the right wing of the Canadians was the 7th
division and the 51st highland division. On their left
was the Indian corps which was flanking the French 10th
Army.
The Canadian forces
enjoy a break from the fighting for awhile which gave it
the opportunity to build up their trench and
communications system on the higher land it not occupied
without the constant challenge of water logged, mud
filled trenches. Across from the Canadians was the 134th
Saxon Infantry regiment and the 40th Saxon Division.
Orders were finally
issued for an attack on June 15th by the 7th and 51st
divisions with the Canadian division in support but as
the plan developed it was recognized that the Canadians
would have to take two German strong points known as the
Duck's Bill and H3.
Plans were made to
address all the issues of barbed wire and machine gun
nests before the attack was to go forward and this
battle which actually server as a model of how to
effectively launch an attack on the Western front. The
artillery was divided up so that they could use shrapnel
to destroy the barbed wire with assurances that the job
was done, the guns could also provide barrage support
for the advancing troops, a few advanced pieces could
focus on German machine gun positions and take them out
and a bombardment would disrupt the German lines. In
addition a tunnel was dug under no mans land with the
intention of filling the end f the tunnel, located under
German lines, with explosives and when the attack was
ready the explosive would be ignited and hopefully a
large section or key point of the enemy line would be
destroyed from beneath.
By mid afternoon of
June 1st the 1st Canadian Battalion was ready to go with
its four companies to attack in successive waves. The
Canadian troops had just received Lee-Enfield rifles to
replace the problem plagued Ross rifle and were
optimistic about using this new reliable weapon. The
bombardment began and just before the attack the close
artillery was unveiled and blasted away at the German
Machine guns. At 5:58 AM the engineers blew up the
trench which ripped a huge hole in the earth and shocked
and stunned the German defenders although the British
did miss the machine gun position they were targeting.
The attack began and
under the covering barrage the 1st Battalion and
by 6:10 AM had occupied the German front line. The H3
German position was not taken and began to account for
considerable damage on the second and third waves of
Canadian attackers. The flanking attack by the 7th
division had also bogged down and German fire from those
German defensive positions also began to take their
toll.
Lieutenant FW Campbell
managed to set up a machine gun in the German trenched
among his comrades in the 1st Battalion but German
pressure increased until he was forced to retreat. He
was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his braveness
under fire. By 10:00 Am the 1st Battalion had been
forced back to the German front lines and then back to
heir original jumping off lines. The 1st battalion
recorded 366 Causalities among which 20 officers were
killed.
The 3rd Battalion was
order to renew the attack but by midnight they needed
more time and it was not until 4:45 that they were able
to jump off. They made little progress against the
German line that was growing stronger and stronger and
on June 19th Sire John French cancelled an further
attacks. Thus the battle inconclusively died off and
only death and destruction result from the battle.
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