Assault with the Bayonet in the Great War

Recently at Peterborough's Museum and Archives, students from Sir Sandford Fleming Community College Museum Management program showcased micro-exhibits. An excellent First World War bayonet exhibit was created.

To honour this student's work and future as a curator, I've created a link to Paul Hodge's article,
‘They don’t like it up ’em!’: Bayonet fetishization in the British Army during the First World War.

This entry focuses almost entirely on the use of bayonet's in combat in the First World War.

Peterborough’s Youngest Lost Soldier: Anthony Skarrizi

Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery
Credit: Royal British Legion

The expression “old men declare war, but the youth who must fight and die,” comes to mind when visiting any Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery.  Rows of white tombstones mark the last resting place for a generation of young men of the British Empire. Studies of death records have found that the majority of soldiers died in their 20s, with the median age being 22-26 years old. Most of the soldiers were cut down in the prime of their lives, leaving young wives and children to cope with the loss of a missing partner and father.

14 year old and 8 month old Anthony Skarrizi
Credit: http://21stbattalion.ca

Researchers have come across the graves of soldiers from the Great War that were too young to marry, or even shave. Recently I have come across the story of Peterborough’s youngest fatality of the Great War, Anthony ‘Tony’ Skarrizi who died during the last days of the Battle of Passchendaele. Private Anthony Skarrizi was 16 years and 11 months old when he died on 3 November 1917 outside of Passchendaele, Belgium.

Peterborough Examiner,
 22 November 1917

Government Records show that Anthony Skarrizi was born in Italy in November 1900. Like many Italian immigrants at the turn of the last century, the Skarrizi’s moved to Canada in 1907 hoping of finding employment as labourers. The young Anthony Skarrizi decided to join the military in August 1915. Private Skarrizi falsely attested his birth year as 1897, making the adolescent appear to be 18 to the Recruiting Sargent at the Peterborough Armouries,  in all likelihood he was only 14 years and 8 months old.

Canadian Military Police Corps (Provost)

Private Skarrizi completed his military training in Canada, and embarked for overseas service. After sailing to Liverpool, England he was found to be underage and redeployed for permanent base duty. Military law states all soldiers must be 18 to enlist in the military and 19 years old for overseas service. Once his age was discovered, Skarrizi spent 6 months on base duty being assigned to several guard and provisional units; he became an unruly and irresponsible soldier. His young age combined long rotations in the much hated “bullrings” (reinforcement camps) likely contributed to his declining morale.  By the winter of 1916-1917, Private Skarrizi had several run-ins with the Canadian Provost Corps.

Great War Military Depiction of
Field Punishment No 1

He was arrested and court martialed four times for: neglecting to obey an NCO, absent without leave on two occasions, and absent from parade. The young soldier was punished by being restrained, having his pay docked, and after his second conviction for being absent without leave, he was given the dreaded Field Post No 1. According to the Manual of military law, the Field Post No 1 punishment consists of restraining an individual at the feet and hands and attaching the convicted soldier to a wagonwheel, or fencepost in a public area, whereby all other soldiers could witness the punishment.

Two months after the last conviction, Skarrizi was transferred to France with the 21^st Battalion. One month after landing in Boulogne, France, the young private was attached to Kingston’s 21^st (Eastern Ontario) Battalion billets in Villers Au Bois.  The question arises: why and how would a known underage soldier allowed to be sent overseas? No one knows. It is likely that Officers decided to send Skarrizi to France because serving at the front would stop the adolescent Italian-Canadian soldier from running away from the Canadian military camps.

Picture of Passchendaele
Credit: Archives of Ontario/RCL

Terrain of Passchendaele
Credit: Library and Archives Canada

Unfortunately for Private Skarrizi, he joined the 21^st Battalion only several weeks before the Canadian Corps moved into Belgium to take part in the Battle of Passchendaele. The four month long British led Passchendaele offensive had almost ground to a halt. The British High Command jointly employed their “shock troops” of Australian and Canadians to help resolve the political and military mess that the British Generals had created in attempting to take Passchendaele. The Canadian Commander, Arthur Currie, planned to win the battle but slowly and in several phases in order to insure that the Canadians did not suffer needless losses of men. This article will not go into the general history of the Passchendaele campaign. It is interesting to note that during the research for this entry, I found there was a lack of contemporary historical analysis into the Canadian involvement at Passchendaele.

Aerial Photograph of Passchendaele,
displaying location of Crest Farm

On 30 October 1917, the first phase of the Canadian assault at Passchendaele ended. The Canadians launched the second phase of their attack on Passchendaele after the PPCLI and the 72^nd Battalion provided miraculous results for the Canadian Corps. The 3^rd Division captured two German strongholds, Meetcheele crossroads, which was lined with concrete bunkers and Crest Farm, a swampy redoubt of trenches and shell holes that overlooked the advances to the town of Passchendaele.

On the night of 3 November 1917 the 4^th Canadian Brigade relieved the Canadians that captured the lunar swampy landscape that was Crest Farm at 2:45 AM. The relatively fresh 21^st Battalion was sent in to guard the recently captured Crest Farm by the 4^th Division. On the right was the 19^th Battalion, and on the left the 21^st Battalion was on left of Crest farm.

1917 Map and Location of Crest Farm
Credit: McMaster Archives

Contemporary Photo of location
 of Crest Farm Credit: Google Maps

At 3:45 AM, the German started to bombard Crest Farm and reserve and support areas. At 4:50 AM, Brigade HQ witnessed the 21^st Battalion sending off  red S.O.S. flares. The attack by German Stoßtruppen (Storm Troops - Specialist Assault Troops) breached the Canadian wire charged right into the 21^st and 19^th Battalions. The 19^th Battalion made quick work of the German attackers, while on the left; the 21^st Battalion had to call in a reserve company to help dislodge the enemy. By 6:45 AM, the Germans had launched two small isolated attacks on the 21^st Battalion, both of which were halted. Canadian After-Battle reports state German infantry laid in shell holes in front of the Canadian position but were unable to advance. During the defence of Crest Farm, the 19^th Battalion provided valuable assistance to not only the 21^st Battalion, which suffered 203 causalities, but also to the Australians on the right flank.  The 19^th Battalion sent almost a company sized force to help shore up the Australian defences.

Menin Gate, Leper Belgium

During the defence of Crest Farm, 16 year old Private Anthony Skarrizi went missing. There is no record in existence that tells historians what happened to the young inexperienced soldier. All we know is that he never answered his company roll call again. His name is engraved at the monument to the missing at the Menin Gate at Leper (Ypres), Belgium. Like most of the missing of the Great War, Private Skarrizi was likely killed by a direct hit by an enemy shell. The impact of the explosion, and the confusion that followed the battle hampered efforts by stretcher bearers to retrieve the body of Private Skarrizi. After the battle, Anthony Skarrizi’s family at 656 Reid Street, Peterborough, would receive several telegraphs and letters informing them that their son was missing, and eventually declared dead. 


__________________________________________
Author would like to acknowledge the assistance and great research work provided by the 21st Battalion Website. Please visit them at http://www.21stbattalion.ca

The Alderville First Nation Cenotaph and War Monument: An Architecturally Unique Memorial

First Nations communities in
Central Ontario. Credit:  Ontario Aboriginal Affairs 

The areas that comprise Peterborough, Northumberland, and the Quinte region sent thousands of men overseas during the Great War.  Enlistment for service on the Western Front was not limited to men of European ancestry. Many local Ojibway, and Mississauga Aboriginal people from the Curve Lake, Hiawatha, and Alderville First Nations served overseas.

Alderville Cenotaph. Credit: M. Ferguson

After the war had ended, The First Nation of Alderville erected a War Monument in 1927 to honour their 35 war volunteers and 9 sons that were lost in the war. Alderville's contribution to the Canadian war effort was extensive and  admirable. From the tiny reserve, Alderville had sent 35 soldiers off to war, from an adult male population of 63 men. The Ojibway soldiers went to defend the ideals of democracy even  though as 'Indians' they were not entitled to vote.

The tiny aboriginal reserve rests on County Road 45 connects Peterborough to Cobourg. The monument is located adjacent to the highway. The cenotaph for the small community with a population of 313  is a local attraction and landmark. It is not uncommon to see automobiles parked on the side of the road with amateur photographers taking snap shots of the unique monument. 

Canada's Most Decorated
Aboriginal Soldier, Francis
Pegahmagabow Credit: Wikipedia

Several academics have constructed careers out of studying loss and mourning by studying French war memorials. I doubt Art Historians and Cultural Studies professors would be able to make sense of Alderville’s cenotaph. It is a monument without a cross, brooding soldier, or shield and sword. In fact, the monument looks like a tribute to the emerging Art Deco movement of the 1920s, or at the very least, inspired by abstract modern art. Historian Jonathan Vance, a Canadian War and Society scholar attempted to make sense of the monument in his 1997 book Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning, and the First World War. In the book he writes, “one especially bizarre design exists in Campbellford [sic], Ontario; a massive column with three huge orbs suspended from a cube-topped platform, it is less a war memorial than a monument to the ingenuity of the stonemason. (202)”

I have personally seen my fair share of monuments and cenotaphs in Canada, France, Belgium, and England. Without a doubt, Alderville has one of the most unique war memorials I have seen. 

Alderville War Memorial. Credit: M. Ferguson June 2012

                                                      The Alderville Cenotaph reads:

The cenotaph was constructed in 1927 by Alf McKeel and Son of Campbellford who supplied the design and donated the materials for the project while the hard physical labour was supplied by many local volunteers. The native Indian men of Alderville used hand shovels and a lot muscle power to stir the cement which makes up the cenotaph. The women spent hours cooking and supplying meals for these hardworking volunteers.

                                                                    Significance

The cube on top symbolizes the four corners of the earth. The three globes beneath the cube symbolize the holy trinity. The three large pillars supporting the above symbolize the three holy virtues of faith, hope and charity. The square base on which the cenotaph stands, symbolizes the four freedoms – freedom of speech; freedom of religion; freedom from fear and freedom of the press.

The nine large cubes situated around the cenotaph represent the 9 men who were killed in World War I. The chain that comprised of 35 links the encircles the cenotaph and is attached to the 9 cubes represent the 35 residents that served in the war and at the same time represents eternity.  

Want to learn more about this monument? Visit the Alderville First Nation Cenotaph website. 

In the next entry I will be looking local Peterborough and surrounding area Aboriginal contributions to the First World War. Also, in the near future look for the launch of Peterborough and the First World War Map - a digital map that shows where over a thousand local soldiers lived before enlistment.

Gegenangriff zum Fresnoy – 8 May 1917

The genesis of the second Battle of Fresnoy began on 5 May 1917. Orders were received by the 5^th Bavarian Division to prepare for a counterattack (Gegenangriff zum Fresnoy). Fresnoy and surrounding wooded area was an integral piece of the Oppy-Mericourt defence line. After the successful capture of the village, the British and Canadians were in possession of a minor salient that had the potential to breech the fortress that was the Hindenburg Line. The German High Command knew that in a worst case scenario, if the defence network was overcame, then the allies would have a opportunity to change the nature of the conflict from trenches to a war of rapid mobile warfare. Fresnoy had to be recaptured.

German Prisoners captured by Canadians in the Arras Sector, May 1917
Credit: Veterans Affairs Canada

The two prior attempts to re-take Fresnoy on May 3rd were repulsed with artillery and defensive fire; the attacks were hastily planned and were aimed to simply overwhelm the battle fatigued Canadians. The renewed attack by the 5^th Bavarian Division was planned to be a more organized push, involving a heavy reliance on artillery and additional soldiers. The Germans planned to launch their assault only after weakening the lines with artillery, identifying defence strongpoints, and isolating routes where re-enforcements could be brought into the battle. Starting on May 6th the Germans began to shell the vicinity around the objective. In a span of two days, German artillery fired over 100,000 shells into British and Canadian sector. 

German Photograph of the Arras
Sector. Credit: GreatWarPhotos.com, Paul Reed

To the north of the German objective was the 6^th Canadian Infantry Brigade. They were stationed north of Fresnoy Wood and were scheduled to be relieved by the 4^th Brigade on the night of May 7/8. The British 95^th Brigade, 12^th Battalion Gloucester Regiment occupied the shelled out remains of the town of Fresnoy. The British had constructed gun pits, dugouts, and 2 lines of trenches. The landscape of the village had changed drastically in the previous month. The town had been shelled on a  consistent basis since mid-April. Famous German author Ernst Junger was stationed in Fresnoy before it was turned into a rubble heap. Junger wrote: “As I entered the village at the end of one of these ordeals by fire - as that's what they were - I saw a basement flattened. All we could recover from the scorched space were the three bodies. Next to the entrance one man lay on his belly in a shredded uniform.” From the 6th of May to the 8th it was the Tommy's turn cower in the ruins of village.

On the rainy evening of 7 May reports were received and 2^nd Canadian Division’s HQ at 7:20 pm that the German bombardment had intensified, with heavy calibre shells hitting positions between Acheville in the north and Oppy in the south. Around the same time, the German artillery began firing gas shells at suspected targets where Anglo-Canadian artillery guns were located. Gun crews were forced to wear gas masks to minimize the effects of the chlorine gas. The masks saved the lungs of the artillerymen, but it greatly reduced efficiency and ability to rapidly fire the guns.

Map of Canadian Corps Operations,
Fresnoy located on right. Credit: WFA

As the Canadian units were finishing their rotation to the front, all hell broke loose. At 3:45 am, the German attack began. German artillery launched a terrific final bombardment on the town, and then began gassing all nearby road junctions. The rain and mist that night made for very limited visibility for the British defenders. The German commanders picked the most opportune time to attack. They had launched their counter-attack when the weather favoured an assault with poor visibility. Many of the Canadian defenders that were at the front were unfamiliar with their new trenches. The Canucks were unacquainted with this new section of the line. To make matters worse, roughly 1/3 of all the Canadians that were in the trenches that night were fresh faced re-enforcements. They had just come over to France in the days after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and now these green soldiers would face their first fight.

The Bavarian 7th, 19^th, and 21st Regiments launched their attack primarily on the British lines and were able to infiltrate the British trenches on the north east section of the line. As the Germans approached the British lines, the rain soaked Lewis Gunner Sgt. Henry Civil went into action. He saw enemy running towards his line in mass formation and he opened fire. Sgt. Civil recalls hitting plenty of Germans that dark early morning, but his efforts could not stem the tide of the attack. The Germans poured down the trenches tossing grenades and firing upon opposition that they encountered. Civil soon realized he was alone, he had held up a platoons of enemy, but he was running low on ammunition and his gun had been damaged beyond repair. He withdrew to the sunken road, which lay to the west of the village (near Arleux).

Map of the German Attack. 8 May 1917
Credit: Google Earth

The Canadians on the left of the British line encountered the Germans at roughly 4:00 am. The enemy had snaked their way up through the British trenches, and were now starting to flank the Canadians. As the flares lit up the night sky, survivors of the battle recall hearing comrades shouting  “there they are!” The Canadians watched the Germans head westward (toward Arleux) in a bunched formation. Private Deward Barnes was Lewis Gun re-enforcement  that arrived in France after the battle of Vimy Ridge with the 19^th Battalion. He was ordered to put the Lewis Gun on the parados (on top of the trench) and fire into the backs of the Germans. Eventually Pvt. Barnes was ordered to withdraw to a more defendable position, but after a while the enemy was on the cusp of over running their new line. The officer in-charge of the remains of Barnes' company said, “well boys, we are done, do your duty and fight to the finish.” The Germans entered the trench, and after fierce hand to hand combat and bayonetting, the surviving men were able to retreat further back to a position known as Winnipeg Road where they met up with other men and formed a more stable defence line.

Germans Marching British Prisoners.Survivors of
Fresnoy may be in marching in this group.
 Credit: GreatWarPhotos.com, Paul Reed

By mid-day it was obvious that Fresnoy was lost. The 12^th Battalion Gloucester Regiment lost 288 men, and the 19^th Battalion (Central Ontario) lost 236 men, plus another 16 were taken as POWs.  In the aftermath of the battle, several theories were put forth as explanations for the loss of ground. In the 12^th Gloucs Official Records, they list several factors such as: “Lack of artillery support of any kind, Lack of aeroplanes, bad weather. . . visibility being NIL, Attempting to hold an impossible salient as a defensive position.” In the Canadian Official History of First World War, the blame falls squarely in the lap of the British artillery. The British narrative assigns guilt to the poor quality of British re-enforcements, noting that the Canadians had men in better physical condition.

Ultimately, the blame for the poor defence should be attached to the commanders, from brigade up to the divisional level. The 2^nd Division commander, Gen. Burstall, made the mistake of not launching an immediate counter attack. The wet and muddy conditions on May 8^th were advantageous for a counter attack. In a post-battle report, the 5^th Bavarian Division noted that almost all machine guns were inoperable due to mud clogging the barrels. Even greater than the mistake of not launching a rapid counter attack, was the pre-battle deployment of nearby units and poor coordination between neighbouring artillery batteries. The 2^nd Division held several brigades and batteries behind the relative safety of Farbus Wood. Once the German attack on Fresnoy began, they shelled all routes leading to Fresnoy, cutting off the potential for any substantial reinforcement and counter battery fire. Without reinforcement, the under strength 19th Battalion (at the time of attack it had 687 men - at full strength it was supposed to have roughly 1,000 men) was forced to try and save Fresnoy, which was an near impossible task.

Links: 

http://greatwarphotos.com                     

Sgt. Civil's story - 12th Gloucs Regiment - May 8 1917

Click here to read of Canadian attack on Fresnoy of 3 May 1917.