Book Review: For Love and Courage: the Letters of Lieutenant Colonel E.W.Hermon, From the Western Front 1914 – 1917.

As the centenary for the First World War approaches, first-person accounts have started to populate the shelves of book stores.  Anne Nason’s grandfather, Edward W. Hermon, left a collection of hundreds of letters that were sent to his wife, Ethel, before his untimely death during the Second Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917. This book gives historians and the casual reader a glimpse into the life of a Yeomanry cavalry officer in France and Belgium: from mobilization, training, and the inner squabbling between commissioned officers.  

Edward H. Hermon’s life does not reflect the typical life experience of many ‘Tommys’ of the Western Front.  Hermon was educated at Eton, served in South Africa with the 7^th Hussars, and by all accounts was independently wealthy gentleman. His wife and four children, affectionately nicknamed ‘chugs,’ lived in a country estate that included servants. The family engaged in many idyllic activities such as sailing, leisurely drives, and horseback riding. After serving in South Africa Hermon transferred his commission to the Territorial Army to avoid further deployments to India or the Near East. As a reserve cavalry officer, Hermon was mobilized in July 1914 and landed in France with his personal batman (servant) and horses from the family estate in the spring of 1915.

The correspondence between Hermon and his wife in 1914 - 1915 reflects the personal impact that separation due to war can have on a couple. The reader quickly builds a great deal of sympathy. A husband at the front and a pregnant wife at home looking after four young children. Hermon’s correspondence quickly settles into a pattern of asking for jams, cakes, meats, and cigarettes, and requests for socks and jackets. Reading the repeated pleas for more comforts of home may cause reader’s eyes to glaze over; but these letters embody life in divisional reserve on the Western Front.

As the 2IC (Second in Command) for the King Edward Horse Cavalry Regiment, Colonel Hermon sent home letters of that described witnessing battles like Loos and Festubert from reserve. In a conflict of primarily of barbed wire, machine gun emplacements, and trenches; horses became less relevant as weapons of war.  King Edward Horse Cavalry would only be ordered into the battle once the enemy line was breached. Hermon spent much of his time complaining to his wife about being sidelined while the infantry were in the thick of combat. The early letters (1915 - 1916) capture the dire situation on the front lines. The British were struggling to meet the changing technological demands of modern war.  Hermon wrote home retelling his wife that soldiers were using lacrosse sticks to scoop and throw back German grenades, and noting how his men were receiving homemade gas masks  in June 1915. Not to mention the Shell Shortage of 1915, when British artillery batterys were only allowed to fire 6 shells a day due to the shortage.

As the war progressed, Hermon tired of waiting for orders to charge on horse into battle. His letters denote a growing hostility to many commanding officers, mainly the regiment’s Commanding Officer, and General Haig. Luckily, Col. Hermon was afforded the opportunity to advance in rank after organizing and commanding the divisional Grenade School.  After a failed bid to become the next regimental commander, , Hermon begged his superiors to transfer him to an infantry battalion. The popular 37 year old officer was transferred to the 27^th Battalion, replacing the Commanding Officer, whom Hermon calls "the commercial traveller with diamond rings."

Arras in 1919: Lt. Col. Hermon spent many weeks in Arras in 1917
Credit: Wiki Commons

 On 9 April 1917, the newly promoted Lt. Col. Hermon took part in his first over the top assault. The 27^th Battalion along with support from tanks took their objective. Hermon and his adjutant and was walking forward to his newly captured position when a German machine gun opened up. Eyewitness describe  the German machine gun raking an abandoned British tank with fire, before  taking aim at Hermon and his entourage. The enemy gun crew sprayed the officers with gun fire, and the newly promoted battalion commander  was hit in the chest. Days after his death, Hermon's wife received a grief stricken letter from the batman. In the letter, Ethel Hermon was told how in her husband's last moments the mortally wounded officer told his men to 'Go On' and showed remarkable stoicism. 

Ethel Hermon kept the hundreds of letters her late husband sent to her. They were stored in a dusty dresser for years. Granddaughter and editor Anne Nason provided a valiant effort in organizing the letters, and providing the basic background information and adding context to Hermon’s letters. There are very few footnotes in the book, but Nason’s work provides great contribution into the life of a mid-war cavalry officer. A highly readable book, and a valuable source of personal documents for any Military Historian interested in the BEF battles of 1915 - 1917.

15th Battalion, 48th Highlanders Demobilization

Here is a 13 minute video clip of the homecoming of the 15th Battalion in 1919. The 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders) was a unique Scottish kilted battalion in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The 15th Battalion was apart of the 1st Division, and served in the 3rd Brigade (nicknamed the Highland Bde). They served with distinction throughout the war from 1915 - 1918 and took part in almost every major Canadian operation in France in Belgium. As a battalion, their most famous action was at 2nd Ypres in 1915, where they were gassed and overrun by the enemy, yet fought vigilantly until the bitter end.

The 48th Highlanders had a special connection to Peterborough. In researching Peterborough's contribution to the war, I have been able to find that over 40 young men travelled by train for 2 hours to Toronto to enlist in the 48th Highlanders. For many recruits, there was an attraction to joining a Highland battalion; the skirl of bagpipes, the regimental links to Scotland, wearing a kilt as part as battle dress, and having the unique identity as a Highlander - and not just another Poor Bloody Infantryman would be enticing to any enlisting man.

Video from almost a 93 years ago shows these veterans before heading to 'civvie street.'

Highlights 
- 15, 38, 58, 73, 92, 134 Battalions Marching

- Train pulling into Union Station shows lots of chalk writing, indication where the men had served (France, Rhineland) or where they were from (Hamilton, Toronto) 

- Mayor of Toronto Meeting Tom Longboat, native soldier, long distance runner, and war hero.

- March down University Avenue and Queens Park.

_________________________________________________________

Video Credit: http://wwww.15thbattalioncef.ca

Please check out the newly launched 15th Battalion website, run by former members of the Red Watch/Kilted Ladies. 

-  I must apologize for not updating very often. I have been working on several projects and trying to enjoy the most of summer. In the next few months I will release a geo-map of all locations of where all Peterborough Soldiers lived prior to enlisting in the Great War. - M.

Peterborough Armouries and Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School - Then and Now

Two photographs of the Peterborough Armouries and Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School                                            

                                                                1919 - 2009.        

         

Credit: Google Maps (2009) and Library and Archives Canada (1919)

The Armouries building (on the left) was the base for the pre-war 57th Peterborough Rangers militia unit and during the First World War it was the home for the 93rd (Peterboro) Infantry Battalion. The Armoury also acted as recruiting depot for enlisting soldiers the Peteroborough area during the Great War and the Second World War. The Armoury is the current home to the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment.

The Peterborough Armoury was constructed between 1907 - 1909 during a period of great expansion and improvement to the Canadian Army. The Government of the time, led by Wilfrid Laurier, allocated more funding for the Department of Militia and Defense after the Boer War (South African War). Contracts were signed for new rifles, uniforms, and numerous armouries were built. During this period Canada also created its own Navy (1910). Laurier's cabinet Minister for Militia and Defense, Frederick W. Borden (cousin to future war-time PM Robert Borden), was in Peterborough for the opening of the architecturally stunning drill hall. 

The building on the right is Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School. It  was constructed at the same time as the Armouries in 1908.  The two building share some similarities in both structure, height, and colour. Local Peterborough historian and professor, Ellwood Jones, has noted that the location of the armoury, school, and nearby churches show that the city-planners wanted to centralize the Peterborough civic power one  location. During the First World War, the headmaster of PCVS, Principal Kenner, complained in the local newspaper, regarding the regularity of fire drills at the armoury; and is quoted to have said at one City Council meeting that many "young pupils are too keen on soldiering rather than studies." Principal Kenner's assessment of the level of distraction found around the PCVS and the Armoury during 1915 - 1916 seems accurate. It is not hard to imagine young pupils stuck in class, periodically gazing out to the recruits drilling on Confederation Square. During this awkward arrangement between academics and warriors, the children had to learn over the noise of rifle practice, band practice, and the bellowing of orders from the cantankerous Regimental Sargent Major.

Unfortunately, the local school board has decided to close PCVS, a school that has produced Rhodes Scholars, a Prime Minister, and many successful artists and entrepreneurs. Click here to see the efforts to save PCVS

The photos were taken 90 years apart. The 1919 photograph was shot from an WWI era RFC airplane (from Camp Borden) during the early years of aerial photography  (wing is visible in the left of the picture). The 1919 photo contrasts the 90 years of growth in Peterborough. A few hundred yards behind Murray and McDonnel Street, you can see farm fields. In 2009, all those family farms are gone, replaced by asphalt streets and homes.

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.

3 May 1917, Fresnoy - 3rd Battle of the Scarpe

Photograph of Vimy Ridge monument
with battlefield in the foreground.
Credit: Anglo-celtic-connections

2012 marks the 95^th anniversary of the Battle of Arras. The British led offensive started on the 9^th of April and concluded on the 16^th of May 1917. Historians predominately from the United Kingdom have led the charge in commemorating the anniversary of the Arras campaign.  As for my fellow Canadians, our interest in the campaign starts and ends with the battle of Vimy Ridge (9 – 12th April 1917).Vimy’s importance to the psyche of Canadians is measured by our national First World War monument that was constructed on Vimy Ridge. As for the 3^rd Battle of the Scarpe or the other 34 days of the Arras offensive? Canadians know very little if anything at all; even Canadian Historians have very little interest in studying or writing about the Arras Campaign after the Canadian victory at Vimy.

Another View of Vimy Ridge Memorial.
Credit: Google Images

Many English tourists that travel by ferry over the English Channel often make their first rest stop at Canada’s monument at Vimy Ridge. Even the most uninterested of visitor, laden with sandwiches in the French countryside cannot help but be amazed at the representation of Mother Canada mourning her sons. Vimy is a tempting subject for historians; it was an overwhelming surprise victory that took place on Easter Monday, with Canadian Corps losing 10,602 men (3598 KIA).  The battles that followed on the Douai plain like Fresnoy seem like an operational maneuver compared to Vimy. In my view, the Battle of Fresnoy, is just as important as Vimy. The attack and defence of Fresnoy demonstrates that the Canadian victory at Vimy was not luck or a one off victory. By May 1917 the Canadian Corps had become one of the premier fighting forces on the Western Front, comparable with the ANZACs and our British counterparts.

Aerial view of the Hindenberg Line and
Bullecourt, taken in 1920. Two years after
war had ended, the line was still a powerful
defensive position. Credit: Wikipedia

Before proceeding, a brief overview of situation on the ground is needed. By late April 1917, the British Arras offensive had almost run out of steam. On the other side of no man’s land, the Germans had moved to the vicinity of the Hindenburg line, and refused to give more ground. The Hindenburg Line was an impressive constructed network of German defensive fortifications, tunnels, trenches, barbed wire and bunkers. In the north, the Canadians had captured Vimy Ridge overlooking Douai Plain and the German lines. Allied artillery now had observation of enemy movements, trenches, and supply columns for several kilometres. In the centre, the British had launched two separate offensives with very limited results. At the southern flank, the Australians were stuck in pitched struggle at Bullecourt and Lagnicourt.

Happy Canadians who captured Vimy Ridge
returning to rest billets on motor lorries, May 1917
Credit: Library and Archives

On 3 May 1917, the 3^rd and final Battle of the Scarpe began. After the war, a British military historian wrote that the first day of combat as “a day which many who witnessed it considered it to be the blackest day of the war.” The British continued their attack in the centre, with minimal results, and the Australians resumed the near suicidal battle of Bullecourt. The Canadian objective on 3 May was to capture a village of Fresnoy, a 1000 yards to east of Arleux.

Map of the Battle of Fresnoy, 3 May 1917.
Credit: Official History of the Canadian
Army in the First Word War: Canadian
 Expeditionary Force 1914-1919, G.W.L. Nicholson

The red-roofed village of Fresnoy was positioned between two wood lands. The 1^st Canadian Brigade (Ontario) was assigned the objective. The 2^nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario) was to capture the town, and the 1^st and 3^rd Battalions were to secure the wooded areas located on the sides of the town. The Canadians rehearsed the assault for two days on mock enemy positions, akin to the operational preparation to the attack on Vimy Ridge.

 In the German trenches, soldiers were on a high state of alert after nearly a month of combat. German intelligence sensed another push after witnessing a build-up of troops along the Allied lines. At roughly the time as the British offensive began, the Germans began to shell the British and Canadian lines. A duel between the German and British heavy and medium artillery commenced.

As both sides shelled each other, the signal was given to launch the attack. The Canadian rolling barrage hit Fresnoy at 3:45am, cutting much of the enemy wire. Many Germans from the 25^th Reserve Division were forced to seek shelter from the inferno of shells and shrapnel. The artillery pounded and careened into the trench network that surrounded the French village. Following behind the screen of exploding earth and sandbags was the attacking Canadians. In effort to repulse the attack, German machine gun fire raked the approaches to the village; luckily the darkness hid the Canadians as they approached Fresnoy.

Examining a Skull found on a battlefield
of Vimy Ridge. Credit: Library and Archives

Once the Canadians had breached the wire in front of the village, the 3^rd Battalion swung south, clearing out the German trenches with enfilading fire. The 3^rd Battalion had captured 500 yards beyond their objective (support lines), but in the process they had sustained high losses, losing 1 of their 3 assault companies, roughly 200 men. In the northern sector of the attack, the 1^st Battalion quickly overcame the enemy wire, and advanced upon the trenches parallel to the woods known as Fresnoy Park. The 1^st Battalion had the easiest task of the 3 units on 3 May, their assigned objective was lightly held and quickly taken.

Canadian writing home from the line, May 1917
Credit: Library and Archives

In the centre of the attack, the 2^nd Battalion’s attack was carried out with surgical pin-point accuracy. The three machine gun posts that guarded the town had been silenced within minutes with the use of rifle grenades and covering fire as the assault squads advanced upon the German guns. After cleaning out the trench network, the battalion proceeded to secure the town, neutralizing any remaining resistance that they encountered in buildings. By 6am, the battalion was consolidating their newly won position and digging new defences 250 yards east of Fresnoy.

British Stokes Mortar Crew, 1918.

Once enemy commanders realized the nature of the rupture of their line at Fresnoy, two rapid counter-attacks were ordered. Around 10am, the Canadians received a peppering of high explosive shells on Fresnoy. After the shelling had subsided, units from the German 15^th Reserve Division were spotted advancing upon the village from the north east. The enemy counter attack was quickly broken up after the British and Canadian artillery unleashed a torrent of shells and machine gun fire among the attacking infantry. In the early afternoon two more units, the German 4^th Guard Division and 185 Infantry Division, were ordered into the fray. The second German attack was able to enter into the Canadian lines, but after the arrival of a stokes mortar crew and a liberal use of grenades, the enemy attack could not advance any further and withdrew.

German Prisoners of War helping a
wounded Canadian, Arleux 1917.
Credit: Library and Archive

As the sun set on 3 May 1917, the Canadians had been involved in nearly 16 hours of strenuous defense and assault. They had lost 1,269 men taking Fresnoy. On the German side, the first day of the 3^rd Battle of the Scarpe, official records list their deepest losses occurring at Fresnoy. The loss of Fresnoy did not sit well with the German High Command. One German regimental historian wrote that the Canadians had knocked Fresnoy, “out of the German defensive wall which had to be replaced without delay.” The Allies occupying the town had a commanding sight over sections of German trenches in the Oppy-Méricourt line and the Hindenberg Line (Wotan Stellung).

Canadian identifying a deceased
 German soldier, Arras Sector 1917.
Credit: Library and Archives

 In my next entry, I will look at the second major German attack to re-capture Fresnoy on 8 May 1917 and its impact on the Canadian and British lines.

Major Bennett, Peterborough's first war casualty

Credit: Major Bennett Bus, Flickr.com, VB5215

The white and green buses operated by Peterborough Transit are on nearly every major arterial road in the city. The Major Bennett #12 bus is a familiar sight on Aylmer Street and near the newly renovated Lansdowne Place Mall. The commuters that use the Major Bennett route likely haven’t considered the origin of the name. Major Bennett Drive was named after Peterborough’s first casualty of the First World War, Major George Bennett.

Photograph of Major G.W. Bennett,
Credit: Peterborough Examiner, 1915

George Bennett was a prominent resident of the small city of 18,000 people. He was born in 1864 in North Monaghan Township and worked a civil servant for the Government of Ontario. He rose to the prestigious rank of Superintendent of the Department of Public Works overseeing provincial roads in Northern Ontario.  The tall dark haired 49 year old bachelor had served with the local Peterborough militia for over 25 years. After many nights at the Peterborough Armouries on George Street, Bennett received his officer’s commission with the 57^th "Peterborough Rangers" Regiment.

Picture of troops in Ypres in June 1915 with bayonets.
Note how the Belgian countryside still had
 trees - not yet mud and siege warfare.
Credit: Wikipedia Commons

When Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, 115 soldiers from Peterborough’s 57^th Regiment rushed to volunteer for overseas service. The eager Peterborough volunteers that were selected for service were to be led by Peterborough’s own Major Bennett. The first batch of Peterborough recruits were assigned to the 1 Company, 2^nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario) in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After months of training in Quebec, and in England, they took their place in the front line against the Germans.

Route of 2nd Battalion on 22 April 1915
Credit: The History of the 2nd Canadian Battalion
(Eastern Ontario Regiment), C.E.F., 1947

At 7pm on 22 April 1915, the Bennett’s battalion witnessed the first use of chlorine gas in warfare. Click here to read about the attack. Bennett and his men were stationed in reserve in rest billets (huts) in the town of Vlameringhe, Belgium. Witnesses from the 2^nd Battalion recall watching French troops stagger past the Canadian lines in full retreat; some soldiers “dropping into ditches in convulsions of vomiting.” By 8:30pm, the commander of 3^rd Brigade, war hero and holder of the Victoria Cross, Richard Turner was in a complete panic. He ordered immediate assistance to help launch an attack that would get the Germans out of Kitcheners’ Wood. It would take several hours of marching on Belgian roads, stopping intermittently to let ambulances with wounded soldiers pass, before the 2^nd Battalion arrived at the designated rendezvous point.

Photograph of the remains of
 Kitcheners' Wood, taken in 1918.
Credit: Great War Forum

Photograph of Kitcheners' Wood,
 June 1917.
Credit: Greatwar.co.uk

At roughly 10 pm, the first two Canadian units attempted to retake Kitcheners’ Wood. Attacking from southerly direction, the 16^th Battalion and 10^th Battalions made a 200 yard running charge over open ground, facing fire from the chattering German machine guns as they entered into the woods. Within minutes the attack had stalled, the commander of the 10^th Battalion lay bleeding to death after receiving 5 bullets to the groin. His men were now engaged in hand-to-hand fighting with Germans in the east, west and in the interior of the wooded area. By the time roll call came next morning, the 16^th Battalion only had 193 men out of 813. The 10^th Battalion’s casualties were much worse, in a report made three days after the battle; an officer wrote that the unit only has “a small party of men” left.

Location of Kitcheners' Wood and
 Canadian Monument.
Credit: Google Maps

By 1:30am on the morning of 23 April 1915, the 2^nd Battalion reported for duty at Mouse Trap Farm. After a quick debriefing of the situation in the woods, it was decided that 2^nd Battalion would link up with the units that were already in Kitcheners’ Wood and revive the faltering attack. Three of the four companies of the 2^nd Battalion were assigned roles in the attack. No. 3 Company to take the left flank, and No. 2 Company was to swing to the north east (on the right) and link with the men already in the forest and help defend the line.  Following in support was Major Bennett’s No. 1 Company. Bennett’s unit was assigned the task of following the other units (down the middle) of the battalion and act as fire support.

Map of 2nd Battalion Advance. Includes location of No. 1 Coy
attack. Credit: Google Maps

As Major Bennett and his men felt their way forward in the dark, they could see and hear the muzzle flashes and sound of gun fire on their left flank. They knew that their comrades in No. 3 Company needed assistance. After reaching cover of a hill, Bennett ordered a scout to report on the developing situation. After examining the terrain and referencing his position on a map, Major Bennett crawled back to his men. The battalion’s commander, Lt. Col. Watson, approached Bennett’s lagging troops.  Watson bellowed to his subordinate that an attack must be carried out before morning. Major Bennett lay on his stomach on the side of a hill with his men awaiting orders, he may have thought of the irony of being in a farm field similar to his own, only thousands of miles away from North Monaghan. Bennett was told to attack, and as a good soldier he would follow that order.

 As dawn began to break the night sky over Langemarck, Major Bennett prepared to meet his destiny. Bennett put his whistle to his lips, grabbed his service revolver out of the holster, and ordered his men to fix bayonets. After the 15 inch steel blades snapped onto the rifles, the Major stood up and ordered the men to get up. He inhaled.  Waving his arm forward he blew his whistle and charged over the hill.

The German troops in Kitcheners’ Wood saw the soldiers from Peterborough as they descended down the sloping hill. Within seconds, the Germans unleashed a storm of bullets against the Canadians as they ran directly at the German line. As a leader of infantry charge, Major Bennett was one of the first men to be hit. Survivors of the failed attack on Kitcheners’ Wood wrote back to family in Peterborough that Major Bennett was killed instantly when he was hit in the head and stomach with a burst of machine gun fire. Private James Bills of Sherbrooke Street, who was wounded in the charge, wrote back home: “The Canadians did grandly the past few weeks, but our company lost every officer in one day. . . He [Bennett] was loved by all men in the company, and, believe me, they would follow him anywhere.”

             Photograph of George Bennett and No. 1 Company, 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion.
         The picture taken 3 days before the attack, 19 - 20th April 1915 in Belgium. Major
               Bennett is identified by his crouched stance in the front-centre of the photo.                    
Credit: Personal Collection published in Examiner, May 1915

The 2^nd Battalion attack on Kitcheners’ Wood failed. Almost all of the soldiers No. 1 Company were killed or wounded in the charge.  After two days of fighting, the battalion had 494 soldiers at roll call; 540 of the 1,034 men in the unit had died, been wounded or captured. On April 25^th 1914, the first news of the battle arrived in Peterborough. Initially, the news reported that the Canadians had succeeded; eventually word came to prepare for large numbers of causalities. On April 28^th came the news of Bennett’s death. Letters of condolence poured in from the premier, Prime Minister, and city councillors. In early May a large Anglican memorial service was held in Bennett’s honour. The service included a solemn prayer for all the families in Peterborough that were in mourning or waiting to hear information of their relatives in Ypres. His death represented the war coming to Peterborough. For residents of the city, the Great War was no longer a European side show that they read about in the paper. 

First Gas Attack, 22 April 1915, Second Battle of Ypres

Credit: Canadian War Museum,
Second Battle of Ypres, 22nd  April to May 1915
 by Richard Jack

Public myth is strongly associated with the Second Battle of Ypres in Canada. Generations of school children have heard of the stories of how the plucky Canadians stood firm during the first use of deadly gas in warfare. When I mentioned that today (22 April) is the anniversary of the gas attack to my wife, she recalls hearing of soldiers running around with urine soaked cloth around their face during the battle. My aim of this article is not to “deconstruct” or ruin the myths and legends of the battle, there are plenty of books that already do that, but rather to tell factually what happened to the Canadians during          the first successful chlorine gas attack.                                                                                                                                                                     

Credit: Library and Archives Canada,
Soldier with Gas Mask, 1917

Before beginning, I want to touch base on the history of use of asphyxiating chemical agents in warfare in the modern age.  The Hague Convention of 1899 and 1907 restricted the use of “poison or poisoned weapons.” All major powers in Europe had agreed to the Hague Conventions including Germany. However, as the war progressed the use of non-lethal gas began to appear in the arsenals of armies on the Western Front.  In October 1914, German artillerymen started to fire teargas artillery shells on French soldiers. French armies replied in kind with smoke and teargas grenades. Eventually the German High Command approved the use of chlorine based on the rationale that the gas would only incapacitate the enemy rather than killing or poison them.

Credit: Library and Archives Canada, 92nd  Battalion,
 Gas Mask Drill, 15 August 1916

The 1914 German war plan called for the immediate capture of Belgium; yet the French and British had held the German army on the outskirts of Ypres. Over 90 percent of Belgium had been captured by Germany, but Britain would not let the last large city in Belgium fall, even if it cost thousands of British soldiers’ lives. In mid April 1915, the Canadians arrived in Ypres and took over the neglected French trenches north east of the city. One officer wrote of the condition of trenches: “trench bottom were just one mass of bodies that were covered over with a far too thin layer of earth, arms, legs, sticking out whenever a rainstorm occurred.” Army engineers wrote in a report, “the ground where the men stand in the firing position is paved with rotting bodies and human excreta.” The defence networks were without shell-proof dugouts, and the trenches were very shallow due to the low water table in the vicinity.  It is obvious that Canadian trenches in Belgian farm fields had much to be desired. 

Troop Dispositions, 22 April 1915.
Credit: Shoestring Soldiers

According to Canadian eye-witness reports, at 5pm (17:00 hours) the Germans began to heavily shell and fire upon the French and British trenches located to the left of the Canadians. The colonial French soldiers from Algeria faced the brunt of the initial gas cloud. Witnesses across the Yser Canal describe seeing a yellowish green cloud creep over the Belgian countryside and hear gun fire get closer. Simultaneously, the Germans opened up their long range heavy artillery, hitting targets around Ypres. French soldiers began to flee, running towards the city of Ypres and choking up the roads leading to the Canadian trenches. One Canadian soldier describes the scene as:

Gas Cloud, 22 April 1915. Credit: Shoestring Soldiers

“A steady tide of humanity – the most mixed and miserable lot of people I had ever seen moved by us in the direction of Ypres, leaving us barely room to squeeze through in the direction of the enemy . . . and of course there were the wounded – hundreds of them – and the main body of French colonial troops in retreat, some of whom had been gassed with yellow faces and gasping for breath.”

Painting Second Battle of Ypres.
 Credit: Canadian War Museum

The  Canadian soldiers that witnessed the destruction of Algerian 45^th Division must have felt anxious knowing that they would have to confront the mysterious chlorine cloud. Canadian employed a number of rudimentary tactics to survive the gas attack. Some men simply left their fixed positions, others were told to hold their breath or cover their mouths with cloth. After a few hours of battle, the situation became critical for the Canadians. One battalion, the 13^th faced complete encirclement and destruction because of the German breakthrough on their left flank.  The German assault was so rapid that units in reserve several kilometres behind the front line began to fire upon advancing enemy. The Germans had blasted such a large gap in the French line and had advanced so quickly that Canadian artillery guns were able to fire shrapnel shells at point blank range on German infantry that were within 300 metres of gun positions. By the end of the first day of the Battle of Second Ypres, the Canadians soldiers were on the ropes. Several Canadian companies from the 13^th Battalion and 15^th battalions were isolated, low on ammo, and facing compete destruction. The officers of the 2^nd and 3^rd Canadian Infantry Brigades were planning a counter attack to retake Kitchener Woods.

Photo of the location of 13th Battalion's
 trenches, now occupied by cattle.
Credit: Matt Ferguson, 2009

It would take two days before Canadians at home heard of the German attack. The initial press reports warned Canadians “to expect many casualties.” In the following weeks, cities and towns across Canada would receive the casualty list of 5,592 of the Canadians that died, went missing, captured or were wounded in the defence of Ypres. Canada would never be the same after Ypres. It was the first time that Canada had collectively lost so many sons. Never before was there so much collective grief and mourning.

In my next entry, I will look at Peterborough’s involvement at Second Ypres.

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