History of the World War, Volume 4 (of 7) : $b An authentic narrative of the world's greatest warMarch, Francis A., Jr.
History
History of the World War, Volume 4 (of 7) : $b An authentic narrative of the world's greatest war
March, Francis A., Jr.
World War, 1914-1918
The tactics of General Turner offset the numerical superiority of the
enemy, and prevented a disastrous rout. General Currie, commanding
the Second brigade of Canadians, repeated this successful maneuver
when he flung his left flank southward and, presenting two fronts to
the enemy, held his line of trenches from Thursday at 5 o’clock until
Sunday afternoon. The reason the trenches were held no longer than
Sunday afternoon was that they had been obliterated by heavy artillery
fire. The Germans finally succeeded in capturing a line, the forward
point of which was the village of St. Julien. Reinforcements under
General Alderson had come up by this time and the enemy’s advance was
suddenly checked. Enemy attacks upon the line running from Ypres to
Passchendaele completely broke down under the withering fire of the
reinforced and re-formed artillery and infantry brigades. The record
officer of the Canadians makes this comment of the detailed fighting:
The story of the second battle of Ypres is the story of how the
Canadian division, enormously outnumbered--for they had in front of
them at least four divisions, supported by immensely heavy artillery,
with a gap still existing, though reduced, in their lines, and with
dispositions made hurriedly under the stimulus of critical danger,
fought through the day and through the night, and then through another
day and night; fought under their officers until, as happened to so
many, those perished gloriously, and then fought from the impulsion of
sheer valor because they came from fighting stock.
The enemy, of course, was aware--whether fully or not may perhaps be
doubted--of the advantage his breach in the line had given him, and
immediately began to push a formidable series of attacks upon the whole
of the newly-formed Canadian salient. The attack was everywhere fierce,
but developed with particular intensity at this moment upon the apex of
the newly-formed line, running in the direction of St. Julien.
It has already been stated that some British guns were taken in a
wood comparatively early in the evening of the 22d. In the course
of that night, and under the heaviest machine-gun fire, this wood
was assaulted by the Canadian Scottish, Sixteenth battalion of the
Third brigade, and the Tenth battalion of the Second brigade which
was intercepted for this purpose on its way to a reserve trench. The
battalions were respectively commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Leckie and
Lieutenant-Colonel Boyle, and after a most fierce struggle in the light
of a misty moon they took the position at the point of the bayonet. At
midnight the Second battalion, under Colonel Watson, and the Toronto
regiment, Queen’s Own, Third battalion under Lieutenant-Colonel Rennie,
both of the First brigade, brought up much-needed reinforcement, and
though not actually engaged in the assault, were in reserve.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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