[Frontispiece: Harold Baldwin] "Holding the Line" By SERGEANT HAROLD BALDWIN Of the First Division, Canadian Expeditionary Forces _With Illustrations and Diagrams_ CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1918 Copyright A. C. McClurg & Co. 1918 Published, February, 1918 _Copyrighted in Great Britain_ W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO Dedication With deep affection and reverence, I humbly dedicate these reminiscences to the memory of the best pals that ever lived, and who shared with me the joys and sorrows of those never-to-be-forgotten days in France and Flanders when we held the line, and who have paid the supreme price-- _Major Campbell Captain Scanlon Major Hopkins Private Skerry Private Shields Private Hood Private Small Private (Runner) Jocelyn Private Ruth Private Wellbelove Captain Meikle Captain Curry Major Tanaille Captain McGee Lieutenant Mundell_ Prefatory Remark When war's alarm sounded in Canada, like many thousands of young men, the spirit of adventure was strong within me and here was an opportunity, as I thought, to kill two birds with the same stone--gratify my love of adventure and serve the Empire at one and the same time. I have endeavored to give an exact picture of my surroundings, with its accompanying feelings and sensations, from the time I stepped into the ranks until I got my final Blighty, and if my word picture will have the effect of making any man get into khaki, I will be more than repaid, because the cause of the world's liberty demands the active cooperation of every able-bodied man who can get into the game. There may be a protest in the minds of some against the swearing habit of the soldier. I firmly believe that if he were deprived of the power to express himself profanely when occasion seemed to warrant, his efficiency would be materially hampered. And, therefore, I have no apology to make. Even the chaplains have been known to swear quite violently at times. Since beginning the work of putting my data into book form, the United States has accepted the gauntlet of battle thrown down to her by German militarism, and the prospect of American lads and British Tommies fighting shoulder to shoulder in the cause of democracy and the world's freedom has inspired me with a new hope and faith in the outcome, and I am resting content in the unshakable belief that when the might of the Greatest Republic gets into action, the murderous tiger of German autocracy, with its fangs dripping blood from the lives of countless innocent victims, will in short order receive its final death thrust. _Chicago, January, 1918_ H.B. Introductory