The final titanic struggles of 1918 had been ushered in when the fate of the world hung in a balance and men spoke hoarsely and with bated breath of the possible outcome. The Germans had smashed through the Fifth British Army in front of Cambrai and then hurled themselves against the Canadians on the Arras Front, only to be checked and beaten off. Then they sought a more vulnerable sector and attacked the Portuguese on the Bailleul Front. The Portuguese troops gave way and the enemy rapidly advanced towards Aire and got within less than three miles of this strategic point and were able to put shells into St. Omer, Arques and all sections of that hospital area, so that shelling became more or less constant and bombing raids were a nightly occurrence. There were a number of casualties among patients and Staff at some of the hospitals. Word was hourly expected that Aire had been taken and that the Germans were marching on Hazebrouck and St. Omer. It was therefore considered that this area was no longer tenable for hospital purposes and orders were issued for all hospitals to evacuate at once. Dalhousie Unit entrained on April 18th for Etaples. The Unit had received orders to promptly open up a large tent hospital at Etaples; but these orders were subsequently cancelled, greatly to the disappointment of the Staff, and the entire personnel was posted to various other hospitals in that area. The Germans seemed to have acquired a special fancy for bombing and shooting up hospital areas, and on May 18th subjected Etaples to a very severe aerial bombardment by sixty planes. Casualties among officers, nursing sisters and men amounted to over a thousand. Dalhousie Unit lost two men killed—Pte. F. W. Laidlaw and Pte. Takanayagi (Jap.)—and two others wounded, including the Commanding Officer, Lieut.-Col. E. V. Hogan, and Pte. W. G. O’Tulle. Etaples had been a large hospital centre, but was now abandoned as such and the various hospitals were withdrawn to other places. The Dalhousie Unit was moved to Rouen, which was the largest base hospital centre in France. Here the officers and personnel were distributed and attached to various British Hospitals and had a further enriched experience, as there were very many casualties constantly coming in direct from the field of battle, owing to the demoralization of the hospital service in the front areas during the period of the German drive. Most of the nursing sisters had been allowed to go on leave, and some were sent to England. A special Canadian Hospital was to be established at Camiers, between Etaples and Boulogne, and Dalhousie Unit was ordered, in September, 1918, to reassemble and proceed to Camiers and take over a hospital of 1,000 beds at a site formerly occupied by No. 42 British Stationary Hospital. In the five months that followed this hospital was crowded and the patients were all Canadians.