World War, 1914-1918 -- Canada; World War, 1914-1918 -- Nova Scotia
The 4th C.M.R. Battalion also lost heavily in the battle, and “D”
Company of that unit thereafter practically lost its identify as a
Maritime Province Company, owing to the casualties suffered.
The command of the Brigade was taken over by Brig.-General J. H.
Elmsley, D.S.O. (afterward Major-General), replacing General Williams,
taken prisoner in the battle, while the command of the Division devolved
upon Major-General Lipsett, D.S.O. (later killed in action), the
Divisional Commander, General Mercer having been killed during the
action.
The Brigade, and incidentally the Company, under the new command had
another very strenuous period of training, and after an initiation trip
for the new men the whole Company moved up again to take their place in
the line. While in training they had the benefit of the advice of a
C.S.M. from the Welsh Guards, which was a great help, especially to the
N.C.O.’s. This training showed later on the Somme.
THE BLUFF—MOUNT SORELL LINE.
On the first trip in after the June fight, the Unit took over the line
on Mount Sorell. The first night in, the Hun started his regular trench
mortar strafe. One of the first of these landed on the signallers’
dugout, next company headquarters, and buried the men on duty there.
Captain Pineo and Lieutenant Barnes, together with some of the men,
started in to dig them out. At that time they could still hear the men
groaning. Almost immediately afterward the Hun threw over another trench
mortar. The men saw it coming by the trail of sparks, and all scattered
up and down the trench. Captain Pineo was struck and instantly killed.
The work of rescuing the men who had been buried need not have been
performed by him. It was his anxiety for his men that cost him his life.
Lieutenant Barnes at once took over the command of the Company. Word was
here received that the Hun had dug some mines under the trench occupied
by the Company, and to be on the lookout. During the night a party who
were digging out in front uncovered a mine sap and on pulling up some
planks from the roof saw a man with a lighted candle passing under the
lines. Explosives were immediately obtained and the sap blown. This
evidently put the “wind up” the Hun for he blew the remaining mines,
some of which were hardly clear of his wire.
AT THE SOMME.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account