The British Campaign in France and Flanders—July to November, 1918 — John Shaqi
The British Campaign in France and Flanders—July to November, 1918Doyle, Arthur Conan
History
The British Campaign in France and Flanders—July to November, 1918
Doyle, Arthur Conan
World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- Western Front
The width of the Canadian attack was some 5000 yards from the
Amiens-Roye Road to the Villers-Bretonneux Railway. Once across the
river the whole line came away with a grand rush and every objective
was soon attained, each division sweeping forward without a check.
The prisoners reported that an attack had indeed been expected, but
not so soon, and we can readily believe that the German Army, which
had been so repeatedly assured that the British were finally dead and
out of the war, must have been greatly amazed by this vigorous
resurrection. By 10.40, Caix, which is a good five miles to the
eastward, was reported by contact aeroplanes to be surrounded by
tanks. The Cavalry and the Independent Force were both pushing to
the front, and the latter deviated to the right in order to help the
French, who were temporarily in difficulties near Mezières. In the
afternoon the Cavalry Division had passed through the victorious and
cheering lines of the Second Canadians, and were carrying out a
number of spirited enterprises upon the {29} German supporting lines.
About the same time the Fourth Canadian Infantry Division pushed
forward and was reported to the east of Beaufort and Cayeux. By
evening all along the line the full objectives had been reached save
at one point near Le Quesnel. In their splendid day's work men of
the Dominion had taken some 5000 prisoners and great quantities of
booty. Many of the prisoners and guns were taken by the cavalry, who
had their best day in the war. "The best hunt we ever had, forty
minutes and a kill in the open," was the characteristic description
of one hard-riding dragoon.
We shall now turn to the advance of Monash's Australians in the
centre of the British line. Fate owed Monash a great victory in this
sector, for, during months of quiet but ceaseless work, he had been
improving his position as the keen runner ensures his foothold and
crouches his body while he awaits the crack of the pistol. For once
Fate paid its debts, and with such a corps under his hand it would
have been strange had it not been so. All those advantages already
described in the case of the Canadians applied equally to the
Australians, and if the former outlasted the others, it must be
remembered that the Australians had been in the line for four months
before the fighting began--months which included the severe action of
Villers-Bretonneux. They were a grand corps, and they did grand work
for the Empire--work which we can never forget so long as our common
history endures.
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