HOLDING LENS AND ARRAS

On March 21, 1918, the Germans launched a violent attack against the Fifth and Third British Armies. The battle resulting from this attack, known as the Battle of Amiens, did not involve directly the majority of the Canadian Corps. The latter on that date was disposed as follows: Third Canadian Division (Major General L. J. Lipsett), in the line, Mericourt-Avion sections; Fourth Canadian Division (Major General Sir D. Watson), in the line, Lens-St.-Emile sections; First Canadian Division (Major General Sir A. C. Macdonell), in the line, Hill 70 section; Second Canadian Division (Major General Sir H. E. Burstall), resting, Auchel area.

In the afternoon orders were received to take over the front of the Sixty-second Division (Thirteenth Corps) in the Acheville sector. The Second Canadian Division, then in reserve, was at first chosen to execute this order. But when, somewhat later, the Canadian Corps was instructed to keep one complete division in reserve, this order was canceled, and instead the Third Canadian Division was ordered to execute its frontage by relieving the Sixty-second Division in the Acheville-Arleux sector, making the total Canadian front 17,000 yards.

In the evening of March 22, 1918, the Hill 70 sector, then held by the First Canadian Division, was taken over by the Fourth, extending the latter's frontage, while the former was placed in reserve.

Late that night General Headquarters ordered the withdrawal of the First Canadian Motor Machine-Gun Brigade (Lieutenant Colonel W. K. Walker) from the Vimy sector. This unit, the next morning, moved south to the support of the Fifth Army, and by midnight of March 23, 1918, having traveled over 100 miles during the day, all batteries were in action on a thirty-five-mile front east of Amiens.

Under orders of the Fifth and later of the Fourth Army, it was ordered to fight a rear-guard action to delay the advance of the enemy and to fill dangerous gaps on the army fronts. For nineteen days this unit was continuously in action north and south of the Somme, fighting against overwhelming odds. Using to the utmost its great mobility, it fought over 200 square miles of territory. It is difficult to appraise in its correct extent the influence—material and moral—that the forty machine guns of this unit had in the events which were then taking place. The losses suffered amounted to about 75 per cent of the trench strength of the unit, and to keep it in being throughout that fighting, reenforcements by personnel of the infantry branch of the Canadian Machine-Gun Corps were authorized.

On the 23d, at 10.50 a. m., the Second Canadian Division was ordered to concentrate at once west of Arras in the Mont St.-Eloi area, and having carried this out, passed into General Headquarters reserve.

The First Canadian Division was moved by busses to Couturelle area, embussing at about midnight, March 27, 1918. At dawn, March 28, 1918, the enemy struck heavily astride the river Scarpe, and the First Canadian Division was ordered at 10.30 a. m. to retain the busses by which they had moved south and to move back to the Arras-Bainville area at once, coming there under orders of the Seventeenth Corps.

This move was very difficult, because some busses had already been sent back to the Park, many units were still en route to the Couturelle area, and the mounted units and transport were in column on the road Hauteville-Saulty-Couturelle. The division, however, extricated itself, and on the night of the 28th, under orders of the Seventeenth Corps, placed two battalions in the forward area in support of the Forty-sixth Infantry Brigade, Fifteenth Division. At daybreak on the 29th the Third Canadian Infantry Brigade moved to support the Fifteenth Division, and during the night of the 29th and 30th the First Canadian Brigade relieved the Forty-sixth Infantry Brigade in the Telegraph Hill sector, that brigade front being transferred from the Fifteenth Division to the First Canadian Division on March 30, 1918.

The Second Canadian Division passed under orders of the Sixth Corps on March 28, 1918, and moved forward in support of the Third British Division in the Neuville-Vitasse sector. On the night of March 29-30, 1918, it relieved the Third British Division in the line, and on the night of March 31-April 1, 1918, extended its front southward by relieving the left battalion of the Guards Division.

The front held by the Second Canadian Division extended from south of the Cojeul River, east of Boisleux St.-Marc, to the southern slopes of Telegraph Hill (where it joined with the First Canadian Division), a total length of about 6,000 yards. The Second Canadian Division held this front for an uninterrupted period of ninety-two days, during which time it repulsed a series of local attacks and carried out no less than 27 raids, capturing 3 officers, 101 other ranks, 22 machine guns, 2 trench mortars, and inflicting severe casualties on the enemy. The aggressive attitude adopted by this division at such a critical time and under adverse conditions had a most excellent effect and it certainly reduced to the lowest point the fighting value of two German divisions, namely, the Twenty-sixth Reserve Division and the One Hundred and Eighty-fifth Division. The Second Canadian Division returned under the orders of the Canadian corps on July 1, 1918.

The Third Canadian Division had been attached on March 27, 1918, to the Thirteenth Corps. Thus, under pressure of circumstances, the unity of command of the Canadian divisions had been destroyed. They were now attached to two different armies (First and Third) and under command of three different corps (Sixth, Seventeenth, and Thirteenth).

On March 28, 1918, the Germans launched a very heavy attack in the Arras sector from Gavrelle to Puisieux. The Third, Fifteenth, Fourth, and Fifty-sixth British Divisions successfully repulsed this offensive.

The attack was renewed in the afternoon, north of the Scarpe, on the front of the Fifty-sixth Division, but did not there meet with greater success. A certain amount of ground had, however, been captured by the enemy.

The renewed attack on the Fifty-sixth Division had considerably lowered its power of resistance. German prisoners captured in the morning were insistent that the attack would be renewed again on the 29th, by storm troops which had been held in reserve for the purpose of capturing the Vimy Ridge by attacking it from the south. It was most urgent that the Fifty-sixth Division should be supported without delay.

On March 28, 1918, the Fourth Canadian Division, then holding the Lens-St.-Emile-Hill 70 sector, was relieved by the Forty-sixth British Division, First Corps, and in turn relieved the Fifty-sixth British Division in the Oppy-Gavrelle sector.

On the completion of this relief the Canadian Corps was to relieve the Thirteenth Corps, and General Sir Currie again assumed command of the Third and Fourth Canadian Divisions. In the meantime all the battalions which the Fourth Canadian Divisions could spare were to be sent at once by the quickest way to the support of the Fifty-sixth Division.

The Fourth Canadian Division, therefore, immediately organized a Composite Brigade, under Brigadier General V. W. Odlum, consisting of the three reserve battalions of the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Brigades, and the support battalions of the Eleventh and Twelfth Brigades. This Composite Brigade was moved in haste by light railway and lorry to the vicinity of Mont St.-Eloi, from whence it marched into reserve positions during daylight on the 28th.

On the night of the 28th-29th the units of the Fifty-sixth Division which had been most heavily engaged were relieved by these five Canadian battalions, which came under orders of the Third Canadian Division.

It was not until about 10.00 p. m., on the night of the 28th-29th, that the leading troops of the Forty-sixth Division arrived and began to relieve the Fourth Canadian Division.

In view of the seriousness of the situation, units of the Fourth Canadian Division were moved, as the relief progressed, by lorry and light railway to Neuville St.-Vaast, and marched quickly into the line to relieve the elements of the Fifty-sixth Division.

The situation of the Canadian divisions at noon, March 30, 1918, after some other readjustments had been carried into effect, was as follows:

Third Army. Under Sixth Corps—Second Canadian Division: Neuville-Vitasse sector. Under Seventeenth Corps—First Canadian Division: Telegraph Hill sector.

First Army. Under Canadian Corps—Third Canadian Division: Acheville-Mericourt-Avion sector. Under Canadian Corps—Fourth Canadian Division: Gavrelle-Oppy sector.

On April 7, 1918, the First Canadian Division relieved the Fourth British Division astride the Scarpe and came under orders of Canadian Corps; the army boundaries being altered so as to include the sector taken over by the First Canadian Division in the First Army front. In the meantime, on the night of March 28th-29th, 1918, owing to operations astride the river Scarpe, the front-line system had been abandoned under orders of the Thirteenth Corps and the troops withdrawn to the Blue line in front of the Bailleul-Willer-val-ChaudiÈre-Hirondelle line, as far north as the Mericourt sector.

This Blue line was originally sited and constructed as an intermediate position, and consisted in most parts of a single trench none too plentifully supplied with dugouts. This meant that until a support line was dug and made continuous the troops had to be kept in strength in the front line, subject to heavy casualties from hostile shelling and to probable annihilation in case of an organized attack.

Any advance beyond the Blue line on the Fourth Canadian Division front would have brought the Germans within assaulting distance of the weakest part of the Vimy Ridge, and the severity of the shelling seemed to indicate that a renewal of their attacks was probable.

Every effort was made to give more depth to the new front-line system by pushing forward a line of outposts and by digging a continuous support line, as well as by constructing reserve lines at certain points of greater tactical importance. Switch lines facing south were also sited and dug or improved.

To increase the depth of the defenses, machine-gun detachments were extemporized by borrowing men from the machine-gun battalions, who had then completed their organization on an eight-battery basis. Some fifty extra machine guns were secured from ordnance and other sources, and also a number of extra Lewis guns.

Personnel from the Canadian Light Horse and the Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion were organized in Lewis and Hotchkiss gun detachments and sent forward to man the defenses in Vimy and Willerval localities, under orders of the Third and Fourth Canadian Divisions.

The machine-gun companies of the Fifth Canadian Division had arrived in France on March 25, 1918, and in view of the extreme urgency of the situation the personnel and armament had been moved by lorries, sent specially by Canadian Corps, from Le Havre to Verdrel, where they were in corps reserve.

Their horse transport having now arrived, these machine-gun companies (Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth) were moved to the Vimy Ridge and allotted definite positions of defense on March 30, 1918.

The front held by the Canadian Corps on April 8, 1918, was approximately 16,000 yards in length. It will be remembered that the Second Canadian Division under the Sixth Corps (Third Army) was holding 6,000 yards of front, making a total of 22,000 yards of front held by Canadian troops.

On April 9, 1918, the Germans attacked on the Lys front between La BassÉe and ArmentiÈres. Making rapid progress, they crossed the Lys River on the 10th, and on the following days advanced west of Merville-Bailleul. They were well held at Givenchy by the Fifty-fifth Division and their attack made no progress southward.

The Canadian Corps was not involved in this fighting, but it now found itself in a deep salient, following with anxiety the development of the Battle of the Lys.

The Battle of the Lys added a new burden to the already sorely tried British Army, and it was imperative that troops should at once be made available to stop the German advance.

On the 10th, the Canadian front was extended by taking over from the First Corps the line held by the Forty-sixth Division (Lens-St.-Emile-Hill 70 sector). This relief was commenced on April 11, 1918, and completed on the night of the 12th-13th by the Third Canadian Division; concurrently with it, the inter-divisional boundaries were readjusted and the artillery redistributed to meet as well as possible the new conditions.

The front held by the three divisions then in the Canadian Corps had a length of approximately 29,000 yards, and of necessity the line was held very thinly and without much depth.

To deceive the enemy regarding their dispositions and intentions, the Canadians adopted a very aggressive attitude. The artillery constantly harassed the enemy's forward and rear areas and the infantry penetrated his line at many points with strong fighting patrols and bold raiding parties. Gas was also projected on numerous occasions. This activity on the immediate flank of the Lys salient greatly perturbed the enemy, who gave many indications of nervous uncertainty.

The situation was critical, and extensive steps were taken at once to increase the ability of the Canadian Corps to withstand hostile attacks.

The success of the German offensive emphasized the need of greater depth for defensive dispositions, which depend very largely on the stopping power of the machine gun. Unfortunately the number of machine guns with a division was inadequate to give the required depth of defense on a front exceeding 4,000 yards in length. Each Canadian division was now holding a front approximately 10,000 yards in length, and the extemporized machine-gun detachments formed previously, added to the machine-gun companies of the Fifth Canadian Division, were far from sufficient for the task.

General Sir Currie therefore decided to add a third company of four batteries to each battalion of the Canadian Machine-Gun Corps, thus bringing up to ninety-six the number of machine guns in each Canadian division. This entailed an increase in personnel of approximately 50 per cent of the strength of each machine-gun battalion.

These companies were formed provisionally on April 12, 1918, by withdrawing fifty men from each infantry battalion. Of these men a portion was sent to the Machine-Gun Battalion to be combined with the trained personnel, so that each machine-gun crew would include at least four trained gunners. The remainder of the infantry personnel withdrawn as above stated was sent to a special machine-gun depot formed for the purpose, and there underwent an abridged but intensive course of training. Thus an immediate supply of reenforcements was insured. Twenty-three-ton lorries had been borrowed from General Headquarters to supply a modicum of transport to the new units, and on April 13, 1918, some of the new machine-gun batteries were already in the line at critical points. Sufficient troops were not now available to garrison the local defenses of Vimy Ridge, or to reenforce parts of the front if the enemy was successful in effecting a deep penetration.

Two special brigades were therefore organized:

The Hughes Brigade—Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel H. T. Hughes. Approximate strength, officers, 184; other ranks, 4,050.

McPhail's Brigade—Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel A. McPhail. Approximate strength, officers, 148; other ranks, 4,628.

Two companies of the Eleventh Tank Battalion (twenty-four tanks) were placed at the disposal of the Canadian Corps on April 13, 1918. These tanks had officers, drivers, and armament, but no other personnel. A sufficient number of trained Lewis gunners were found from the First, Third, and Fourth Canadian Divisional wings and the Canadian Field Artillery supplied the required number of gunners.

The tanks were then distributed at the critical points in the corps area, namely: Behind the St. Catherine switch at intervals of about 300 yards, facing south—18 tanks. In the gap between the Souchez River and Bois-en-Hache, facing east—three tanks. On the ridge line behind Angres, facing east—three tanks.

It was intended that these tanks should form points of resistance to check any forward flow of hostile forces and so give time to the Canadian infantry to re-form in case they should be forced back. In any event the tanks were to remain in action for twelve hours after coming in contact with the enemy and thus gain the time so essential in a crisis.

The First Canadian Motor Machine-Gun Brigade, now returned from the Amiens Battle, was held as a mobile reserve at one hour's notice. Bridges, railways, roads, and pumping stations were prepared for demolition, to be blown up as a last resort.

Extended almost to the breaking point, in danger of being annihilated by overwhelming attacks, the corps confidently awaited the assault. All ranks of the corps were unanimous in their ardent resolve to hold to the last every inch of the ground intrusted to their keeping. It was for them a matter of great pride that their front was substantially the only part of the British line which had not budged, and one and all felt that it could not budge so long as they were alive.

Eventually, the First, Third, and Fourth Canadian Divisions were relieved in their sectors by the Fifteenth, Fifty-first, Fifty-second, Twentieth, and Twenty-fourth British Divisions. The relief started on May 1 and was completed on May 7, 1918.

As the relief progressed, the Canadian Corps handed over command of the Avion-Lens-St.-Emile-Hill 70 sectors to the Eighteenth Corps and the balance of the front to the Seventeenth Corps.

The length of front held by the Canadian Corps at the various stages of the German offensive has been given previously, but it is here recalled that from April 10, 1918, until relieved the corps held a line exceeding 29,000 yards in length; the Second Canadian Division, then with the Sixth Corps, was holding 6,000 yards of front, making a total length of 35,000 yards of front held by the four Canadian divisions. The total length of the line held by the British army between the Oise and the sea was approximately 100 miles, therefore the Canadian troops were holding approximately one-fifth of the total front.

Thus, although the Canadian Corps did not, during this period, have to repulse any German attacks on its front, it nevertheless played a part worthy of its strength during that period.

On completion of the relief on May 7, 1918, with the exception of the Second Canadian Division, which was still in the line in the Third Army area, the Canadian Corps was placed in the General Headquarters reserve in the First Army area (Arras sector), and disposed as follows:

Headquarters—Pernes, and later Bryas. First Canadian Division—Le Cauroy area. Third Canadian Division—St. Hilaire area. Fourth Canadian Division—Monchy-BrÉton area.

One infantry brigade and one machine-gun company from each Canadian division were billeted well forward in support of the corps in the line as follows: (a) One infantry brigade, one machine-gun company—Anzin area. Support, Seventeenth Corps.

(b) One infantry brigade, one machine-gun company—ChÂteau de la Haie area. Support, Eighteenth Corps.

(c) One infantry brigade, one machine-gun company—Ham en Artois area. Support, Eleventh Corps.

These brigades were kept under one hour's notice from 5.00 a. m. to 7.00 a. m. daily and under four hours' notice during the remainder of the day. The remainder of the Canadian Corps was under four hours' notice.

Reconnoissances of the front which the corps would have to support in case of an attack were ordered and carried out by staff and regimental officers. The brigades billeted forward were relieved from time to time under divisional arrangements.

On May 23, 1918, the Seventy-fourth British Division, newly arrived in France from Palestine, came under Canadian Corps for administration and training. It was necessary to rearrange the areas among the divisions in the corps to make room for the Seventy-fourth Division and to equalize the training facilities. With the exception of these moves, the disposition of the Canadian Corps remained substantially the same until June 25, 1918.

On that date the Second Canadian Division, which had been in the line since March 30, 1918, was relieved by the Third Canadian Division, which came then under the Sixth Corps, Third Army area, with headquarters at Basseux. Readjustments were also made in the locations of all the Canadian troops then in reserve.

At the left is Major General David Watson, who commanded the Fourth Canadian Division from 1916 on; at the right is Major General Louis James Lipsett, who commanded the Third Canadian Division from 1916 to 1918. He was killed in action.