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009 - Operations The Canadian Cavalry Brigade · Canadas Hundred Days The Battle of Amiens

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  Speaker 1: Part one, Chapter nine of Canada's Hundred Days with the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Corps from Amiens to mont August eighth to November eleventh,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings
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  Speaker 1: are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer,
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  Speaker 1: please visit LibriVox dot org. Canada's Hundred Days by John Livesey,
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  Speaker 1: Part one, Chapter nine, Operations, Canadian Cavalry Brigade. Reference has
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  Speaker 1: been made to the wonderful spectacle afforded by the British
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  Speaker 1: Cavalry Corps when, on the morning of August eighth it
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  Speaker 1: rode up to the Plateau of Santerre. This arm had
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  Speaker 1: done good service in the First Battle of Cambre, and
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  Speaker 1: had proved of vital value in the great retreat of
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  Speaker 1: the previous march, and now it looked as if they
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  Speaker 1: were to have the opportunity of breaking through the enemy line.
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  Speaker 1: That was not to be, but they, nevertheless, by their
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  Speaker 1: dashing tactics, contributed very materially to the demoralization of the enemy,
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  Speaker 1: particularly on August eighth and ninth. In making his brilliant acknowledgments,
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  Speaker 1: Field Marshal Haig himself a brilliant cavalry leader writes as follows,
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  Speaker 1: the fine performance of the cavalry throughout all stages of
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  Speaker 1: the operation deserves mention. Having completed their assembly behind the
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  Speaker 1: battle front by a series of night marches, on the
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  Speaker 1: first day of the attack, they advanced twenty three miles
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  Speaker 1: from their points of concentration, and by the dash and
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  Speaker 1: vigor of their action both on this and subsequent days,
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  Speaker 1: rendered most valuable and gallant service. And again the cavalry
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  Speaker 1: were again able to demonstrate the great advantage their rapid
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  Speaker 1: power of concentration gives them in a surprise attack. Operating
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  Speaker 1: in close contact with both armored cars and infantry, they
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  Speaker 1: pushed ahead of the latter, and by anticipating the arrival
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  Speaker 1: of the German reserves, assisted materially in our success. The
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  Speaker 1: third Cavalry Division was placed in this operation at the
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  Speaker 1: disposition of the Canadian Corps commander, but as the battle developed,
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  Speaker 1: with the opportunity for exploitation offering more and more in
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian sector, Corps boundaries were not strictly observed. Thus,
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  Speaker 1: on August ninth, the first Cavalry Division, led by the
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  Speaker 1: eighth Hussars, came into the Corps area on our left
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  Speaker 1: flank and took and took Mahari Court at the gallop,
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  Speaker 1: while a little to the east of Rosier, Imperial Cavalry
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  Speaker 1: captured a whole train of enemy reinforcements, some five or
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  Speaker 1: six hundred Saxons that had been rushed up the line.
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  Speaker 1: The third Cavalry Division was led into battle by the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Cavalry Brigade Brigadier General R. W. Patterson, consisting of
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  Speaker 1: the Royal Canadian Dragoons Lieutenant Colonel Van Strabency, afterwards killed
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  Speaker 1: in action during the advance on Lecteau, Lord Strathcona's Horse
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  Speaker 1: Royal Canadians Lieutenant Colonel MacDonald and the Fort Garry Horse
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  Speaker 1: Lieutenant Colonel Stevenson. Both the Royal Canadian Dragoons and the
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  Speaker 1: Strathconas formed part of the Canadian Permanent Force, the former
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  Speaker 1: with depot in Toronto and a distinguished fighting record going
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  Speaker 1: back to the Northwest Rebellion of eighteen eighty five and
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  Speaker 1: including South Africa, while the latter is the famous force
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  Speaker 1: recruited and maintained by Lord Strathcona during the South African War,
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  Speaker 1: its depot originally being at Winnipeg, but more recently removed
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  Speaker 1: to Calgary. While in the militia list, the thirty fourth
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  Speaker 1: Fort Garry Horse of Winnipeg is only a junior organization,
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  Speaker 1: its war record entitles it to rank as a veteran force.
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  Speaker 1: One of its notable exploits was in the First Battle
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  Speaker 1: of Cambre November nineteen seventeen, when one of its squadrons
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  Speaker 1: was the only cavalry union to get across the Sheelt Canal,
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  Speaker 1: its wonderful fight there being a matter of public record.
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  Speaker 1: A number of other mounted units sailed from Canada, including
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  Speaker 1: the various battalions of the Canadian Mounted Rifles, later formed
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  Speaker 1: into the eighth Canadian Infantry Brigade and never remounted, but
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  Speaker 1: the three regiments named, while all demounted and taking their
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  Speaker 1: part as infantry in the early defensive days of trench warfare,
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  Speaker 1: were reorganized as the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. When the prospect
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  Speaker 1: of our offensives on the West Front opened the way
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  Speaker 1: for cavalry cooperation. The brigade formed a complete unit with
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  Speaker 1: its own Canadian Royal Horse, artillery, machine gun squadron and
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  Speaker 1: field ambulance, and the intensive training in shop tactics it
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  Speaker 1: had received made it admirably fitted for the work ahead
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  Speaker 1: of it. The third Cavalry Division, also including the fifth
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  Speaker 1: and sixth Brigades, was billeted in the area of Hangest
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  Speaker 1: sur Somme, when on the night of August six seven
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  Speaker 1: it moved up to Amien, reaching there at three in
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  Speaker 1: the morning and lying all next day in the city park.
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  Speaker 1: At eight o'clock on the evening of August seventh, the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Cavalry Brigade took the road through long Ago up
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  Speaker 1: to the woods west of Villers Bretagneaux, where it remained
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  Speaker 1: until after the battle opened. At a quarter to six
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  Speaker 1: on the morning of August eight. The advance began, passing
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  Speaker 1: south of Marsilkov, across the loose river at Inyakoor, and
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  Speaker 1: taking up a battle line west of Beaucourt and the Cayote.
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  Speaker 1: The Royal Canadian dragoons ma on the right at the
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  Speaker 1: former point, with the Strathconas on the left and the
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  Speaker 1: fort Garrys in reserve. Each regiment engaged, having two squadrons
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  Speaker 1: in line and its third in support. The enemy occupied
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  Speaker 1: Beaucourt in force, holding up the advance of our infantry
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  Speaker 1: along the roy road. At noon, the Royal Canadian dragoons
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  Speaker 1: were lying in shelter behind the ridge about a thousand
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  Speaker 1: yards northwest of the village when the order came to attack.
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  Speaker 1: Picketing their horses, A and C squadrons advanced on foot
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  Speaker 1: and fought their way into the outskirts of the village,
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  Speaker 1: but enemy machine gunners, strongly fortified in the church tower
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  Speaker 1: could not be dislodged. Word was passed back to a
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  Speaker 1: battery of the R C h A, who galloped up
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  Speaker 1: into action, unlimbering their guns under a storm of machine
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  Speaker 1: gun fire, but quickly reducing the stronghold by shell fire
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  Speaker 1: at point blank range. Many prisoners and much booty were captured,
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  Speaker 1: with the village, which was held by the Royal Canadian
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  Speaker 1: Dragoons until relieved at three o'clock by our infantry. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: the Strathcons had not been idle, riding down from Cayo
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  Speaker 1: and refusing Beaucourt on their right, they attacked the considerable
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  Speaker 1: village of Le Caznell, but the charge was stopped by
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  Speaker 1: the enemy's machine guns. In a sunken road. The two
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  Speaker 1: squadrons swung left and right, and here the major leading
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  Speaker 1: the charge got in advance of his men and with
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  Speaker 1: one corporal defended himself in the scrub for eleven hours,
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  Speaker 1: finally rejoining his command. Under cover of night. The squadron
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  Speaker 1: that had swung off to the right crossed the roy
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  Speaker 1: Road and galloped into Fresnois on Chosis, surprising the garrison
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  Speaker 1: in rear and rounding up a hundred and fifty prisoners.
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  Speaker 1: The enemy came back in force and the troop withdrew,
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  Speaker 1: rejoining the regiment with all its prisoners. In this village
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  Speaker 1: was presented the curious spectacle of a trooper leading a
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  Speaker 1: pack of ammunition mules, galloping with his reins over his arm,
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  Speaker 1: and emptying his carbine into the enemy. All next day,
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  Speaker 1: August ninth, the brigade lay in support in the woods
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  Speaker 1: south of Cayo. On August tenth, it was supposed the
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  Speaker 1: enemy was falling back on Roy and at noon the
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  Speaker 1: brigade advanced to the high ground, looking down over the
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  Speaker 1: battlefield on the east, the Fort Garrys and Royal Canadian
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  Speaker 1: dragoons being in line, and the Strathconnas in support. They
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  Speaker 1: advanced through Luquesnelle Warvillier, Beaufort, Follie, Beauchre, and Le Quesnoi,
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  Speaker 1: taking up a position across the Roy Road west of
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  Speaker 1: La Cambouse, a hamlet fifteen hundred yards southwest of Domerie.
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  Speaker 1: In front was the formidable hundred meters hill and wood,
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  Speaker 1: knowed as z Wood, an immensely strong position, as has
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  Speaker 1: been described above. Erroneously, as it turned out, General Patterson
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  Speaker 1: was informed that our infantry had taken Domerie and the
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  Speaker 1: French were in possession of Andaschi, and on the supposition
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  Speaker 1: that the enemy was falling back on the Somme through Roy,
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  Speaker 1: when the capture of the position must be of immense
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  Speaker 1: importance as enabling us to push on in his rear
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  Speaker 1: and thus secure a considerable tactical success, he was in
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  Speaker 1: his own mind and quite justified in ordering that z
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  Speaker 1: would be taken at all costs. A squadron of the
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  Speaker 1: Fort Garry's was detailed for the job, and its commander
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  Speaker 1: went forward to reconnoiter the terrific fire he thus drew
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  Speaker 1: only confirmed the hazard of the enterprise, but the attempt
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  Speaker 1: must be made. The squadrons wept down the road with
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  Speaker 1: the intention of galloping the wood, but it was to
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  Speaker 1: certain destruction. The enemy held strong trench lines, crowded with
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  Speaker 1: infantry and studded with machine guns along each side of
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  Speaker 1: the highway, while from the encircling heights they poured in
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  Speaker 1: a withering shell fire. Owing to the trenches and wire,
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  Speaker 1: it was impossible to get off the road. The men
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  Speaker 1: rode on. One trooper got within a hundred yards of
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  Speaker 1: the wood before he too fell. Some empty saddles returned,
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  Speaker 1: and at night half a dozen wounded men crawled back
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  Speaker 1: into our lines. Nothing like it has been seen in
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  Speaker 1: this war, said a veteran Canadian infantryman who was a spectator.
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  Speaker 1: Neither Regina Trench nor Passiondale was a patch on it.
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  Speaker 1: Those boys rode as if they were demented. Death stared
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  Speaker 1: them in the face before they had gone a hundred yards,
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  Speaker 1: but they just kept going. Better fortune came to the
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  Speaker 1: other squadron of the Fort Garrys, Major Strachen v C.
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  Speaker 1: Advancing along the Fatal Road, the squadron, while still west
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  Speaker 1: of La Caznoi, came under very heavy machine gun fire
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  Speaker 1: from the direction of Domerie. It swung off the roads south,
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  Speaker 1: crossing into the French infantry lines, and then galloping over
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  Speaker 1: trench and wire, captured the village of Andashi and with
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  Speaker 1: it a very large enemy supply depot and a considerable
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  Speaker 1: number of prisoners. The squadron held the village in the
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  Speaker 1: face of repeated counter attacks until ordered to withdraw, bringing
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  Speaker 1: off all its prisoners. Mention may be made here of
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  Speaker 1: the brilliant exploit of a sergeant and five men of
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian light Horse recruited in the West, but which
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  Speaker 1: did not form part of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, being
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  Speaker 1: included in the Canadian Corps troops, and as such accompanied
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  Speaker 1: the Corps throughout these operations. On August ninth, while cooperating
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  Speaker 1: along the Roy Road with lancers in Scott's Grays, this
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  Speaker 1: little party dashed out, shot up, and stampeded an entire
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  Speaker 1: enemy convoy. Two of the men were killed, but the
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  Speaker 1: sergeant and the other three rejoined their troop. On the
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  Speaker 1: night of August eleventh, the Canadian Cavalry Brigade went back
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  Speaker 1: to Amien and two days later returned to its depot
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  Speaker 1: at han Guest Sousson. This was to be the last
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  Speaker 1: occasion it was to fight on the same field with
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian Corps. Thereafter it vanished into the Blue, though
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  Speaker 1: from time to time reports came through of gallant deeds,
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  Speaker 1: notably its capture of lacteau. The purpose of the cavalry
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  Speaker 1: was to push back on through the anticipated break in
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  Speaker 1: the enemy lines and cut loose on his back areas
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  Speaker 1: destroying dumps and communications. The opportunity never came. What was accomplished, gallant,
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  Speaker 1: though it was, had little more than a localized effect,
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  Speaker 1: And after three days, when it was clear the line
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  Speaker 1: could not be broken, the cavalry was withdrawn. It had
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  Speaker 1: suffered heavily, but it had given proof of the greatest
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  Speaker 1: dash and initiative, tackling jobs that perhaps could have been
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  Speaker 1: accomplished at less cost by the slower moving infantry. It
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  Speaker 1: has been said that the day of the cavalry is over,
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  Speaker 1: that in the execution of its chief functions, it has
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  Speaker 1: either been superseded or neutralized. That whereas the work of
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  Speaker 1: reconnaissance is now carried out by air craft, assisted by
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  Speaker 1: the telephone and wireless telegraphy, the opportunity of using cavalry
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  Speaker 1: in shock tactics becomes less and less as modern weapons
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  Speaker 1: are perfected, together with the now universal system of defense
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  Speaker 1: by trench and wire systems supported by concentrated machine gun fire.
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  Speaker 1: And finally, it is pointed out that if the battle
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  Speaker 1: fronts of the future are to be continuous, as in
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  Speaker 1: this war, the scope of the cavalry must be confined
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  Speaker 1: to two periods, the preliminary before the opposing lines are
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  Speaker 1: joined in battle, and the final, when one side is
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  Speaker 1: giving way and the cavalry can be used with advantage
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  Speaker 1: to harry his retreat and raid his communications. In this war,
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  Speaker 1: the value of the cavalry in the early stage in
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  Speaker 1: the retreat from Mons was fully demonstrated, but the armistice
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  Speaker 1: cut short its fast developing opportunities, which it was hoped
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  Speaker 1: would turn the retreat into a route. Nothing developed in
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  Speaker 1: the Battle of Amien to seriously impair the force of
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  Speaker 1: these criticisms. A few of the brilliant cavalry exploits have
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  Speaker 1: been noted above, But even the most hearty champion of
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  Speaker 1: the cavalry will not contend that the battle was won
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  Speaker 1: by the cavalry, or that it would have been lost
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  Speaker 1: without them, or that the general result of the first
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  Speaker 1: two days of fighting would even have been seriously compromised
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  Speaker 1: had they been absent. Altogether, apply the same test to
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  Speaker 1: the claims of the infantry and the artillery, and the
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  Speaker 1: answer is obvious, and in a lesser degree, the tanks
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  Speaker 1: also proved indispensable above all the tank's economized infantry losses.
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  Speaker 1: In the last analysis, it was the man with the
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  Speaker 1: machine gun, the man with the rifle, and the man
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  Speaker 1: with the bomb and bayonet that one hour battles, always
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  Speaker 1: predicting powerful artillery support. End of Part one, Chapter nine,