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003 - From Arras to Amiens · Canadas Hundred Days The Battle of Amiens

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  Speaker 1: Part one, Chapter three of Canada's Hundred Days with the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Corps from Amia to Moons August eighth through November eleventh,
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  Speaker 1: nineteen eighteen. This is a LibriVox recording. All libervox 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. Recording by Mike Vendetti, Tanian City, Colorado,
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  Speaker 1: Mike Vendetti dot Com. Canada's Hundred Days by John Levesey,
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  Speaker 1: Part one, Chapter three from Erith Timia. The Canadian Corps
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  Speaker 1: was fortunate that it had, in Sir Arthur Curry, a
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  Speaker 1: chief it both loved and trusted, A brilliant citizen soldier.
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  Speaker 1: It was pround to follow anywhere. But its greatest asset
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  Speaker 1: lay in the unconquerable spirit of the rank and file,
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  Speaker 1: bred to free, open skies, adaptable to changing circumstances, seasoned
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  Speaker 1: by many battles, inured to hardship, admitting willingly to stern discipline,
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  Speaker 1: thus transmuting these clerks, artisans, lawyers, farmers, railwaymen, lumberjacks, and alike,
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  Speaker 1: into as fine a body of professional troops this war
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  Speaker 1: has produced, but troops that also happily sought only in victory.
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  Speaker 1: The hour to lay aside the sword and returned to
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  Speaker 1: the plowshare, and now before them was a splendid adventure.
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  Speaker 1: On July first, the second Canadian Division was at last
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  Speaker 1: relieved from the line. The third Canadian Division taken its place.
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  Speaker 1: It had passed under orders of the sixth Corps on
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  Speaker 1: March twenty eighth, relieving the third British Division in the
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  Speaker 1: Nouvelle Vitas sector just south of Eras, and on the
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  Speaker 1: night of March thirty first, extended its front southwards by
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  Speaker 1: relieving the left battalion of the Guard's Division. The front
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  Speaker 1: held extended from the south of the Kohil River, east
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  Speaker 1: of Boiseleuse Saint Mark to the slopes of Telegraph Hill
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  Speaker 1: six thousand yards. The second Canadian Division held this front
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  Speaker 1: for an uninterrupted period of ninety two days, during which
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  Speaker 1: time it repulsed a series of local attacks and carried
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  Speaker 1: out no less than twenty seven raids, capturing three officers,
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  Speaker 1: one hundred one of the ranks, twenty two machine guns
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  Speaker 1: and two trench mortars, and inflicting severe casualties on the enemy.
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  Speaker 1: The aggressive attitude adopted by this division during those critical
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  Speaker 1: days and under such adverse conditions had a most excellent
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  Speaker 1: effect on the troops generally, and it certainly reduced to
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  Speaker 1: the lowest point the fighting value of two German divisions,
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  Speaker 1: namely the twenty sixth Reserve Division and the one eighty
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  Speaker 1: fifth Division. On June thirtieth, when the Second Canadian Division
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  Speaker 1: was about to leave the Third Army, Command, General Bang
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  Speaker 1: sent the following letter to Major General Sir Henry Burstel.
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  Speaker 1: I could not allow the Second Canadian Division to leave
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  Speaker 1: the Third Army with ainst expressing my appreciation of the
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  Speaker 1: splendid work it has done. Knowing the division of old,
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  Speaker 1: I had great anticipation of offensive action and thorough field
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  Speaker 1: defense work. These anticipations were more than realized, and the
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  Speaker 1: Second Canadians have now added another page of lasting record
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  Speaker 1: to their history. I can only hope that they are
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  Speaker 1: as proud of their work as I was of again
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  Speaker 1: having them under my command. It returned under orders of
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian Corps on Dominion Day, but its rest was brief,
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  Speaker 1: for on July sixth, the Canadian Corps was warned to
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  Speaker 1: be prepared to relieve the seventeenth Corps in the line
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  Speaker 1: being released from General Headquarters Reserve on July tenth and
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  Speaker 1: completing the relief by July fifteenth. Disposition at that time
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  Speaker 1: was as follows, Headquarters Canadian Corps, Dussian's first Army Area,
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  Speaker 1: second Canadian Division in the line, Telegraph Hills Section, First
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Division in the line Ruenci Frompach's Section, Fourth Canadian
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  Speaker 1: Division in the line, gavarel opsection under sixth Corps, Third
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  Speaker 1: Army Area, Third Canadian Division in the line nu Vedevitz Section.
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  Speaker 1: The general policy adapted was to foster in the mind
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  Speaker 1: of the enemy the idea of a pending attack in
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  Speaker 1: order to retain or draw his reserves into this area,
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  Speaker 1: and consequently, active patrolling was carried out by day and night,
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  Speaker 1: and raids were constantly engaged in. The artillery executed a
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  Speaker 1: vigorous program of harassing fire and counter battery work from prisoners.
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  Speaker 1: It was learned that the enemy expected an attack and
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  Speaker 1: that troops had been frequently rushed forward to defend the
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  Speaker 1: Drocourt Quiant line. On July twenty, the Court Commander was
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  Speaker 1: informed of the plan for the Eman offensive. Then came
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  Speaker 1: the admirable police of work that led the enemy to
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  Speaker 1: believe the Corps was going to Flanders. To quote Sir
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  Speaker 1: Douglas Haig. Preliminary instructions to prepare to attack east of
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  Speaker 1: Mnia at an early date had been given to the
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  Speaker 1: Fourth Army Commander, General Sir Henry Rawlithon on July thirteenth,
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  Speaker 1: and on July twenty eighth, the French First Army under
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  Speaker 1: General Debney was placed by Marshall Fulk under my orders
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  Speaker 1: for this operation. Further to strengthen my attack, I decided
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  Speaker 1: to reinforce the British Fourth Army with the Canadian Corps
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  Speaker 1: and also with the two British divisions which were then
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  Speaker 1: held in readiness astride the Soumis. In order to deceive
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  Speaker 1: the enemy and ensure the maximum effect of a surprise attack,
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  Speaker 1: Elaborate precautions were taken to mislead him as to our
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  Speaker 1: intentions and to conceal our real purpose. Instructions of a
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  Speaker 1: detailed character were issued to the formations concerned, calculated to
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  Speaker 1: make it appear that a British attack in Flanders was imminent.
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  Speaker 1: Canadiant allions were put into line on the Kemel Front,
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  Speaker 1: where they were identified by the enemy. Pour headquarters were
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  Speaker 1: prepared and casual declaring stations were erected in conspicuous positions
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  Speaker 1: in this area. So much depended on the secrecy of
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  Speaker 1: the movement and in the deception of the enemy, that
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  Speaker 1: the precautions taken were very elaborate. On July twenty first,
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  Speaker 1: says Sir Arthur Curie, I attended a conference at Fourth
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  Speaker 1: Army Headquarters where the operations contemplated were discussed. The Fourth
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  Speaker 1: Army Commander dwelt upon the importance of secrecy. The operation,
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  Speaker 1: as outlined at the conference was of limited scope and
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  Speaker 1: was designed to relieve the pressure on Mia and free
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  Speaker 1: the Amya Paris railway line, thus improving the situation at
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  Speaker 1: the junction of the French and British armies. A large
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  Speaker 1: number of tanks were to be made available for this operation.
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  Speaker 1: The methods for maintaining secrecy and misleading the enemy were discussed.
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  Speaker 1: I pointed out that I had been considering a scheme
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  Speaker 1: for the capture of Orange Hill east of Aris, and
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  Speaker 1: it was regreed it would help materially to deceive everybody
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  Speaker 1: if preparations for this scheme were still continued. The following day,
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  Speaker 1: a conference of divisional commanders and members of the core
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  Speaker 1: staff was held at Canadian COREP Headquarters, where the outline
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  Speaker 1: of the scheme for the capture of Orange Hill was explained,
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  Speaker 1: and the divisional commanders and heads of branches and services
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  Speaker 1: concerned were asked to make all preparations for this attack
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  Speaker 1: as quickly as possible. It was stated that tanks would
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  Speaker 1: be available for the operation and it was therefore essential
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  Speaker 1: that all concerned should familiarize themselves with the combined tactics
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  Speaker 1: of infantry and tanks. I explained that demonstrations had been
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  Speaker 1: arranged with the Australians and that it was my wish
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  Speaker 1: that the greatest possible number of officers should witness them.
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  Speaker 1: In the meantime, the enemy was to be harassed on
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  Speaker 1: the whole Canadian corp front by artillery and machine gun fire,
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  Speaker 1: and numerous raids were to be carried out to secure
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  Speaker 1: positive identifications, thus leading the enemy to anticipate an early
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  Speaker 1: attack in force. Further conferences were held from time to
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  Speaker 1: time at the Fourth Army Headquarters, where plans were made
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  Speaker 1: for the necessary reliefs and moves, and the necessity of
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  Speaker 1: the maintenance of secrecy emphasized. On July twenty sixth, the
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  Speaker 1: Fourth Army Commander stated that the plans originally put forward
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  Speaker 1: and which had been approved by the Commander in Chief,
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  Speaker 1: had been modified by Marshall Folk in that the First
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  Speaker 1: Army would now cooperate with the Fourth British Army and
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  Speaker 1: be responsible for the right flank of the attack. On
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  Speaker 1: July twenty seventh, the general boundaries and the objectives of
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  Speaker 1: the first day were fixed and movements of the Canadian
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  Speaker 1: Corps and tank units were arranged. It was decided, notably
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  Speaker 1: that units were to leave their areas without knowing their
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  Speaker 1: destinations and that it would be given out freely. That
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian Corps was moved to the Yep Front, where
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  Speaker 1: the Second Army expected a German attack, with a view
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  Speaker 1: to deceiving the enemy. Two battalions of the Canadian Corps
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  Speaker 1: were to be put in the line in the Kemel area,
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  Speaker 1: and two Canadian casual declaring stations were to be moved
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  Speaker 1: to the Second Army area. Canadian wireless and power buzzer
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  Speaker 1: stations were to be dispatched to the Camel sector, and
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  Speaker 1: messages were to be sent worded so as to permit
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  Speaker 1: the enemy to decipher the identity of the centers. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian divisions were busy preparing their scheme of attack
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  Speaker 1: on Orange Hill, and numerous tanks were obstantially assembled in
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  Speaker 1: the vicinity of Saint Paul. On July twenty ninth, the
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  Speaker 1: seventeenth Corps was ordered by First Army to relieve the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Corps in the line during the nights of July
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  Speaker 1: thirty first through August second, reliefs to be completed by
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  Speaker 1: daylight on August second. This Army orders stated plainly that
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian Corps would be prepared to move to Second Army, which,
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  Speaker 1: as indicated above, was then holding the northern section of
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  Speaker 1: the British Front. The twenty seventh Canadian Infantry Battalion and
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  Speaker 1: the fourth Canadian Mounted Rifle Battalion, respectively, from the Second
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  Speaker 1: and third Canadian Divisions were moved by a strategical train
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  Speaker 1: to Second Army area, where they were placed in the line.
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  Speaker 1: They did not rejoin their divisions until August sixth. On
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  Speaker 1: this day, July twenty ninth, the Canadian divisional commanders were
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  Speaker 1: personally informed of the operations which were to take place
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  Speaker 1: on the Fourth Army Front, and they were instructed not
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  Speaker 1: to discuss the operations with any of their subordinate commanders.
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  Speaker 1: On July thirtieth, Canadian Corps headquarters moved from Mulisve Dame
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  Speaker 1: and to transfer the Canadian Corps from First Army Area
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  Speaker 1: to Fourth Army Area began. When this move was well
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  Speaker 1: under way, and in order to continue to deceive our
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  Speaker 1: troops as to their eventual employment, a letter issued by
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  Speaker 1: First Army was repeated to all Canadian divisions and communicated
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  Speaker 1: by them to their formations and units, stating that the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Corps was being transferred to the Fourth Army Area,
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  Speaker 1: where it would be held in General Headquarter Reserve and
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  Speaker 1: be prepared in case of attack to one move south
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  Speaker 1: at short notice to assist the French on their Raims
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  Speaker 1: Salon's front two support either the First French Army or
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  Speaker 1: the Fourth British Army. It has seemed worthwhile to describe
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  Speaker 1: these measures at length, for in the result they furnished
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  Speaker 1: the greatest surprise attack of the war. There were some
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  Speaker 1: curious developments. Certain foreign officers attached for laison purposes to
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian Corps hurried north to secure good billets at
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  Speaker 1: the new Corps headquarters. An indignant message came to British
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  Speaker 1: General Headquarters from the Belgian General Headquarters staff to the
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  Speaker 1: effect that the Canadian Corps was being moved to Belgian
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  Speaker 1: territory without notice of any kind, whereas common courtesy should
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  Speaker 1: have suggested that the Belgian Army be notified in order
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  Speaker 1: that it might be in position to make arrangements for
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  Speaker 1: the comfort and well being of the Canadian troops. Necessarily,
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  Speaker 1: the destination was a profound secret, and officers of even
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  Speaker 1: high rank within the Corps who knew it might be
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  Speaker 1: counted on the fingers. One by one, the divisions moved roundabout,
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  Speaker 1: routes being followed, and until it developed the general direction
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  Speaker 1: was south. The men for the most part thought they
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  Speaker 1: were going back to the Saliant. Thus, at the end
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  Speaker 1: of July, the third Canadian Division came out of the
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  Speaker 1: line and moved west to the vicinity of de Lenz,
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  Speaker 1: where it trained under sealed orders, battalion commanders not even
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  Speaker 1: knowing whether they were going north, south, east or west.
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  Speaker 1: As an example of how it was done, the eighth
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  Speaker 1: Brigade Canadian Mounted Rifles detrained at Prosoul and marched that
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  Speaker 1: night to Herbilt Court, where they lay hid next day,
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  Speaker 1: marching the following night to du Bois de Vevos, west
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  Speaker 1: of Vauvau, arriving on August second, the rest of the
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  Speaker 1: division being behind them. On that night they moved up
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  Speaker 1: to the General's trench system behind the Australian support line,
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  Speaker 1: where there was accommodation for a large body of troops.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely no movement was permitted during the day, and not
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  Speaker 1: a single man being allowed out of the trenches and
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  Speaker 1: dugouts except for reconnaissance. The seventh and ninth brigades joined
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  Speaker 1: the eighth on August sixth. All roads were packed, the
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  Speaker 1: brigades taking five hours to get from Beauvais to General's
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  Speaker 1: Wood an hour and a half's march. Even the confidential
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  Speaker 1: men employed with the corps General staff were equally mystified.
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  Speaker 1: Corps headquarters was at Dusson's when early in the morning
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  Speaker 1: of July thirtieth, they were ordered to prepare for an
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  Speaker 1: immediate move. There was much speculation. Some declared it was
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  Speaker 1: to Kemel, others Desaussons, while one ingenious theory was that
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  Speaker 1: the Canadian Corps was to be shipped to Zebragie, there
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  Speaker 1: to fall on the enemy rear in Flanders. The long
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  Speaker 1: crane of sixty or seventy lorries moved off with no
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  Speaker 1: other guide than a transport officer on a motorcycle who
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  Speaker 1: declined to talk. That evening, Corps headquarters was established and
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  Speaker 1: Molines Vedim, better known to the Canadian soldier as molly
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  Speaker 1: Be Damned, a dozen miles due west of Amen. There
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  Speaker 1: followed a week of strenuous preparation. Red tabs are not
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  Speaker 1: popular in the army, but no one who watched the
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  Speaker 1: staff officers of the Canadian Corps then and through the
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  Speaker 1: overcharged weeks to follow could have anything but admiration and wonder.
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  Speaker 1: There is no Sunday in the Army, and there are
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  Speaker 1: no specified hours, except that a man works until he
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  Speaker 1: can see no more, catches a few hours sleep, and
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  Speaker 1: goes at it again. Fourteen hours a day, week in
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  Speaker 1: and week out was quite normal in active operations. Officers
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  Speaker 1: of the General Staff and A and Q branches would
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  Speaker 1: work right through the twenty four hours. All had not
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  Speaker 1: the wonderful physique of the Corps commander, whom one left
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  Speaker 1: studying battle reports at two in the morning and heard
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  Speaker 1: at breakfast that he had been in the field at
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  Speaker 1: six o'clock. It was a breathless bustle at molly Be Damned,
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  Speaker 1: not least so for the staff of the Canadian Artillery,
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  Speaker 1: which had to work out in detail the ranges and
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  Speaker 1: barrage of the great opening show. Then the intelligence branch
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  Speaker 1: had the collection and coalition of last minute information, whether
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  Speaker 1: from our aircraft or by prisoners. Three clerks of the
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  Speaker 1: General staff worked in a tent, all by themselves, all
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  Speaker 1: were under canvas, and it rained a good deal. Engaged
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  Speaker 1: day and night in copying out operation orders, which in
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  Speaker 1: great detail must all be prepared and in the hands
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  Speaker 1: of the various commanders. These three clerks, for a whole
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  Speaker 1: week led the life of Trappist monks, refusing conference with
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  Speaker 1: their fellows. Finally, about noon of a Thursday, come sergeant,
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  Speaker 1: tell us when the show is to open, that it's
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  Speaker 1: a good fellow. One Wheedler petitioned. The show opened at
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  Speaker 1: twenty minutes past four this morning, and by now we
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  Speaker 1: are six thousand yards inside the Bosch lines. On August seventh,
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  Speaker 1: the first echelon of court headquarters moved to Derry, a
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  Speaker 1: village on the Paris Road three miles south Amier. A
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  Speaker 1: faint buzzing went round among the messes that there would
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  Speaker 1: be an attack within the next day or two. Friday
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  Speaker 1: was generally selected. That afternoon the corp commander Sir Arthur
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  Speaker 1: Curry had a talk with the two Canadian correspondents. Before
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  Speaker 1: him was a large scale map and the barrage map.
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  Speaker 1: It was all very clear and lucid. We take up
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  Speaker 1: our line here. Our first objective is there. Zero hour
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  Speaker 1: was named, and this of course a dead secret from
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  Speaker 1: all but the privileged few. Our final objective for the
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  Speaker 1: day over there, constituting a world record for a first
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  Speaker 1: day's advance. One was struck with the speaker's simplicity, in
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  Speaker 1: his quiet confidence and certainty. He of course knew the
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  Speaker 1: Canadian Corps and what it could do. It was a
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  Speaker 1: finely tempered weapon. It had been proved before in the
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  Speaker 1: tightest corners in the solme Vini, and more recently at Pashgendell,
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  Speaker 1: where it had gone in and conquered, gone in against
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  Speaker 1: the better judgment and advice of the Corps commander himself,
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  Speaker 1: but gone in where others had failed to win. And
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  Speaker 1: now added to this war experience were the long, patient,
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  Speaker 1: intensive months of preparation, the knowledge that the artillery support
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  Speaker 1: was to be the greatest known, and that all units
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  Speaker 1: went into the field actually over strength, with ample reinforcements
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  Speaker 1: on the spot to make good casualties. He knew his
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  Speaker 1: Menno abundantly. He knew them and trusted them. He knew
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  Speaker 1: to their leaders from the divisional commanders down to the platoons,
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  Speaker 1: and had the assurance there would be no watching. And yet,
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  Speaker 1: when all this was admitted, there was something astonishing in
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  Speaker 1: the calm certainty. For our intelligence people had it straight
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  Speaker 1: to The enemy was masked on the very sector for
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  Speaker 1: a new offensive. Had not but the day before attacked
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  Speaker 1: in force the Third Corps immediately north of Summe. In
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  Speaker 1: all the history of the West Front, nothing so ambitious
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  Speaker 1: had been proposed, let alone accomplished. The biggest things in
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  Speaker 1: which the Canadian Corps had been engaged were but small affairs.
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  Speaker 1: Besides this, and then there was the memory of other
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  Speaker 1: shows that had promised great things but had turned out
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  Speaker 1: but half successes or flat failures. Had we but had
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  Speaker 1: the courage to admit as much. But confidence of that
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  Speaker 1: kind is infectious. After the talk was over, we agreed
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  Speaker 1: on our luck in being in for the biggest thing yet.
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  Speaker 1: End of Part one, Chapter three. Recording by Mike Vendetti,
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  Speaker 1: Canyon City, Colorado, Mikevendetti dot Com.