The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-05-14
CANADIANS DIED GAMELY.
Glorious Feat of Arms at Ypres is
Vividly Described.

Ottawa, Ontario, May 1.-The
story of what is described as a
great and glorious feat of arms, )"
the desperate stand of the Canadian
division to check the recent German
advance near Ypres, is told in a ca
BILE communication from Sir Max
Aitken, the Canadian record officer,
to the militia department here. 1t
describes how the Canadians, the
majority of them raw recruits, al
though greatly outnumbered and
disabled by the unexpected attack
with gas bombs, succeeded with
heavy losses in recovering four Brit
| ish guns and much ground.
ION April 22," says the account,
"the Canadian division held a line
of 5000 yards from the Ypres-Roul-
ers Railway to the Ypres-Poelcape
Road, and connecting with the
French. The division consisted of
three infantry brigades, in addition
" InS al LlllSl VI lSdhCG'
After telling how the French were
forced backward by the release of
the gas, Sir Max reports this placed
| the Canadian left in an extremely
grave position. 1t became impera-
| tive greatly to extend the Canadian
| lines to the left rear
'In the course of the confusion
which followed" the account con-
tinues, "the enemy, which had ad-
vanced rapidly took four British
At guns west of the Village of st.
Julien, two miles in the rear of the
original French trenches. The enc
my's attack developed with particu
lar intensity on the apex of the new
ly formed line running in the direc-
ton of st. Julien.
"On the night of the 22d, and un-
der the heaviest machine gun fire,
the wood where the four guns had
been captured by the enemy was as
saulted by the Canadian-Scottish
160th battalion of the Third Brigade
and the Tenth Battalion of the Sec
ond Brigade. These battalions, af
ter a very fierce struggle, took the
position at the point of the bayonet.
At midnight the Second battalion
and the Toronto regiment, Queens
Own (Third .Battalion) both of the
First Brigade, brought UP much
needed re-enforcements.
BRAvED WITHERING FIRE.
"All through the following day
and night these battalions shared
the fortunes and misfortunes of the
Third Brigade An officer describes
how the men about him fell under
the fire of the machine guns, which,
he said, played on them like a wa
tering pot. But the line never way
cred. With a final shout the sur
vivors flung themselves into the
wood. The German garrison was
demoralized, and the i'm
petuous Canadian advance did not
cease until it reached the far side of
the wood. Later, however, a form
liable concentration of artillery fire
sweeping the wood made it impos-
sible for them to hold the position
for which they had sacrificed so
much.
THE fighting continued without
all through the night |
At 6 am. the 23d powerful Ger
man attempt to outflank the left de-
veloped rapidly. A counter-attack |
on the first line of German trenches, !
now far advanced from those origin
ally occupied by the French, was
carried out by the Ontario First and
Fourth Battalions of the First Bri-
gade, in combination with British
1T did not seem that any human
being could live in the shower of |
shot and shell which began to pl3
IN the advancing troops. They sufA
tered terrible casualties. For a short
lime every man seemed to fall. The