New Britain herald., 1916-09-19
CANADIANS STRIKE
 FIRST OFFENSIVE
Had Been on Defense Until For
 ward Movement of Sept. 15
WERE EAGER FOR CHARGE
Went Past Their Objective and Ex-
 ceeded Orders With True American
 Spirit-CharSe of Guards Stirring Spcctaclc-HOw "Tanks' Performed

Spirit-Chargc of Guards Stirring
 SpcctacIc-HOw Tanks" Performed via London, Sept 19, 6:3O a. n.- The most dramatic and picturesque battle of the British army in all it's two years in France was fought on Sept. IS. Here is the story of how all kinds of men from the ends Of the earth took part in this mighty con- fliCt
 Canadians, New Zealanders. Eng fish, Scotch, Irish, NewfOundlanders and Americans are among the mon of many countries who took part in tne new historic battle and with them 1 there went into action those armored motor cars, called tanks which are to the credit of a quiet officer of en- Slneers. Today when the Associated Press correspondent was calling on Canadian brigadier, it was a tank, ! called The cordon rouge" looking 1 like prehistoric monster in a skin Of modern armor and with engines in side, which took him across the field Of shell craters, weaving it's way with
 pythonic adaptability by all irregllari-
 ties up to the door of the brigadic"'s dugOut. The skipper of "The cOrdOn rouge" alighted and with phlegmatic draWl announced that he reported for further orders. The brigadier laugh 1ngly bade him not to start the ma chine down the stairs of the dugout but move 1t to one side and wait. So the "tank'' ambled with the bulky leisure of a hippopotamu over some more shell craters to place where 1t would be out of the way until it was 1 needed.
 Many Americans Found. Then the correspondent went over
 the ground which the Canadians had | take up to the edge of the village of
 Courcelette. Later they stormed the 1 village. He met Canadians who came i from Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and i Vancouver But when he asked some l of them what part of Canada they | hailed from they replied: ''The same
 country as you do-the United States ] There were men with the accents | of Missouri and New England ard oth-
 CTS who, on the soil of France, hailed i one another in the French tongue of | quebec.
 We got into a big show all right, ]"
 said the Americans, "and that is what we came here for" These men who had rushed to the attack of the ! ridges of the Somme against machine gun fire and shells carried themselves by all accounts in a manner worthy Of the traditions of the Civil war It was the Canadians first offensive on any big scale. They had stood the shock of attack at the second battle of Ypres, at St. Eloi Orre1l Hill and Sanctuary Wood and it had been their fortune up to the present to stand under blows rather than give them. They wanted their chance on the 9Drnme to make good, as they said and they had it.
 The night before the battle the staff officer in charge of that branch of the front showed the correspondent the Canadian objective. No home run was expected from them but only a Sdcri- fee fly to use baseball language, but they made a home run and brought in all the men on the bases. They gained their first objective in an un- interrupted dash, absolutely OH time. There was the trench which the "Byng boys" held on the morning of the fifteenth, as the correspond 4nt saw it today Behind it and ahead of 1t shell craters were so thick that you could step from one to another. HaV- ing taken their objective their part
 
 despite the complicated timetable methods of modern offensive that he could go further. The command CTS of British corps of all kinds, from Cockneys to the clerks, stock brokers and farmhands'o of the new army, made the same decision. So they worked in conjunction as everything in these big moves must be cooperation and team play.
 Determined to Win At All Costs.
 "Confound cost and everything else,'' said the Canadians their nerves strained to the breaking point in their determination to make good on their
 first offensive. When the word was given they started for COurcelette, which they were ordered to take. Courcelette had had less hamnering bv preparatory shell fire so as to clean out it's strong points, nests of machine guns and so forth. Through these streets to their new objective, marked on their map, went these figures of the new world. When no word anne back for some time the staff. sitting in the center of the web of telephone and telegraph wires over which Was flashing the news of the progress of the great battle, began to wonder if the Canadians were in trouble. But presently they got word that the charge had swept beyond the village and that the Canadians had been so busy digging in they had not time to send the news It was explained that thev thought that 1t would be talk I for granted that they had got there
 Among those who made good,' say +boso who are supposed to know the f,c+e was a battalion of French C,anadians. the kind of men you see ir +iroas of peace working their farms