Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-30
CHAPTER X.
Germans Hate and Fear Canadians.

a mile into our territory. They held
their gain about fourteen hours, when
we counterattacked and took it all back
again. OF course our advanced report
center retired as the Germans advanc-
ed, but l was down at the permanent
headquarters at the time, s I didn't
get any of the excitement of the re-
tirement.
When we advanced again our road
lay over ground that had been in Ger
man hands during the few hours they
held the ground.
A dispatch rider vas coming over
this road just as daylight dawned. Two
wounded Germans lay OF the side of
the road, and as the rider passed n
of them called to him and asked for a
drink of water. The rider stopped,
turned around and went back, threw
his water bottle to them and then turn
ed around and started on again. As
the rider turned these two men both
fired on him, and one of the bullets
struck part of his motorcycle.
At the time this great battle was
raging the bombardment of Ypres con-
tinued, and not only Ypres alone, but
all the surrounding villages and the
roads leading from one to the other
also.
l said that at the beginning of this
battle our corps of dispatch riders num-
bered t~hirty-one in all. At the end of
the engagement three weeks later there
were only -four of us left out of the
original thirty-one who started.
The Germans failed to break US, and
so the kaiser kept his word regarding
the city of Ypres. Day after day they
bombarded the place, so that now there
is not one single house left standing.
For some reason the Germans contin-
ued to shell the place from time to time,
but they can't do any more damage
than what they have already done
The end of the battle found us with
our position still intact, and l don't
think they will ever come any nearer
10 break through the British lines.
After the battle l was, Of course, re-
ieved Of my job as motorcycle dis
patch rider and resumed my duty as
orderly TO headquarters.
A great deal has been said of the
Canadians. Too much praise cannot
be given them.
The first of the Canadian regiments
to come into action was the Princess
Patricia's Canadian Light infantry.
This regiment was In one of the d.
visions in our army corps, so l saw
quite a bit of the men from time to
time. They were a fine body of men
and were very highly thought of by all
the English regiments with whom they
were associated. They were strong
men and needed strong leaders to keep
them at their highest point of eficien-
cy. Such men as Colonel FarquAhar
they adored. and there was nothing he
could ask them to do that would re-
main undone. 1t was his custom to
lead his men into action carrying moth
ing but a walking stick, and little
things like this mean a great deal to
the men of a regiment.
At the time the Canadians were
brought into action we had some black
troops on our extreme left. The Ger
nan sent over gas, and these black
troops were forced to retire. Supports
were called for, and as ours was the
nearest headquarters in the vicinity
the call came to us.
We had no spare troops available
right on the spot, so the men of the
headquarters unit-orderlies, messen-
gers, etc.-were called upon to go up
and act as supports until reinforce
ments could be brought up. We went
up on the dead run and found that the
black troops had retired, so we went
into the position just in front of the
Germans. The kaiser's troops had ad-
vanced about two miles, but had STOP
ped at the last trench of our first line
of defense. There were no more
trenches for four miles.
The troops who had retired were or.
'dered into rest camp when we took
the position over, so we had to go in
and hold until the Canadians came up.
The Germans made no attempt to adj
any farther, and we certainly
were in no position to quarrel with
them just then. We waited there all
night, and just before dawn the Ca
nadians arrived. They didn't stop for
anything and went right over the top
of us and at the Germans. We acted
as supports for them during this EN-
gagement, and it was a treat to see
the way they went after them.
Trench after trench they took with
out any letup. The Germans contest
ed every inch of the ground, but moth
ing could stop the Maple Leaf boys
that morning. When the Germans wait
ed long enough for the fighting to come
to close quarters the Canadians were
right there with the cold steel, and
when the Germans kept their distance
those boys showed that they know
which end of a rife the bullet comes
from.
The Canadians had advanced about
q mile in thiS way when the Germans