THE CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
But it was decided that the time had come for this great body of troops to leave. The original plan of sending a division of 22,500 men was supplemented by the dispatch of the remaining 7,500 as a reserve to prevent the delay in getting them to the front should the necessity arise suddenly. Members of the government spoke of a possible second or third contingent, as experience had taught them that it would be as easy to raise 100,000 men as it had been to raise 30,000. At a given time the evacuation of Valcartier began. Thirty-two transports lay in the St. Lawrence prepared to take the division to England, and soon the first contingent began to move toward the sea. The British fleet had cleared the ocean of all but a few scattered German cruisers, and these were amply guarded against by the warships which acted as escorts. And so, on the second day of October Canada’s first great pledge of loyalty left the shores of the Dominion to go to the defense of the Empire.
On October 15th the transports reached Plymouth, England, and were received with greatest enthusiasm. An English newspaper, The Western Morning News, spoke of the arrival the next morning in the following terms:
“The arrival of the fleet of transports with the first contingent of Canadian forces on board was an event of good augury for the future of the war. These splendid men have come, some of them nearly 6,000 miles, to testify to the unity of the Empire and take their share of the burden which rests upon Britons the world over of being the stoutest champions of justice and liberty. Even if their numbers were smaller we should hail their arrival as a symbol of the solidarity of the British race, but they come a large number in themselves, yet only the earnest of many more to come if they are needed to help in defeating the imposition of German tyranny and militancy on the world. The cheers they raised for the old country as they steamed into the harbor yesterday, and the splendid vigor and spirit they displayed, showed they have both the will and the power to give a good account of themselves at the front and prove worthy comrades of the dauntless band of heroes who, under Sir John French, have won the unstinted admiration of our French and Russian and Belgian allies and, indeed of the whole world.”
Then followed long weeks of hard training on Salisbury Plains. At last they were considered fit for the front and the contingent was transported to France. Of their conduct there, under the baptism of fire, the following letter from General French at Headquarters of the British Army, dated March 3d, to His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught, is an ample testimonial.
“The Canadian troops having arrived at the front, I am anxious to tell your Royal Highness that they have made the best impression on all of us.
“I made a careful inspection of the division a week after they came to the country, and I was very much struck by the excellent physique which was apparent throughout the ranks. The soldierly bearing and the steadiness with which the men stood in the ranks (on a bleak cold snowy day) was most remarkable.
“After two or three weeks preliminary education in the trenches, attached by unit to the Third corps, they have now taken their own line on the right of that corps as a complete division and I have the utmost confidence in their capability to do valuable and efficient service.
“The Princess Patricia’s Regiment arrived with the 27th Division a month earlier and since then they have performed splendid service in the trenches.
“When I inspected them (although in pouring rain), it seemed to me I had never seen a more magnificent looking battalion Guards or otherwise.
“Two or three days ago they captured a German trench with great dash and energy and excellent results.
“I am writing these few lines because I know how deeply we are all indebted to the untiring and devoted efforts your Royal Highness has personally made to ensure the despatch in the most efficient condition of this valuable contingent.”
The first contingent had evacuated Valcartier only a short time when the second contingent began to move toward the great mobilization camp, for a similar process of training to that followed in the first case.
When the second contingent sailed away from Canada to take its place with the allies on the battlefields of Europe, it was accompanied by a battery of the most complete and efficient armored motor car rapid-fire machine guns ever devised. Indeed, they are, so far as is known, the first motor car machine guns in the ranks of the allies in any way comparing in point of up-to-dateness and efficiency with those now being employed by the German army. For up till recently Germany was the only power which had given any attention to armored motor car machine guns. The Germans had been experimenting for several years upon this latest development in field weapons, and when the present war broke out they had a type of armored motor car rapid-fire gun that has enabled them to do a kind of work that would not be done by any other sort of artillery. Great Britain, France and Belgium began hurriedly experimenting, and hastily put together a number of machine guns mounted on armored motor cars. These were but tentative weapons, however, quickly designed to meet an exigency for which the allies had not, like the Germans, already prepared. It has remained for Canada to evolve a type of armored motor car battery that is said to be the most perfect and effective that has ever been constructed.
This ultra-modern battery of forty guns was a part of Canada’s contribution to the Empire at war. Fifteen of the guns were made possible by the patriotic generosity of Mr. J. C. Eaton, Toronto’s well known millionaire department store owner, and were designated as the Eaton Battery. They were completed right in Toronto, where both the experimenting and designing were carried on, and the cars and guns put together, under the supervision of Mr. W. K. McNaught, C.M.G., who undertook the task of directing the work for the government. The corps of officers and men who man the battery had a special course of training under Capt. W. J. Morrison at Exhibition Camp.
It is only necessary to recall to mind certain pictures that have appeared recently of motor car machine guns in action to realize with what deadly effectiveness these weapons may be employed in present-day warfare. They combine all the terrific killing power of the rapid-fire machine gun with the swift mobility and tirelessness of the gasoline-driven motor car. Protected behind almost impregnable steel armor plate, the driver may dash ahead of the advancing lines and enable the gunner, almost completely protected, to mow down the ranks of the enemy with a sweeping stream of rifle bullets, played along a line of men much as one would play a stream of water from a fire hose. The car may be in motion all this time, or may stop only for an instant, so that the enemy has no time to train its artillery upon it. It may dash into what would be for infantry or cavalry or ordinary gunners the jaws of death, distribute its deadly sting, and then dash out again unscathed. Thus it may be of incalculable service in the field. Or it may be used in a town where whole masses of defenders may be driven back, and the streets completely cleared by the rapid sweep of its bullets.
The armored motor car guns which were constructed in Toronto are built on a motor truck chassis. The wheels are made of pressed steel, and have heavy tires of solid rubber. All the rest of the car is effectively covered with Harveyized steel plates, which were severely tested. This armorplate was rolled in Canada by Canadian workmen, and was made from iron ore mined in Nova Scotia.
The distinctive fighting feature of the car is the revolving turret of this armor-plate in which the offensive apparatus is situated. This turret rises above the four-foot armored body at about the center of the car. In it is the new model Maxim rapid-fire gun, mounted very strongly on an apparatus of steel and phosphor bronze, the invention of Canadian engineers. This gun mount really carries the revolving turret which surrounds it, and which revolves so easily on ball bearings that a mere touch of the hand will move it. It can make a complete revolution, so that the gun has a clear sweep. It can be locked by means of a lever operated by the gunner. The gunner sits on a seat fastened to the frame which supports the turret. The running machinery of the car which comes below the floor, is, of course, protected by a steel skirt, which extends around the car. The machine gun is aimed through a loop-hole in the steel turret. It can fire from 300 to 600 rifle bullets a minute, and has an effective range of a mile and a half. The bullets are held in a belt which runs through the gun automatically. The armor-plate on the rear of the car is loop-holed so that rifles can be used. Each of the machine guns has two extra barrels, the reason for this being that with the bullets passing through the barrel so rapidly it naturally becomes very hot, and so must be changed frequently.
Another feature of the car is that it is protected overhead as well as around the sides and front, and rendered immune from shrapnel fire, missiles from aeroplanes, and dropping bullets, by the same kind of armor-plate that is used on the sides. Thus the drivers and all the fighting men are completely protected by armor-plate.
Each car, in addition to its fighting equipment, carries picks, shovels, wire rope, repair tools and provisions. Attached to the battery are two workshop cars, with turning lathes and repair machines driven by motor spare parts, etc. These stay behind the firing line. Each car carries a complement of five men, including the two men who drive and the gunner who operates the machine gun. The extra two ride in the rear and may use rifles through the loop-holes. But there is no real specialization, for each man must be competent not only as a soldier but as a chauffeur, machinist and gunner. If there is only one man left in the car, he must be able to operate the machine gun, run the car, and make repairs if necessary. And he must be a man who can keep his head, observe intelligently, and plan for himself and his regiment. Those in charge of the recruiting for the Eaton Battery expressed themselves as well pleased with the type of men secured. Many had seen service before; there were several expert telegraphers, several expert signalers, and one an ex-lieutenant in the British navy.