"I shall at all times watch their movements with the deepest interest, and I wish them every possible success in the future."
It was with great regret that we parted with General M'Cracken, who had so ably commanded the Division since its arrival in France, and whose ability in no little way helped to achieve success in many hard fought battles. The command of the Division was taken over by Major-General H. F. Thullier, C.B., C.M.G.
On the 21st June we left St. Georges and began to move northward. The first night we stayed with three Companies at Croix and one at Siracourt; next day we went on to Pernes, and the next to Borecq, with two Companies at Ecquedeque, where we spent the Sunday. On the Monday we moved to Steenbecque, and from there to St. Sylvestre Cappel. On the 27th the Battalion went into Reserve in the 9th Corps area, camping about two miles southwest of Vlamertinghe. A special order was issued by the G.O.C. 15th Division, who expressed himself as very pleased with the march, discipline and appearance of the Battalion. In spite of the fact that they had no breakfast, the long march was completed, with only one man falling out.
On the 2nd of July we moved forward into the support line via Reigersburg Chateau, "C" Company being in "Half Moon" trench, "B" and "D" in the Ecole, "A" Company in the Convent Ypres, and Headquarters on the Menin Road. This was our first experience of the Salient, and we got a hot reception, being heavily shelled, and suffering several casualties while going in. In the Salient there were no trenches, as the ground was too wet for digging, and breastworks had to be built. From the support we moved into the front line, with Headquarters at Dragoon Farm, and with support companies in St. James' trench, Milcote, Posier defences and road. Coming out of the line, we returned to Eerie Camp. From there we marched to Poperinghe, trained to Arnecke, and thence we marched again to Le Choche. Here we carried out training on the Rubroucke training ground. On the 17th the Battalion moved to Winnezele under orders of the 46th Brigade. From there we moved to Toronto Camp, via Watou and Poperinghe, halting for an hour on the road for breakfast.
On the 23rd we once more took over the front line with Headquarters under the railway at South Lane, in a dug-out which was exceedingly wet, and the men had to be kept constantly at the pumps. That portion of the dug-out which the C.O. and signallers occupied was a small side shaft without any ventilation, so that a man had to be kept at the top of the stair pumping air down to us. As a rule this gentleman was rather sleepy, and had to be encouraged with powerful language. On one occasion, however, air came blowing in with great force. We soon discovered that some gas shells had exploded near the mouth of the dug-out which had effectually wakened up the warrior at the pump, and he, with a sudden spurt of energy, was diligently pumping the gas down. We were now busy constructing works preparatory to the attack, all of which had to be carefully camouflaged.
On the 24th a successful little raid was carried out by twelve other ranks of "A" Company under command of 2nd Lieut. J. Miller. Taking a course parallel to the railway, they found the enemy's trenches much battered, but the wire, though flattened, was difficult to get over. A machine gun emplacement was discovered on the railway embankment. Its crew fled, two being killed as they were running away, and one brought back as a prisoner carrying the machine gun. Our casualty was one man slightly wounded.
At this time we were actively patrolling every night as well as carrying out work parties. On the 25th we got orders for relief, but these were cancelled later, and we were told we had to remain in the front line. On the night of the 27/28th, orders were received that we were to carry out a large raid on the enemy's front on the afternoon of the 28th, two Companies being employed in this operation. This was a very tall order. In the first place, we had never had an opportunity of patrolling the part of the front over which the raid was to be carried out. On the map, it appeared as if part of it was an old pond. Neither did we know the condition of the enemy's wire, etc. In addition to this the Battalion had been in the line for some time, and the men were therefore very tired. Further, the time allowed for preparation was so short that it was practically impossible to get up and issue the usual paraphernalia for a raid.
The task appeared to be beyond our powers, and the C.O. reported this to the Brigade, who more or less agreed with him. The Brigadier made representations to the Division, but the answer came back that the raid had to be carried out. No doubt this was inevitable, but it must be remembered that it was usual for a Battalion doing a raid of this size to be taken out of the line and given time to rehearse it, examine the ground, and consider the whole problem with the Artillery Commander, etc. What must be, must be, and we found ourselves with only a few hours wherein to decide on our line of action, issue the necessary orders, and, as far as possible, collect such stores as were available, a somewhat difficult matter, as movement during the day generally led to shelling. The orders were that the raid was to go to a considerable depth, the final objective being the enemy's reserve lines (the first objective in the general attack which was to take place shortly). The raiding party consisted of "D" Company with three platoons of "A" Company, under command of Captain J. L. C. Jenkins. A smaller party of 14 other ranks, under 2nd Lieut. Elliot, were ordered to raid the railway embankment on our right and look for a suspected machine gun.
The zero hour was 7 p.m., the raiding party being lined up at 6.45. At zero the artillery trench mortar and machine guns opened an intense barrage on the enemy's front, and the raiders at the same time left our trenches and followed the barrage. The enemy's front line system was found to be badly knocked about, any of the enemy who had survived the bombardment being either killed or taken prisoners. The raiders then pushed on over the support lines to the reserve lines. Many of the enemy were encountered, and these too were either killed or taken prisoners. A machine gun was also captured. The small party who raided the railway embankment bombed a culvert and dugout which was occupied. They did not discover the machine gun, but they took a few prisoners. Both parties returned, having inflicted many casualties on the enemy and taken 1 officer and 39 other ranks prisoners and 1 machine gun. Several other prisoners were driven in to the Battalion on our left. Our casualties were very slight, being 1 O.R. killed, 2 missing, and 6 wounded. 2nd Lieut. A. Fraser and Lieut. Elliot were both wounded.
Altogether the raid was a huge success, which was all the more creditable considering the very difficult circumstances under which it was carried out. No doubt the element of surprise helped the result. Many raids are given away by the preparations, especially by officers, both Staff and Regimental, coming for days and looking over the top in order to examine the ground. The Battalion received warm congratulations on the success of the raid from the G.O.C. 15th Division. At last we were relieved on the 29th by the 8/10th Gordons, and went into Brigade reserve. Next evening the Battalion moved into position of assembly for the attack, "A" Company with two platoons at "A.R.A." dump, 30 men at "Thatch Barn," 30 men in "Half Moon" trench, "B" Company in "St. James' trench," "C" Company in "Half Moon" trench, and "D" in "Hedge trench" south of "West Lane," the Battalion Headquarters being in South Lane. The Battalion got into position without any casualties. This was the first night that the enemy's artillery was more or less silent, owing no doubt to the fact that our artillery was gas shelling their batteries. "A" Company was used for a carrying party, the remainder of the Battalion remaining in their assembly position until 10 a.m.