The Princess Patricias were in bivouac in the rear on May 13, 1915, when news arrived that their old fellow fighters, the Fourth Rifle Brigade, were in a difficult position and sorely pressed by the enemy. They at once formed a composite battalion with the Fourth King's Rifle Corps and hurried to the relief of their friends, whom they helped to break down the German assaults. This was the last effort that the survivors of the regiment were called upon to make at this stage of the war.
What the Princess Patricias accomplished during the remainder of the year 1915 may be described here though the record runs ahead of the story of the Canadian Division.
Major Pelly, who had been invalided to England in March, 1915, returned to the regiment on May 15, 1915, and took over the command from Lieutenant Niven, who had so bravely served throughout the darkest hours in the regiment's history.
Early in June, 1915, the Princess Patricias held a trench line at Armentières and continued there until the last days of August, 1915. Lieutenant C. J. T. Stewart, and other officers who had been wounded in the spring fighting, returned to the battalion, and reenforcements from Canada brought it up to full strength.
With the Twenty-seventh Division the battalion occupied a line of trenches held by the Third Army, and subsequently the Princess Patricias went into billets far back of the fighting area. On November 27, 1915, they were once more united with the Canadian Corps from whom they had long been separated.
CHAPTER XII
BATTLE OF FESTUBERT—THE CANADIANS FIGHT FOR THE ORCHARD—VALOR OF THE SECOND BRIGADE AND FOURTH BATTALION—GIVENCHY
In staging the Battle of Festubert, where the Canadians fought with distinction and again displayed their dashing bravery and staying powers, the Allies had a definite purpose in view. General Joffre had prepared a great offensive in May, 1915, in Artois, and the French had made important progress, but some defenses of Lens, the key to the whole French objective, remained in possession of the enemy. The Germans were sending powerful reenforcements into the south, and Sir John French, acting with the French commander, advanced his forces to attack. His purpose was to arrest the German reenforcements headed for Lens, and afford the British a chance to capture Aubers Ridge, which they had failed to do at Neuve Chapelle. The Ridge dominated Lille and La Bassée, and if the French succeeded in their part of the plan, which was to reach Lens, the Allies would be strong enough to push on together toward the city which was their objective.
The German positions were attacked on May 9, 1915. In brief detail the engagement was planned as follows: Sir Herbert Plumer with the Second Army was to protect Ypres while the Third Corps held Armentières. Sir Douglas Haig's First Army was to carry intrenchments and redoubts on the right of Prince Rupprecht's Army. The Fourth Corps was to attack the German position at Rouge Bancs northwest of Fromeles, and the First Corps and Indian Corps were to occupy the plain between Neuve Chapelle and Givenchy and then take the Aubers Ridge.
The fighting was vigorously pressed by the British for several days and nights, followed by a lull, but on May 16, 1915, the struggle was renewed. The Second and Seventh Divisions, which had been badly shattered, were withdrawn from the fighting line, their places being taken by the Canadian Division and the Fifty-first Highland Division (Territorials).