Battle of Canal du Nord, 27 September - 2 October 1918

[ejwalshe]

The Battle of the Canal du Nord, 27 September to 2 October 1918.  Preview photo:  My grandfather, A/Bbdr Richard Francis Walshe, 61st Field Battery, 14th Brigade, Canadian Field Artillery, may be on the lead horse of the 18-pounder sub-section (background right), as this is exactly when and where he was at this time of the battle.  (September 27th)  On the left, troops of the Canadian Corps reach the Douai-Cambrai road and make its main objective, the Blue Line, by 14h00, in the face of a reawakened German resistance at Chapel Corner.  On the Corps right, having advanced roughly four kilometers, Canadian troops are held up just past Bourlon Wood.  (September 28th) On the right, Canadian troops advance as much as two kilometers in a day of heavy fighting, clearing out the rest of the Marcoing Line trench system in their sector. Meanwhile, troops in the Corps center clear the villages of Raillencourt and Sailly, which straddle the Marcoing Line trench system. They are halted, however, by heavy German shelling short of the Douai-Cambrai road.  (September 29th) On the left, Canadian troops take some 250 prisoners and 20 machine guns in the village of Sancourt, then reach the village of Blécourt and take 80 prisoners there before having to withdraw. On the right, Canadian troops push forward to the junction of the Arras and Bapaume roads, and two battalions fight their way to the outskirts of Neuville St. Rémy, a suburb of the town of Cambrai. In exceedingly bitter fighting, the Canadian Corps suffers 2,089 casualties.  In Flanders, troops of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment advance nine kilometers, capture a new six-inch gun along with a number of machine guns and prisoners. (September 30th)  It is an unsuccessful day of operations on the Canadian Corps center and right, as a planned smoke screen fails and unprotected flanks suffer enfilade fire. The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is, however, able to take the village of Tilloy.  (October 1st)  The day's gains represent an advance of about a kilometer and a half, the only achievement of significance being the gain of the high ground east of Tilloy. The 1st Canadian Division itself suffers more than 1,000 casualties. In five days of fighting, the Canadian Corps had captured more than 7,000 prisoners and 205 guns.  (October 2nd)  There was little action in the Canadian Corps sector, as the remainder of the 1st and 4th Canadian Infantry Divisions are moved into reserve, leaving the Corps' front in the hands of the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions.

Victoria Cross recipients:  Lt. G.T. Lyall, 102nd Battalion, 4th Canadian Infantry Division; Lt. S.L. Honey, D.C.M., M.M., 78th Battalion, 4th Canadian Infantry Division; Lt. G.F. Kerr, M.C., M.M., 3rd Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division; Lt. M.F. Gregg, M.C., Royal Canadian Regiment, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division; Capt. John MacGregor, M.C., D.C.M., 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division; Sgt. W. Merrifield, 4th Battalion, 1st Canadian Infantry Division. 

[stripeyman]

This and the other compilations--------excellent !

[ejwalshe]

Appreciate it @stripeyman

[Jojessholli]

Excellent work!

[mebu]

Yes, all enjoyable.