Brave Battalion Read online

  Table of Contents

  Other Military History by Mark Zuehlke

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Order of Battle for the Canadian Infantry

  Order of Ranks in the Canadian Infantry

  Acknowledgements

  prologue

  chapter one - “Ready, Aye, Ready!”

  chapter two - Learning War

  chapter three - Baptism

  chapter four - Blown to Hell

  chapter five - Trench Warfare Drudgery

  chapter six - Return to the Salient

  chapter seven - Crisis in the Somme

  chapter eight - Vimy

  chapter nine - It Isn’t Worth a Drop of Blood!

  chapter ten - Decision at Amiens

  chapter eleven - The Finest Performance

  chapter twelve - Drive to Victory

  Endnotes

  Bibliography

  Index of Formations, Units, and Corps

  General Index

  About the Author

  Other Military History by Mark Zuehlke

  For Honour’s Sake: The War of 1812 and the Brokering of an Uneasy Peace

  Terrible Victory: First Canadian Army and the Scheldt Estuary Campaign: September 13-November 6, 1944

  Holding Juno: Canada’s Heroic Defence of the D-Day Beaches: June 7-12, 1944

  Juno Beach: Canada’s D-Day Victory: June 6, 1944

  The Gothic Line: Canada’s Month of Hell in World War II Italy

  The Liri Valley: Canada’s World War II Breakthrough to Rome Ortona: Canada’s Epic World War II Battle

  The Canadian Military Atlas: Four Centuries of Conflict from New France to Kosovo (with C. Stuart Daniel)

  The Gallant Cause: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

  Copyright © 2008 by Mark Zuehlke

  All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed in writing to The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free 1-800-893-5777.

  Care has been taken to trace ownership of copyright material contained in this book. The publisher will gladly receive any information that will enable them to rectify any reference or credit line in subsequent editions.

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Zeuhlke, Mark

  Brave battalion : the remarkable saga of the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish) in the First World War / Mark Zeuhlke.

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  eISBN : 978-0-470-73897-9

  1. Canada. Canadian Army. Battalion, Canadian Scottish, 16th—History. 2. Canada. Canadian Army—History—World War, 1914-1918. 3. World War, 1914-1918—Regimental histories—Canada. I. Title.

  D547.C2Z.4’1271 C2008-902644-6

  Production Credits

  Cover and interior text design: Michael Chan

  Typesetting: Michael Chan

  Maps: C. Stuart Daniel

  Front cover photo: Library and Archives Canada/PA3223

  Back cover photo: Library and Archives Canada/PA1020

  Printer: Tri-Graphic Printing Ltd.

  John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.

  6045 Freemont Blvd.

  Mississauga, Ontario

  L5R 4J3

  This book is printed with biodegradable vegetable-based inks. Text pages are printed on 55lb TG Eco 100, Natural and insert pages are printed on 80lb Lustro Dull Natural (10% recycled).

  , an FSC certified printer.

  TR

  Order of Battle for the Canadian Infantry

  - 1914-1918 -

  Section: 12 men, commanded by a corporal. Also a small unit performing special duties (signals, machine-gun detachments, bombers) alongside or within companies.

  Platoon: Four sections, 48 men, commanded by a lieutenant or second lieutenant.

  Company: Four platoons, 200 men, including company HQ, commanded by a major or captain.

  Battalion: Four companies, 1,000 men, including battalion HQ and specialists, commanded by a lieutenant colonel.

  Brigade: Four battalions, 4,000 men, commanded by a brigadier general.

  Division: Three brigades, 12,000 men plus 6,000 artillery, commanded by a major general.

  Corps: Two or more divisions, 60,000-100,000 men, commanded by a lieutenant general. Also a large body of troops devoted to a specific purpose (e.g., Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps).

  Army: Two or more corps, 200,000 or more men, commanded by a general.

  Order of Ranks in the Canadian Infantry

  - 1914-1918 -

  Generals

  General (Gen.)

  Lieutenant General (Lt.-Gen.)

  Major General (Maj.-Gen.)

  Brigadier General (Brig.-Gen., or Brig.)

  Officers

  Colonel (Col.)

  Lieutenant Colonel (Lt.-Col.)

  Major

  Captain

  Lieutenant (Lt.)

  Second Lieutenant (2nd Lt.)

  Non-Commissioned Ranks

  Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM)

  Company Sergeant Major (CSM)

  Staff Sergeant (S/Sgt.)

  Sergeant (Sgt.)

  Lance Sergeant (L/Sgt.)

  Corporal (Cpl.)

  Lance Corporal (L/Cpl.)

  Private (Pte.)

  Acknowledgements

  The genesis for Brave Battalion arose out of a conversation with Don Loney, executive editor at John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. Don was thinking about the fact that 2008 marked the 90th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I on November 11, 1918. His paternal grandfather, William Loney, had been a World War I veteran, emigrating to Canada from his native Perth, Scotland, in 1908. A sergeant, he had suffered a shrapnel wound to the leg while serving in the 42nd Battalion Royal Highlanders of Canada (perpetuated as 2nd Battalion, Royal Highlanders of Canada). One of Don’s prized possessions is 42nd Battalion Royal Highlanders of Canada, 1914-1919, a history of the battalion by Lt.-Col. C. Beresford Topp published in 1931 by the 42nd’s regimental association. Such histories were common in the years that followed the end of World War I and the outbreak of World War II. As was normally the case, this one was written by an officer who had served in the battalion—Topp having risen to the rank of major while with the 42nd Battalion.

  Most recent Canadian works on World War I, Don noted, either provided a general overview of the course of the war or chronicled one specific landmark battle, such as Vimy Ridge or the 2nd Battle of Ypres. While such approaches had their obvious merits, the former generally lacked the personal experiences of soldiers, such as William Loney, while the latter was limited to a tightly confined timeframe. Don’s idea was to follow the war’s course from beginning to conclusion through the lens of a single Canadian battalion. Was I interested in writing such a book?

  I had a personal link to World War I as well. Two great-uncles, Fred and Frank Zuehlke, had served in Canadian battalions. Great-Uncle Fred had lost an arm at Vimy Ridge. Great-Uncle Frank spent much of the war as a prisoner in Germany. Deeply scarred psychologically by his prison experiences, Frank took his life in the 1920s. As a boy, I had known Great-Uncle Fred well. But, like most veterans, he seldom spoke of his wartime experiences. A battalion history would present a good opportunity to explore what my two relatives had lived through.

  Don’s idea was not, of course, entirely original. A few similar books had appeared in the 1980s and 1990s, but I w
as intrigued by the idea and thought a new work in this mould warranted if the battalion selected was present from outbreak to end of hostilities. That limited the selection to the 1st Canadian Infantry Division battalions or the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. This latter battalion was distinct in that it had been privately funded and raised, so I eliminated it from consideration. As I homed in on the 1st Division battalions it was the 16th Battalion (The Canadian Scottish) that kept drawing my eye. One reason for this was that the Canadian Scottish was formed of young men drawn from four communities that in large measure typified the national character in 1914. The other was that the battalion was present at virtually every major battle Canada fought during the war. It was also a Highland regiment and had arguably been the Canadian battalion most attached to the tradition of going into battle led by pipers, which yielded some fine anecdotal material.

  I am grateful that Don left the decision of the battalion to be chronicled in my hands and for approaching me with the idea. His faith in my ability to deliver a compelling book never wavered.

  Of immeasurable assistance in creating a compelling recounting of the Canadian Scottish battalion’s World War I experience was its official history: The History of the 16th Battalion (The Canadian Scottish), Canadian Expeditionary Force published in 1932 and written by Hugh MacIntyre Urquhart. This former Canadian Scottish officer was able to draw on many letters from those who served with him during the war. Having kept a personal diary, Urquhart was able to enrich the battalion history with many intimate details and observations about daily life in the trenches and within the battalion.

  Urquhart’s diary was one of many documents I was able to consult at the University of Victoria’s Special Collections where the Canadian Scottish Regiment has deposited its archival collection. Staff at Special Collections were endlessly helpful in making these documents available for study. Bob Darnell and others at the Canadian Scottish Regiment’s museum in the Bay Street Armoury were also forthcoming with advice and much support for this project.

  Thanks also to Carol Reid and Jane Naisbitt at the Canadian War Museum and to staff at Library and Archives Canada.

  Once again my agent, Carolyn Swayze, stickhandled the contractual negotiations and details with her usual consummate skill.

  Yet again Frances Backhouse provided endless support as I stepped once more into the breach to write another military history.

  prologue

  Make Every Sacrifice

  - AUGUST 1914 -

  From the Atlantic to the Pacific the nation simmered under a heat wave that first August weekend of 1914. The Bank Holiday—a time when families traditionally gathered on beaches and picnicked in parks, when lovers strolled arm in arm, when crowds thronged downtown city streets to watch parades of marching bands and club floats and cheered the local teenaged queen. In Victoria, Vancouver, and far to the east in Hamilton, cooling breezes eased the heat while Winnipeg and the rest of the prairies sweltered under temperatures ranging between thirty-four and forty degrees Celsius. A few blamed the heat for the air of distraction that noticeably diminished the appetite for the festivities, but most recognized a far graver reason was responsible. For this was the first August weekend of 1914. Canada and the world teetered on the edge of a precipice.

  War. That was what waited in the void beyond. A war that, no matter how many European diplomats and rulers professed a desire to prevent its outbreak, had drawn inexorably closer through this long summer of disquietude. “One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans,” Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had predicted toward the end of the nineteenth century.

  That foolish thing had come on June 28 in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo—the troublesome Balkan province occupied for thirty years before its formal and forced annexation by Austria in 1908. Bosnia was the cause célèbre of Serbian nationalists, whose expansionist ambitions the annexation frustrated. On June 28, a Serb terror organization called the Black Hand struck during a royal procession through the streets of Sarajevo by Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. In a matter of seconds a young man named Gavrilo Princip jumped on the running board of their limousine and fired two shots from a small pistol. Ferdinand and Sophie each took a bullet. “Don’t die, Sophie,” Ferdinand sobbed. But their collective lifeblood drained away in minutes. With breathtaking rapidity, two hurriedly fired bullets unravelled the intricate spider’s web of treaties and agreements between European nations that had been intended to ensure decades of peace.

  Having long considered Serbia an irritating source of the instability that plagued its Balkan provinces, the Austrians decided the assassination provided the pretext to expunge the problem entirely. On July 23, the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued an ultimatum that effectively demanded an end to Serbia’s independence and reduced it to a vassal state. Granted forty-eight hours to accede or face invasion, Serb diplomats frantically tried to negotiate a conciliatory compromise. Austria responded by breaking off diplomatic relations on July 28 and declaring war.

  The Dual Monarchy had hoped against all reason to localize the war, but the web of treaties ensured its rapid escalation to engulf the entire continent. Russia was allied with Serbia. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were bound together by the Triple Alliance to stand as one. Russia was linked to France in a defensive pact intended to bookend Germany and frustrate its imperial ambitions. When Russia began general mobilization on July 30, Germany responded by declaring war on her two days later and against France the day following. Austria weighed in against Russia and France on August 7, while Italy demurred and abandoned its former allies by claiming neutrality.

  During the days between Princip’s shots and these declarations, Great Britain—which had no alliances with any of these European powers—had vainly tried to broker a peace deal. But on July 30, a German diplomat warned a British counterpart that his country best remain neutral if Germany opted to invade France by a route that took its armies through Belgium. Britain was now snared by a point of honour, for in 1839 the British, French, and German governments had mutually pledged not to violate Belgium’s neutrality in the event of a war. When Germany formally demanded on August 2 the right of unopposed passage through the lowland country to France, Britain supported Belgian King Albert’s refusal and demanded the old pledge be respected. Two days later, the Germans having offered no response, Britain declared war on Germany.

  That was Tuesday. The Bank Holiday in Canada had ended by then. In fact, the festivities had simply fizzled out with each passing hour as the attention of most Canadians turned to watching the advance to war. On Friday, the Winnipeg Free Press had thought peace would prevail. “Great Britain, it is to be confidently expected as certain, will do anything to avert the danger of a general European war, and unless her commitments are very definite will consider herself an outsider, unless and until she is compelled by the necessities of the situation, to take a different view.” By Monday, the Winnipeg editor had undergone a sea change. “Here in Canada, we must wait upon events. The need of the moment is for Canadians to keep their heads cool … If Great Britain is involved in war, either by her own decision … or through the aggression of an outside party, it is quite certain that Canada will come to her assistance with all the fervour at her disposal.”

  Vancouver’s Daily Province added its affirmation of Canadian support: “It is said that the British Cabinet at its meeting yesterday was divided on the question of War or Peace … It is a relief to turn to Canada at such an hour and find the whole nation speaking with one voice. All Canada in the past may not have believed in the emergency which has become a catastrophe, but now when we are dealing with realities, Canada offers 50,000 men for service. There is no talk of neutrality any more. Canada speaks with no uncertain voice—‘We are united, we are ready, strike before it is too late.’”

  On the Tuesday, anticipating the inevitability of war, Montreal’s Daily Star proclaimed: “If we are beaten in this stru
ggle against two of the greatest armies ever seen in the world we will pass finally from the roster of great Nations, and our Empire will become one of the defaced mileposts which mark the tragic road by which the human race has journeyed.”1 The paper’s editor was not speaking here as a citizen of Canada, but as a British subject, and in this he mirrored the feelings of most Canadians.

  At eleven that evening a cable from London was delivered to Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert, 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, Canada’s Governor General at Rideau Hall (the newly renovated mansion that had been formally declared his official residence only the previous year). It was by this cable, delivered to the King’s representative who quickly passed its contents on to Prime Minister Robert Borden, that the Canadian government learned it was at war.

  There was no question of the country refusing the clarion call to arms. In 1914 Canada remained inextricably a part of the great British Empire. A dominion, the government had no say in matters of foreign policy. Its only right was to decide the extent and nature of Canada’s participation. In the recent South African War its commitment had been much limited, with only a little more than 7,000 troops deployed to a war that had failed to stir the martial ardour of most Canadians. But this time the response would be clearly different, something the Governor General had recognized as he read one newspaper editorial after another and was able to happily report back to his masters in London. Canadians, he signalled, “will be united in a common resolve to put forth every effort and to make every sacrifice necessary to ensure the integrity and maintain the honour of our Empire.”2