Between Jun 24 and November 18, 1916 the Allied forces were involved in a series of events known as “The Battle of the Somme”. Over the winter of 1916-17 the Allies restructured their plans of attack.
A more detailed description of events can be found in, “Canada and the Battle Of Vimy Ridge 9-12 April, 1917” by Brereton Greenhouse and Stephen J. Harris. It’s available from the Strathroy library.
Between April and September 1917 the Canadian Corps were able to advance about 9,000 metres (5 1/2 miles). This advance started at Vimy Ridge.
The Canadian Expeditionary Force / (Canadian Expeditionary Force) on the western front (Europe) consisted of 4 divisions. In the plan of battle for the taking of Vimy Ridge, the 4 divisions were going to fight together, side-by-side, for the first time in the war.
Here is a map of how the 4 divisions were aligned:
This next map shows where the artillery supports were located:
You will notice that the “Front Line Last Light 8 April” separating the enemy forces is at the right side (east) of the map. The artillery batteries were located toward the rear of attacking forces. This is because the attack plan was to use a “creeping barrage”. The artillery would fire heavy ammunition shells over the heads of the attacking Canadian and other British forces onto the heads of the German forces in their trenches and machine guns emplacements, and to destroy the barbed wire that had, in the past, hindered forward movement and the slaughter by machine gun fire of thousands of men tangled in the wire.
CREEPING BARRAGE: In the seconds before 5:30 am, the ongoing shelling from the previous night stopped for a few seconds. “There was a strong, unearthly silence as all shells fire stopped.” Then at exactly 0530 came the very heavy barrage of continuous artillery fire commenced – over the heads of the waiting Brigades – onto the German lines. 983 guns and mortars were fired in unison.
“The din was terrific – deafening – indeed it is hard to find suitable words to describe the awful uproar made by thousands (sic) of our guns and the shells passing through the air, bursting on and over the enemy’s trenches ahead of us. The rattle of machine guns, the detonation of hand grenades and bombs, and the enemy’s counter-barrage which, although not formidable, was bursting on our own front line, all joining in one vast volume of noise.”
[Source: J.A. Bain, A War Diary: A Canadian Signaler, My Experiences in the Great War]
“… the creeping barrage consisted of eighteen-pounders firing shrapnel. Each of the eighteen-ponders would fire three rounds a minute, with lifts of 100 yards (ninety-one metres) every three minutes. Along the four-division Canadian assault, however, there would be an average of one eighteen-pounder for every seventeen yards (sixteen metres) of front, in effect nine rounds over a three minute period on a sixteen metre-front before moving off to the next objective. Another standing barrage kept pace 150 yards (136 metres) further on while a third heavy barrage was fired 300 yards (273 metres) beyond the second wave. In all, three sweeping fields of fire moved over the German lines.”
[Source: The Gunners at Vimy, Tim Cook]
At 6:00 am the artillery fire was moved so as to land farther east which allowed the 2nd and 3rd Brigades to move forward toward and through the German front line.
“With thousands of shells hurtling over their heads, the infantry advanced behind the moving wall of fire and steel.”
Each of the companies, in each of the platoons, in each of the battalions in each of the brigades, in each of the divisions had practiced the rate of forward advance so as to stay behind the landing shells. Each battalion had a different rate of advance because some had a longer distance to move to achieve its objective, thus the artillery had also practiced its adjustments of distance for each interval of barrage. Accidents did happen, but the intent was to keep the artillery fire ahead of the advancing artillery troops. It was later reported that 50% of the casualties in the 29th battalion were because of faulty barrage calculations and thus they were killed by “friendly fire” – their own artillery.
ORDER OF ATTACK: The map below shows the location of the 1st Canadian Division (between the dashed lines) as well as the location of the 3 Brigades, and 9 of the Infantry Battalions involved on April 9, 1917. There were other Battalions involved with each Division. In addition to the infantry battalions assigned to attacking with rifles, bayonets, small mortars and small bombs, (and shovels for digging in) there were also support battalions.
On the map above you can find 4 lines labelled as colours: Black Line (1st), Red Line (2nd), Blue Line (3rd), Brown Line (final goal). These were strategic objectives that were to be won, in sequence, over the course of the battle.
Before the battle started, the Brigades were all behind (west of) the Canadian Front Line. At the front of the waiting troops were the 2nd and 3rd Brigades. Behind them (to the left – farther west) was the 1st Brigade.
Four of the veterans whose names are engraved on the Strathroy cenotaph were killed on April 9, 1917 as members of the 15th Canadian Infantry Battalion, which was part of the 3rd Brigade: Thomas Whyte Milliken, James Warren Kellestine, Asa John Patterson and Charles Perring. A fifth veteran, Cyril Lowe, was with the 14th battalion right beside them.
At 0600 the order to move forward was given. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades, made up of 6 battalions (16th, 14th, 15th, 10th, 7th, 5th – from north to south) went first, while the 1st Brigade waited behind them. Their objective was to reach the black line first. Then ensure that the creeping barrage was moving properly. Then they moved forward to the red line. At that point they were exhausted and badly in need of reinforcements due to casualties.
The 3rd Infantry Brigade, under Brigadier-General George Tuxford, was to the north – left flank. It had the 16th, 14th and 15th battalions in line with the 13th battalion in reserve.
The 2nd Infantry Brigade, under Brigadier-General Frederick Loomis, was to the south – right flank. It had the 10th, 7th, 5th battalions in line with the 8th battalion in reserve.
The 1st Brigade, made up of the 4th, 3rd and 1st battalions) were following the lead of the 3rd and 2nd Brigades, and at the red line point, the 1st Brigade moved through and past to keep the advance moving. Their objective was to reach the blue line and then the brown line.
Here are close-up maps of the 3rd Brigade and its 3 Battalions with their lines of attack. Notice the markers of the black, red, blue and brown lines’ objectives.
Here is a description of the experiences of the 15th battalion (including Strathroy veterans Thomas Milliken, James Kellestine, Asa Patterson, Charles Perring) that morning:
“On the third Brigade’s front, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Bent’s 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada) launched its assault on time at 0530 hours and immediately captured the enemy’s front line and support trenches. The battalion reached its first major objective, Wolfer Weg (Black Line) in 40 minutes. Within several hours the troops overran Zwishen Steeling (Red Line) and proceeded to consolidate the gains. Casualties that morning amounted to three officers killed and six wounded, while at least sixty other ranks were killed and more than 100 wounded, about twenty-five percent of the battalion’s strength.”
Here is a description of the experiences of the 14th battalion (including Strathroy veteran Cyril Lowe) that morning:
“Lieutenant-Colonel Gault McCombe’s 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal regiment) met created difficulty as it advanced up the centre of the 3rd Brigade front. The Bavarian riflemen and machine gunners reportedly “fought to the last, showing no inclination to surrender.” They were overcome largely by small groups of men armed with hand grenades. Indirect fire from Lewis gun crews also helped, but accurate artillery fire eased the battalion’s difficult advance by destroying most of the enemy wire and damaging a good portion of the entrenchments. “
Tanks were unable to provide adequate support as they (eight were on site) either broke down or became bogged in the mud. A shortage of stretcher bearers was a concern and it delayed evacuation of the wounded. There were 287 casualties in the 14th battalion, almost double the losses in the 15th Battalion beside it.
“The 2nd and 3rd brigades generally suffered the heaviest casualties in the first wave of the attack.”
Here is a recollection by Billy Bishop, of the Royal Flying Corps, of his view of battle at Vimy Ridge.