Official history of the canadian forces in the great war
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| war seemed to take on a new aspect. Another Corps commander also receives comment: July 23, 1916, General Byng was to make an inspection to-day, and the parade was ready in the proper place; but he came into the horse-lines through a hedge, jumping the ditch as unaffectedly as a farmer would come on a neighbour s place to look at his crops. This is a soldier large, strong, lithe, with worn boots and frayed puttees. He carries his hand in his pocket, and returns a salute by lifting his hand as far as the pocket will allow. One incident will serve to illustrate the nature of the work that fell to the field ambulances that winter. It is best described in the words of the unofficial diary from which it is drawn: October 10, 1915, Last night at 9.45 a message arrived from the 7th, West Lanes, howitzer battery in these terms: " Please remove casualty to-night on N 104 A 34." The message was at once seen to be in correct. The letter N indicates a certain square on the map; but the remainder was senseless. It was interpreted to mean N.10.a.3.4 which would signify a spot about four miles to the north east, half way to Ypres. The message had been sent at 8.47 p.m. It was received at our signal office at 8.56, and reached us by motor cyclist nearly an hour later. I set out at once in a motor ambulance with a driver, an orderly and another officer as the search was likely to be a difficult one. We proceeded by the Locre- Kemmel road, and turned aside to brigade headquarters to enquire about the route to be followed, what roads were under fire, and which were closed. The night was very dark. We could show no lights. The country was entirely unknown to us. We could only proceed by counting so many turnings to the left and so many to the right, which would lead us into the area indicated by the message. If we missed a turning we were lost. 83635-Sj 58 MEDICAL SERVICES CHAP. We crept along and came to a corner, but the question was, what is a road? The country is traversed in all directions by paths worn down by troops and guns, and the map takes no account of them. We investigated by feeling with our feet, and walked into a shell-hole filled with water. Jt was about two feet deep and the edges cleanly cut. We heard the tramp of men, and a battalion from the trenches came by in darkness and silence. Three first-line transport wagons followed, and we knew we were on a road. As the third wagon passed the driver said, " the last " in a quiet, kindly whisper, and we proceeded. When I thought we should encounter another turning I alighted again, and found we were passing by a regiment asleep on the ground. The men s heads lay within a foot of the wheel track. They slept in complete security, since the army is conducted on the principle that each man does his business properly, and if they were run over it would not have been their fault. In their yellow clothes stained with mud they were of the colour of the earth, as if indeed they were already part of it. At length the road became so bad, we felt sure we must have over-run our course. We found a place to turn and retraced our track. We took the first road which was now on the right, and after about two miles we came upon a few houses. From the map, which we could now use with an electric torch we judged we were at Mille Kruis. Pre sently two soldiers came along. They knew nothing except that they were walking from la Clytte to Dickebusch and were then about half way. We had taken the wrong turn ing. We should have carried on along the bad road, which now we did, and presently came to a turning to the left which should lead us into the desired area. We turned west again. The road was a quagmire, torn with shells, and the motor went in the ditch irrevocably. Capt. and I proceeded on foot to look for a THE FIRST WINTER 59 place merely indicated on a map which we could not even consult. On the right the sky was aflame. The machine gun and rifle fire were incessant. The sound of the small bullets was irritating. The road was a swamp, but beside it on the north side of the hedge was a hard track. We fol lowed this, and it led us into a field of pits like open graves, and between them deep and newly made trenches, and we had only the light of the battle flares to guide us. Passed safely through, we came upon a path guarded by wire. We judged this path would lead us to the battery, but it ended nowhere. Then away to the south we discovered a faint glow of light. We made our way to the spot, and heard the wel come challenge of a sentry. He was of the R.G.A. and knew nothing of the 7th. He could not know since heavy artillery seldom moves. He agreed to conduct us to the officer s dug-out. It was now 2 a.m., and the officer was asleep. He was cordial, but he could only show us on the map where he was. He was kind enough to send a man to lead us out of his area, which he described, with some pride, as a very trappy one, and to set us on " a road". As we walked we encountered a sentry of the 14th C.F.A., and he led us underground to the telephone. We got communica tion with the 7th, but as they had just moved in, they did not know where they were in terms of the country. The man at our end did not know where he was even on the map. I asked the 7th Lanes, if they had any landmark, and he said only a big tree, but I reflected that there are many big trees in Belgium. He arranged to send a guide to his entrance from the road, and we set out to find the guide. As a matter of fact we were not 300 yards apart, but the sentry of the 14th C.F.A. directed us south instead of north, and in an hour we arrived safely at Mille Kruis once more. 60 MEDICAL SERVICES CHAP. We consulted the map, and freed our minds from all local information. We followed the pave road toward Dickebusch, until we should come to the Vierstraat road. We found fthis road and turned right hoping to find our guide at the big tree. But there was no road, or rather, roads were everywhere. It was four o clock. If we could not find the wounded man, we could not get help to lift the ambulance out of the ditch, and it would be under fire at daylight. We were thinking of lying down under a hedge, but we should probably have had to remain there until the following night. At length I noticed a big tree " and heard a big voice in challenge. It was our guide, and he led us through a field to a chink of light that came from the ground. The hatch was lifted and we descended. There were two officers, and the third lay on the ground wounded in the head by a shell. He was able to walk, and the two officers came with us. They brought four bom bardiers with hand-spikes and planks. In ten minutes we found the ambulance, and in ten minutes more we had it on the road. We backed it down to the highway. The commanding officer s name was Lee- Warner, a most com forting man. We put on speed as day was breaking, and at 5.30 reached the advanced dressing station. We dressed the patient s wound, gave him hot food, and put him to bed. I changed my clothes, and at 8 o clock we continued our work, as we were in charge until the following Monday morning. ST. ELOI MOUNT SORREL In the spring of 1916 the two Canadian divisions moved further up into the salient, and by April 3, were in posi tion. The heavy fighting around St. Eloi was about to begin. The convoy was clearing to Remy Siding, the lightly wounded being carried in omnibuses, thirty at each v THE FIRST WINTER 61. trip. Before moving out the 3rd British Division had exploded their mines, and there was a frightful struggle for possession of the craters. The paths and trenches disap peared, and in the confusion it was impossible to remove the wounded for twelve hours. Some were hysterical, and some maniacal, bound to their stretchers. One man had lain for four days with arm and leg broken; the wounded officers were gaunt with pain, loss of sleep, and the general horror. These conditions culminated on April 18 in a northwest gale of wind and rain. Early in June heavy fighting was resumed at Mount Sorrel. Sanctuary Wood was the centre of these operations, and the brunt was borne by the 3rd Canadian Division. The medical service of that division received especial praise. The Director-General expressed his " keen appre ciation of the splendid services rendered," and his " deep regret that Lieut.-Colonel A. W. Tanner should have lost his life in the action." He thought the report of the opera tions " admirably drawn up". The medical director of the Army considered " the arrangements very complete, and evacuation carried out in difficult circumstances with rapid ity and precision and a minimum of suffering to the wounded." He thought " the work of the ambulance drivers in difficult and dangerous circumstances beyond all praise." The Army Commander himself signified his " appreciation of the gallant and devoted manner " in which the work had been done. 1 The following table shows the disposition of the field ambulances as at April 4, 1916: No. 1. Poperinghe H.Q. Brandhoek M.D.S. Asylum, Ypres, and Maple Copse A.D.S. (attached to 3rd Div.) No. 2. Vlamertinghe Mill M.D.S. Bedford House A.D.S. Kruisstraat and Railway Dugouts A.D.S. 62 MEDICAL SERVICES CHAP. No. 3. Wippenhoek D.R.S. No. 4. Boeschepe D.R.S. No. 5. Remy Siding (attached to 3rd Div.) D.R.S. No. 6. Ouderdom M.D.S. Bedford House A.D.S. Dickebusch A.DJ3. The commanding officers were unchanged, except that Lieut.-Colonel C. P. Templeton had replaced Lieut.-Colonel J. A. Gunn in No. 3. At this time, April 4, 1916, the ambulances for the 3rd Division were coming forward, their disposition and commanding officers being as follows: No. 8, in England, Lieut.-Colonel S. W. Hewetson; No. 9, at le Havre on the way to the front, Lieut.-Colonel C. A. Peters; No. 10, at le Havre on the way to the front, Lieut.-Colonel A. W. Tanner; also No. 7, Cavalry at Belloy with the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, Lieut.-Colonel D. P. Kappele. Colonel A. E. Snell was medical director of the division. These units, less No. 7, for the 3rd Division were organized in Canada, the officers and other ranks coming direct with the exception of the seconds in command who were obtained from the field ambulances of the 1st and 2nd Divisions. The 3rd Division was already in France, the medical needs being attended to by field ambulances loaned from the 1st, and 2nd Divisions, namely, Nos. 1 and 5. Four additional were yet to arrive for the 4th Division and the Corps ; but the formation of these also may now be considered, and the record made complete. No. 7 Cavalry, was organized in England January 10, 1916; the officer commanding had already had service with No. 5, and the second in command with No. 1. The other officers were drawn from the training school, and had not seen service in France. Some of the personnel was drawn from ambulances in the field. This unit landed at le Havre, February 13, 1916, and by February 16, it was managing a rest station at Belloy for the cavalry brigade. No. 8 THE FIRST WINTER 63 mobilized in Calgary, December 13, 1915, arrived in Eng land April 9, 1916; landed in France May 8, and by May 11 was in control of a divisional rest station at the front. No. 9 mobilized in Montreal, January 3, 1916; arrived in England March 12; landed in France April 4, and by April 12 was in the front line. No. 10 mobilized in Winnipeg, January 12, 1916; arrived in England, March 12; landed in France, April 4, and by April 12 was em ployed in clearing the front. No. 11, 12, and 13 Field Ambulances were organized in Canada early in 1916, for the 4th Division. All the other ranks and most of the officers were obtained from Canada, but the officer commanding No. 11 had already had service in the 1st Division. The other two had officers with experience posted to them. No. 11 was organized early in 1916, by Lieut.-Colonel J. D. McQueen; arrived in England May 30; landed in France August 11. No. 12 was organized in Winnipeg early in 1916, by Lieut.-Colonel H. F. Gordon ; arrived in England July 3 ; landed in France August 12. No. 13 was organized in Victoria early in 1916 by Lieut.-Colonel J. L. Biggar; arrived in England July 9, and in France, August 13. The medical director of the 4th Division was Colonel H. A. Chisholm. No. 14 was organized in England in May, 1918, by Lieut.-Colonel G. G. Corbet from units which were origin ally intended for the 5th Division, with some officers and men who had already seen service in France. The unit arrived at le Havre June 6, 1918, three days later at Beugin, being detailed to manage the corps rest station and minister to the corps troops. The mobile medical units were only then up to their full and final number, but those already in the field after their experience were now ready for the Somme. 1 Second Army H.Q., A. 1985. 17.6.1916. CHAPTER VI THE FIELD AMBULANCE ORIGIN DEVELOPMENT EQUIPMENT This march to the Somme will serve as an occasion |
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