In Flanders Fields – My Grandfather’s War Part 3 – September 27 to October 21, 1918 – The Battles of Canal Du Nord and Cambrai

By Joe Corrigan

My grandfather, Charles O’Connor of Whitby, Ontario, was inducted into the Canadian Army in May of 1918. He received his basic training at Camp Borden near Barrie, Ontario, sailed for England in June and spent the summer at Camp Witley in Surrey, England undergoing further combat training prior to being sent to the Western Front. In the meantime, the Canadian Corps had been heavily engaged in the fighting and was in dire need of replacements. From August 8th until November 11th, 1918, the Canadians were in the forefront of a campaign which would become known as the “100 Days”. It would lead to the armistice and gain the Canadian Corps a reputation for valour but at a terrible price.

On August 8th the Canadians were assigned the important objective of attacking a German-held salient near Amiens in France. Secrecy was extremely important as the allies knew that if the Germans heard that the Canadians were moving into a sector they would know that an attack was imminent. Such was the respect the Canadians had earned from both sides after their victories at Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele. Prior to the attack, part of the Corps was sent north to Ypres in Belgium to deceive the Germans. As part of the surprise, the attack began at night with no preliminary bombardment. The Canadians, flanked by Australian and French troops and supported by British tanks, advanced 20 kilometers in 3 days. German Chief of Staff General Erich Ludendorff, declared August 8th to be a “black day for the German Army”. August 8, 9 & 10 were also costly days for the Canadian Army having sustained 9,074 casualties, only slightly less than at Vimy 16 months before.  

As a result of the attacks in August, the Germans had been forced to fall back on their defenses that were part of the formidable “Hindenburg Line”. The allies were now poised to assault these defenses and hopefully drive the Germans back and begin a war of movement that had not been seen on the Western Front since the early days of the war in 1914. The Battle of Canal Du Nord took place along an incomplete section of the canal on the outskirts of the City of Cambrai in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. The action took place between September 27th and October 1st, 1918 and was part of a series of coordinated allied attacks on the Western Front designed to prevent the Germans from sending reinforcements against any one advance. The attack took place one day after the Franco-American Meuse-Argonne Offensive to the south, one day before an attack by the Belgians in Flanders and two days before the Battle of St. Quentin Canal.

The Canadian Corps, under the command of Lieutenant General Arthur Currie, was assigned to the British First Army front and would lead the attack on the incomplete dry section of the canal on a front of only 2,500 meters between Sains-les-Marquion and Moeuvres. The British High Command had questioned the wisdom of the assault on such a narrow front. They feared the Germans would be able to concentrate their artillery on this section of the canal and cut down the Canadians as they tried to make their way across the canal bed and up the steep eastern embankment. Currie’s confidence in the Corps abilities won the day and his plan would be followed. Currie, along with Australian General Monash, were considered the best tacticians that the allies had. Long gone were the days when “colonial” troops were seen as inferior to British soldiers.

General Currie separated the Canadian Corps’ objectives into a two-stage process. They would first take the Canal Du Nord and the nearby Bourlon Wood to be followed by assaults on the bridges at Canal de l'Escaut and the high ground in the vicinity of Cambrai. Canadian combat engineers constructed wooden bridges prior to the assault so that reinforcements could support the initial assault by advancing over the flooded sections of the canal.
At 5:20 am on September 27th, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps attacked in total darkness taking the Germans by surprise. By the middle of the morning, all the German troops had retreated or been captured. The Corps met stiffer resistance as they moved on Bourlon Wood where the Germans had located their artillery on the high ground. None-the-less, all the objectives were taken by the end of the day. The final road to Cambrai was open. The Battle of the Canal Du Nord had breached the majority of the Hindenburg Line’s defenses and allowed the next attack to complete the penetration and begin the advance toward Germany. This attack would take place on October 9th, 1918 when the Canadians would finally liberate Cambrai. What they found was a city in flames, having been set on fire by the retreating Germans, and 2,000 homeless and starving refugees. 

Royal Horse Artillery crossing the dry portion of the Canal du Nord

Canadian Combat Engineers installing bridges over the flooded portions of the Canal du Nord

Canadian Corps 16th Battalion advancing

Canadian troops and tanks advancing

German prisoners from the battle

Six Canadian soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross for the assault on the Canal du Nord. They were Captain John MacGregor, 2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, Lieutenant Graham Thomson Lyall, 102nd Battalion CEF., Lieutenant Samuel Lewis Honey, 78th Battalion CEF., Lieutenant George Fraser Kerr, 3rd Battalion CEF., Lieutenant Milton Fowler Gregg, Royal Canadian Regiment and Sergeant William Merrifield, 4th Battalion CEF. This victory came at a terrible cost. Between August 8th when the Battle of Amiens began and October 9th when the Canadians entered the remains of Cambrai, the Corps had lost 1,500 officers and 30,000 soldiers. Reinforcements were urgently needed if the Corps was to remain at the forefront of the allied assaults.

Private Charles O'Connor

Private Charles O’Connor would have been finished his training around the time of the victory at Canal du Nord. He may have been on leave prior to going to the front. One could imagine him taking in the sights of London, enjoying a performance at a music hall or spending time with his buddies from camp. We have no indication of what he might have experienced while in England as no record remains. What we do know is that his service record shows that on October 21st, 1918 he was assigned to the 15th Battalion (48th Highlander of Canada – Toronto) CEF and that on October 22nd he arrived in France on his way to the front.

If you are interested in learning more about the Battle of the Canal du Nord and what was happening in the First World War 100 years ago check out the Great War YouTube series episodes recapping the October 1918 at the following links:   


October 4, 1918:  https://youtu.be/JFQAuvZqQus

October 11, 1918: https://youtu.be/4fm5D0xssO8
They Shall Not Grow Old Documentary- https://youtu.be/zRed-Ri9IpI



Joe Corrigan was the Museum Manager at Lang Pioneer Village from February of 2003 until his retirement in May of 2018. He has been a lifelong student of history. His specific areas of interest are Canadian and world political, military and sports history with a particular focus on biographical works.