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. 

A Dress Fit for the Fitz

By Cassandra Shaw

My first major project was a 1840s house dress which I’d like to share with you.
As the new costumer, unfamiliar with what the collection contained (although familiar with many individual items from my days as an interpreter here), I was unsure which costume items were most needed. On a whirlwind training day with Janet vanDompseler, LPV’s original Costumer, she indicated that the Fitzpatrick House was quite popular with staff and volunteers and that we could always use more dresses for its late 1840s time period. It was true! With all of the summer interpreters equipped with costumes for the season, there were only two 1840s dresses left in the collection! Although it requires more hand sewing than many styles of dress in the collection, I was up for the challenge!  

As we only interpret the Fitzpatrick house for the 1840s, it was easy to choose a style of dress; it would be a cotton house dress. We have several patterns of this type in our collection. These usually have a full skirt with cartridge pleating, a close neckline, a slightly high waist and a bodice which is gathered at the bottom front to give a puffy triangle appearance to the chest. The sleeves on this dress are close fitting, with ruffled sleeve caps.

Fabric colours at this time were often non-primary or muted. Prints could be plaids, border prints, woven stripes or small print in stripes with natural motifs. Again I went to the collection, dug around, and chose a muted mustard stripe with budding twigs. I chose this fabric based on my feeling about it and my general knowledge of the time, but much later found an image of a dress from the late 1840s which is strikingly similar, although its design includes a pelerine.

Printed Floral Wool Dress & Pelerine, 1848-1852

In the 1840s, all sewing was done by hand. Although I am not about to go to the extremes of accuracy to sew a whole dress by hand, there are certain features which are best done by hand to get the correct look. The gathering drawing in the fabric of the bodice and at the top of the skirt is called cartridge pleating or gauging. This is done by making 3 or 4 rows of gathering at regular intervals. I used the stripes on my print as guides to insert my needle, although there are transfers that can be used for fabric without stripes (this also may be a little more accurate). During the 1860s as the sewing machine became more prevalent in homes, cartridge pleating went out of style. I can understand why; the skirt on this dress is a full three widths of fabric. That’s a lot of stitching!

I finished the neckline, bodice bottom and cuffs with a contrasting fabric in a deep rust red which was drawn from the buds of the main print. I am hoping to make a second bodice from the main fabric, so it made sense to use the contrasting fabric for the ruffles as well and I am very pleased with the result!

Cassandra Shaw is the current Costumer at Lang Pioneer Village Museum. She always has her hands busy with a creative project and is a proud owner of a Biology degree and a pair of roller skates.

In Flanders Fields – My Grandfather’s War Part 2– August 8th, 1918 and the Start of Canada’s 100 Days

By Joe Corrigan

When my grandfather, Charles O’Connor of Whitby, Ontario, was inducted into the Canadian Army in May of 1918 the situation in Europe was a desperate one for the allies. As previously noted, the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917 had led to Russia signing a separate peace with Germany. This, in turn, freed up hundreds of thousands of German troops to transfer to the Western Front tipping the balance of power in their favour. The Americans had been in the war since April of 1917 but the logistical and training requirements of building a huge army virtually from scratch was taking a great deal of time. Their commander, General John Pershing, resisted pressure from his allies to commit American troops as reserves for the French and British armies. This desire to be a “national” army is understandable but, had the Americans insisted on this course of action, it is unlikely they would have been able to field a sizeable force on the battlefield until 1919.

In the meantime, the Germans launched their spring offensive, code named Operation Michel, in March of 1918 in an attempt to split the British and French armies and reach Paris before the American Expeditionary Force could effectively intervene. By the end of May, the Germans were just 50 miles of the French capital. Close enough to shell the “City of Light” with their long range railway artillery. Once again, much as they had done in the fall of 1914, the allies held firm on the banks of the Marne River and the German offensive’s momentum was halted. German offensives continued though the spring and summer but, in doing so, the German High Command essentially exhausted their army. The longstanding naval blockade of Germany was having a serious impact on the German people who were at serious risk of starvation. It is well documented that on many occasions during this series of offensives, the ill-supplied German troops having captured allied territory, would stop fighting. Their officers would be unable to stop them from looting the supplies of food and drink they found in abundance behind the allied lines. 

By August of 1918, the allies, having managed to check the German progress, were ready to launch a series of counter offensives in one of which the Canadian Expeditionary Force would play a leading role. From August 8th until November 11th, 1918 Canadians would be in the forefront of a campaign which would become known as the “100 Days”. It would gain the Canadian Corps a reputation for valour but at a terrible price.

Map of Allied Advances - Battle of Amiens

On August 8^th 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 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.   

 

At this point, my grandfather, Pvt. Charles O’Connor, was in the British Isles and assigned to the 12th Reserve Battalion at Witley Common in Surrey, England where he had been undergoing combat training since July 3rd, 1918. The camp was one of three facilities in the Aldershot Command area established by the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He would remain in Camp Witley until October of 1918 when he would be transferred to France.

8 August 1918 by Will Longstaff

Amiens, The Key to the West by Arthur Streeton 1918

If you are interested in learning more about the lead up to the 100 Days Offensive check out the Great War YouTube series episode recapping the summer of 1918 at the following link: https://youtu.be/hb3a78Baxz8


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. 

In Flanders Fields – My Grandfather’s War Part 1 – Basic Training

By Joe Corrigan

My grandfather on my mother’s side was Charles Francis Joseph O’Connor of Whitby, Ontario. What I know of his involvement in the Great War I owe to the fact that my sister wrote to the National Archives of Canada in the summer of 1986 requesting a copy of his service record. She then copied these documents and sent them to our family along with a picture of Grandpa O’Connor in his uniform. I never got to know him because he spent the final 40 plus years of his life in hospital as a result of his brief service at the front. The only time I did get to see him before he died in the 1970’s he had lost the capacity to communicate. He was a conscript who entered service in May of 1918 and, on the 100th anniversary of his induction into the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), I thought it would be interesting to follow his journey over the next seven months leading up to the armistice on November 11th. In order to put this period in my grandfather’s life in perspective, it is important to review the events of the time. May 1918 was a critical time for the Allies in general and Canada and the Canadian Expeditionary Force in particular. The urgency of the situation would have a direct impact on the rest of Charles O’Connor’s life.

The Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917 had led to Russia signing a separate peace with Germany. This in turn freed up hundreds of thousands of German troops to transfer to the Western Front tipping the balance of power in their favour. The Americans had formally declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917 (three days before the start of the Battle of Vimy Ridge) but they had a tremendous task to build up their army and they had few men and little equipment with which to do so. Their conscript army was starting to land in France in numbers by the spring of 1918 but their commander, General John Pershing, resisted pressure from his allies to commit American troops as reserves for the French and British armies. This desire to be a “national” army is understandable but, had the Americans insisted on this course of action, it is unlikely they would have been able to field a sizeable force on the battlefield until 1919. Given the urgency of the situation, that strategy would come too late as the German army would have been able to split the British and French armies (much the way they did at the start of World War II) and have gone on to capture Paris. The German offensive began in March of 1918 and it saw the allies thrown back. By the end of May the Germans were just 50 miles of the French capital. Close enough to shell the “city of lights” with their long range railway artillery. Once again, much as they had done in the fall of 1914, the allies held firm on the banks of the Marne River and the German offensive’s momentum was spent.

1917 had been a year that had seen the CEF gain a reputation as one of the finest offensive forces in the allied command on the Western Front but this was gained at a great cost. The victories at Vimy Ridge, Hill 70 and Passchendaele had been won at a cost of over 30,000 casualties, about one third of the CEF’s active strength. Enlistments were slowing to a trickle and the need for replacements had reached an urgent stage if the country’s four division strong Canadian Corps was to continue to exist. Early in the war, the Union Government of Prime Minister Robert Borden opted to introduce conscription, a measure that would divide the country for decades. It had come into effect on January 1, 1915 but of the 404,385 men subject to the act, 385,510 or roughly 95% had sought an exemption. Conscription had been opposed by farmers, unions, pacifists and a significant proportion of the French speaking population of Quebec who saw the war as one of British imperialism. This opposition lead to numerous protests culminating in a riot on Good Friday 1918 in which 15,000 protesters clashed with police and the army resulting in 100’s of injuries and 4 deaths. In the end, only 24,132 conscripts made it to the front lines by November 11, 1918, one of which was Private Charles O’Connor of the 15^th Battalion (48th Highlanders of Canada) CEF.

Pvt. Charles O'Connor

According to his service records, Charles O’Connor was born on May 9, 1894 and enrolled in the Canadian Expeditionary Force just days before his 24th birthday in Toronto on May 1st, 1918. His serial number was 809227. He was given the rank of private and was noted as belonging to the 1st Central Ontario Regiment. He was described as being 5’ 8” tall, having a dark complexion, blue eyes and black hair. His next of kin was listed as his mother, Julia O’Connor. He was noted as being single, a Roman Catholic and having worked as a “moulder” as his “Trade or calling”. He did his basic training at Camp Borden near Barrie, Ontario. Camp Borden had trenches dug to help acclimatize the new recruits to the realities of warfare on the western front. By the time my grandfather was sent to France in October of 1918, the era of trench warfare had long passed as the allied armies, in many cases with Canadian troops in the vanguard, were forcing the German army back along the entire western front.

Camp Borden

Camp Witley 

Pvt. Charles O’Connor finished his basic training and embarked for England on June 3rd, 1918. He arrived in the British Isles on June 21st, 1918 and, from what I can make out on his service record, was assigned to the 12th Reserve Battalion at Witley Common in Surrey, England for further combat training on July 3rd, 1918.  Camp Witley was a temporary army camp that was activated during both the First and Second World Wars. The camp was one of three facilities in the Aldershot Command area established by the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He would remain in Camp Witley until October of 1918 when he would be transferred to France.

Camp Witley Canteen

If you are interested in learning more about the Conscription Crisis and the contribution made by the 24,132 conscripts who, like my grandfather, took part in the fighting; the April – May issue of Canada’s History magazine has an excellent article entitled “1918 Year of the Conscript” by Patrick M. Dennis. You can also following the link below to “The Great War” YouTube channel’s episode on “Canada in the Great War”(https://youtu.be/eYmsRaT6L1Y).

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. 

Stick a Pin in This!

By: Elizabeth King

Coming up in the next few weeks, the Lang Quilting Club is getting together to start a fun new project – quilted chicken pincushions. While these little fella’s aren’t exactly “pioneer”, they are a fun, easy project that allows us to practice our quilting skills, and use up some scraps in the spirit of re-using and recycling (something that is EXACTLY “pioneer”).

Example of what we are making!

Our little project got me thinking though, where did this handy little tool come from?

First off - before pincushions we had pin cases, boxes and baskets. Metal and bone needles were expensive and precious. They were kept in “safer” containers, and treasured. But as times changed, these containers became less popular and a new item came on the scene…the pincushion!

Definition: A pincushion is a small cushion into which pins are stuck for convenient storage.

The most recognizable pin cushion in the sewing world has got to be the stuffed tomato – still available to purchase today. From what I have read, it is also one of the first pin cushion designs. This little gem came out of the Tudor era…when tomatoes were thought to symbolize prosperity and ward off evil spirits. Originally, ripe tomatoes were displayed on tables or mantles, but when ripe tomatoes were not available (and everyone realized they had a shelf life) they were crafted out of fabric and stuffed with sawdust, sand or other scraps of fabric. These replica tomatoes ended up serving another purpose in the home as well…they were perfect for holding pins.

Pincushions evolved quite a bit as the years passed - but it is safe to say they really had the royal treatment in the late 1800’s – when they got fancied up by the Victorians. Jewel encrusted, hand embroidered, doll-shaped and clamp-able … they were both lovely and useful.

While I know I am going to treasure my little quilted chicken pin-cushion, and the memories of the fun I will have making it with the Lang Quilting Club, here are a selection of photographs of some admirable examples of this sewing essential. Maybe some future Lang reproduction projects…?

               

Elizabeth King is the Acting Assistant Manager at Lang Pioneer Village Museum.  She has been working at the Village since May of 2009.  Elizabeth is passionate about history, costuming, reading, vegan culinary crusades and environmental pursuits. When she isn’t in the middle of a project at Lang, she is often found with her head in the clouds.