72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - Electric Scotland

ance with judgment, and the
to be a task of tremendous difficulty.
THE LAST FIGHT.
capture of the city promised
With the first streaks of daylight on the 28th the 72nd
commenced their preparations for the pending assault. At
various commanding points
the scouts established their
observation and sniping posts and began a systematic
search of the enemy s front. From the Battalion 0. P.
(observation post) under the eaves of -a factory roof, a
most comprehensive view of the northern portion of the
enemy front opposite the line held by the Battalion was
obtained. "A"
Company s scouts established themselves in
the upper room of a house. "D"
Company s scouts kept
a keen eye on the southern section of the enemy s posi
tion from a house in front of the line, which it will be
remembered fell back, on the right, from the canal. Under
the searching scrutiny of the scouts telescopes, important
details of the foe s defence were revealed. Let it here be
said that in the four days preceding the attack, the ob
servers and scouts discovered every hostile post along the
opposite bank, and it was by means of this information
that competent measures could be taken to combat these
points of resistance.
The general plan of the first phase of the operation
against Valenciennes was to cross the canal, seize the
bridge-heads and so obtain a footing for the operation
against the city itself. If at all possible the attack was to
be pushed home and the town itself taken immediately
after the canal had been crossed.
The great obstacle was the 60 feet of deep water which
had to be crossed, not by one or two men, but by several
platoons, in the face of an enemy holding the opposite
side. To effect this crossing, collapsible boats, rafts, and a
cork -float bridge were supplied by the engineers. With
much labour these were carried to the edge of the canal
and hidden in readiness. On the left this was compara
tively easy on account of the large amount of cover fur-
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