The 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles - ElectricCanadian.com

:1PASSCHENDAELE 83wounded. Sergeant Harding took out a patrol of tenmen and brought back two prisoners of the 73rd GermanRegiment. The rest of the night was fairly quiet.It is impossible to speak too highly of Major M. M.in this battle. He was recommended forHart s partthe D. S. O., and received a Bar to his M. C. In thewords of the official recommendation, "he set an exampleof resourcefulness and presence of mind which wasundoubtedly in a large degree responsible for the successof the operation. Lieutenant B. D. Poyser, also of"BCompany, ably assisted Major Hart and wasawarded the M. C.The Battalion paid heavily for its part in the first stageof the capture of Passchendaele ;an enormous sacrifice forsuch little ground gained. There were seventeen casualtieseight were killed and nine wounded.among the officers;There were only four untouched who were part of theattacking troops and some of them had most uncannyescapes. Three hundred and four other ranks werekilled, wounded or missing, or evacuated suffering fromexposure. The few hours of fighting accounted for halfthe total strength of officers and a third of all the men.Again the Battalion gave more than its share in manpower.Six officers and fifteen N. C. O. s and men were decorated for various acts of devotion to duty. Ten menwere awarded the D. C. M. five of these were recommended by the Commanding Officer for the M. M. butreceived the D. C. M.; six others received the M. M.This was so unusual that it is mentioned here to emphasize the wonderful work done by the N. C. O s and menand to show how much their efforts were appreciatedby the Corps. It was also rare to be given so manyD. C. M. s for one action, carrying as they do a gratuity.On the other hand there were those who were recommended, but did not receive awards, and, as always,courageous deeds went unnoticed or passed into oblivionwith the dead. There is one decoration which a regimentalways shares with the individual: it becomes part ofregimental history; the greatest honour the British