The 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles - ElectricCanadian.com

DURING THE LAST GERMAN OFFENSIVE 95On Christmas Eve little Clark, the Assistant- Adjutant, who had Jan.been left at Transport came up to celebrate the occasion with us. Hestarted out about mid-night with the other Clarke from Battalion Headquarters to visit the various companies and wish them the complimentsof the season. About 2.30 a.m. I went up to the Observation Post to seeif there was anything stirring. Away over in the Hun lines I could hearmale voices singing Christmas Carols very melodiously, while fromnearer at hand sounded the raucous tones of the two Clarkes and theirmeasured tread on the duck-boards of the communication trench, asthey returned to Battalion Headquarters singing:"Don t Blame Me!"The contrast was rather ludicrous. Just about dawn one of our sniperssaw a Hun making his way overland from one trench to the other, evidently thinking the light was not yet good enough for rifle-fire. Ourfellow "drilled"him clean, and was heard to remark as he ejected theempty shell: "Merry Christmas, Fritz, you ....!"On January 7th according to Brigade operation ordersthe 4th C. M. R. was detailed to raid the enemy s trencheswith the object of destroying machine-gun emplacementsand dug-outs, and securing prisoners. A party ofthirty was organized under Captain L. B. Bumstead tocarry out the raid. Lieutenant A. Clarke examined theposition in daylight on the afternoon of the 6th andreported that he had gone along Humbug Sap to withinfilled withthirty yards of the enemy and found the sapheavy wire. As it was the intention of the raiding partyto proceed under cover of this sap it was decided to cutthrough the wire as far as possible and demolish theremainder by exploding a Bangalor torpedo. Duckboardswere to be used if necessary to throw down onany untouched portions to advance into the enemy slines. The 5th C. M. R. was to make a demonstrationon the right to distract the enemy and the artillery wasto arrange for a box-barrage to be put down at a givensignal.The raiding party left the front line at 5.00 p.m. andproceeded up Humbug Sap until they came to the wire.They worked for three hours unobserved by the enemyand at the end of that time had cut about ten yards ofthe wire. The Bangalor Torpedo was then shoved alongunder the wire but it w r as impossible to detonate it.The