The 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles - ElectricCanadian.com

":""38 4ra CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLESOct.1916 with their usual luck were on the left flank and had toattack on a six hundred yard frontage with two companiesplus one platoon in two waves fifty yards apart. ColonelGordon ordered D"Company under Captain L. F.Bishop to attack on the right and "A"Company commanded by Captain B. R. Gale to attack on the left.One platoon of C had a small frontage and was detailedto place a block in Regina Trench on the extreme left ofthe Battalion s objective. Major Patterson established aforward headquarters in Gun Pit Trench behind HessianTrench; machine gunners and bombers were detailed tofollow on the flanks of the second wave. "DCompanyassembled in Gun Pit Trench, Company collected"A"in a trench running north from Hessian Trench and theplatoon of "C"Company had to find the best availableplace still nearer Regina Trench. The remainder ofi9i"C"Company were to garrison Hessian Trench and thecommunication trench running from it and therebyform a defensive flank.Before the attack took place scouts had reported thatthe wire was very thick and that it appeared untouchedby the artillery. Only one small gap existed on the leftof "D"Company s frontage. This information wasreported to the Brigade at 7.05 a.m. and explained tothe 6th Artillery Brigade at 7.30 p.m. It was decidedto pound the wire until 10.30 a.m. and then cease firefor an hour to allow the scouts to examine it again.Word was received at 9.55 a.m. that it was imperativefor the attack to take place even though all the wire wasnot cut. Due to the position of Regina Trench theArtillery had great difficulty in finding the wire. At11.30 a.m. when the hammering was finished Captain A.A. MacKenzie went out with a few scouts in broad daylight and found the wire still a formidable obstacle.A"Company was ordered to crawl out and creep around thefirst band of entanglements preparatory to the attackand thus avoid the apparent necessity of finding a waythrough it.lf ^ne men waited i*1 the drizzling rain for the barrageto lift. They knew exactly what they were expected to