72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - waughfamily.ca

SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS OF CANADAwas devoted to entertainment. On the contrary, trainingand musketry practice were daily carried out. "The Canadian Army, during the summer of 1918," writes F. A.McKenzie, "was busy preparing itself for the renewal ofthe offensive under the changed conditions created by German tactics in their spring advance. Trench war, as wehad known it since the first arrival of the Canadian troopsin France in February, 1915, had gone, and war of positions had come. We still used trenches, and it would bea mistake to talk of trenches as obsolete. Fresh trencheshad been dug along our new lines. But the trench was nolonger the dominating feature of the situation. War wasto become what soldiers had long hoped for open war,where armies fought and moved, where cavalry came intoplay again, where the initiative of the individual soldierobtained full opportunity, and where generalship couldin other ways than the building up of cumbershow itselfsome defenses." It was for this new condition of thingsthat the Battalion was now to be prepared, by intensivetraining of the severest character, intermixed with judicious intervals of athletic sports and recreations.On May 6th the Battalion was moved by lorry to Conteville,about five miles from St. Pol. On arrival at thisplace a farmingdistrict with the usual rural characteristics, secret orders were received that in the course of afew days an attack was to be made on the enemy acrossthe valley of the Lys, towards Estaires. After about fourdays of intense secrecy and conferences behind lockeddoors this attack was cancelled. During the three weeksin the Conteville-Ostreville area, the most active trainingwas carried out, the preparation for open warfare culminating in a series of field days, in one of which the12th Brigade met and defeated the Corps troops. The severity of the training was added to by the long march ofeight miles out and eight miles back to and from theground which had been allotted for the manoeuvres.100