72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - waughfamily.ca

CHAPTER XVI.THE LAST FIGHT.Preparing for the assault of Valenciennes Great work by thescou ts Artillery preparations Crossing the Canal on boatsand rafts Great execution by the field gun Fighting in therailway station and yards Heading for Onnaign Fine workof the Battalion signallers Visit of President Poincaire toValenciennes Announcement of the Armistice.DAWNON OCTOBEE 28th showed the waiting troopsthe situation with which they were faced. On theleft the front held hugged the tow-path of the canal. Onthe right the line fell back some 200 to 250 yards. Straightin front lay the canal, about 60 feet wide and full tooverflowing. Beyond the canal lay a maze of railwaytracks varying in width from 200 to 300 yards; whilebeyond this again, on a higher level ran the wide boulevard skirting the town of Valenciennes. The German engineers had done their work well. Every bridge crossingthe canal lay in the water, a heap of twisted steel. Notso much as a single plank gave passage over the canal,while across the narrow waterway which formed No Man sLand lay the steady menace of German machine guns posted at every point of vantage along the opposite bank.Owing to various reasons, chief among which was probablythe large civilian population of Valenciennes, the Canadian artillery rigorously refrained from shelling the town.The canal bank, the railway yards and the outskirts ofthe town all received unremitting attention from the guns,but the city itself was immune. Taking everything intoconsideration the Germans had chosen their line of resist-160