The Army of the Maple Leaf.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 268, 20 April 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Army of the Maple Leaf.

By LORD NORTHCLIFFE.

Headquarters of t2ie Canadian Army, France. 4 BRILLIANT lato summer Canad- ■**■ ian morning in Winnipeg— Labour Day, when hour atfer hour a procession of 6ta;lwart trade unionists, with their musio and banners, passed along tlio American - looking streets bearing proudly the emblems of the'r trades.

That half-forgotten scene was in my ! mind as I waited b ythe roadside n Flanders to see the same men, squarejawed, on their way through the snow to the ordeal of the firing line. For some of these Canadians it was their first trial; others had been over the top" ajra'-n and again in the raids in which they havo been so successful in capturing and agitating the enemy. In appearance tho Canadian soldier, of whom wo seo far too little in London, owing to the action of tho Canadian' Government in segregating them, moro c'osely resembles the British soldier than any of the others from over-i-cas. Many are of great stature, especially the Scotsmen from Nova Scot ; a, New Brunsw ck, and Cape Breton, some of tho descendants of tho disbanded Highland regiments of long ago. Quite a number speak Gaelic. Most of the other English speakers are of tlie strong and stocky Canadian and American type, which has resulted from a generation or two of tho natural lifo of the out-of-doors men. The French Canadians are smaller, but they are very wiry. Tho Canadian front in Fiance is a replica 'in miniature of the whole vast Domiii-on. It is a w'orld of the railroads, the forests, the farms, tho mines, the hikes, the rivers, the banks, insurance, real estate, the lumber camp, and—dare I whisper it?—even politics. The Canadian soldiers have had good and bad luck. At home many of them are accustomed to and wilting to rough it in all sorts of ways; and they were, therefore, inured to discomfort. Tney had not expettenced damp mud, and the dreadful mud of that first rainy winter on Salisbury Plain was a pieco of real misfortune. They boro their trials nobly, though so arduous were the conditions that the actual mortality was serious. All their ill-luck, however, has now been more than balanced by tho aK-»mportant fact that they have secured for their leader one of the ablest, as well as one ctf the ltest liked, generals in oho whole war—Sir Julian Byng, a worthy representative of a great fighting lamily. The Canadans call themselves the Bing Boy 9, after tho popular musical comedy. Quite lately they gaily signalled* back from within a few yards of tho art:llery barrago that "The Bing Boys are Here," denofrng their arrival at "the, second German trench.

Tliero is still an old lurking suspicion of the Imperial officers which lingers in tho overseas' mind, and which dates back to General Braddock's mis-hand-ling of tho American colonists and tho treatment of young Colonel George Washington, then fighting for England. Those doubtings do not apply to Six Julian Byng, who has the absolute confidence and affection of his warmhearted and practical Army. Sir Julian is a big well-made man, villi strong jaws, strong ears, and a strong walk, distinctly handsome, with dark blue eyes. 1 wish that tho French and German custom of circulating photographs and coloured prints of their generals could bo adopted, and that Byng's picture was as well known in Canada, .as Niivcl'.o's and Peta/in's are already known in France. His military experience is as complete and varied' as that of any officer at the war. Ho' was in the Sudan expedition, went through the South African campaign, was commander of the entire Egypt* an Army, earned distinction in tho Dardanelles, and is now the idol of the Canadian Corps. His Canadian colleagues, General Currie, General Watson, Gentral Lipsitt, and French Canadians with names like Dubuc and Papineau, all speak with the same enthusiasm of their chief. At his right hand lis General Currie, a huge Ontario man, who made his way West, gathered in a fortuno in real estate and insurance in tho delightful town of Victoria, 8.C., and has proved ftimself as good a soldier as man of business. He lis probably one of tho biggest generals in the Army, and certanly one of the most silent. General Watson, whom I have known for several years, is the owner of the "'Quebec Chronicle." From General Lipsitt I learned much about the very vared constituents of this most interesting Army. I had previously visited the Canadians, when young Captain Papinoau, a descendant of tho famous rebel family and a Rhodes scholar, had given me some of the information I record in this brief acocumt of a great undertaking.

Each of the British Armies in France has it-i own characteristics One -:f the keynotes of the Canadia_n character is quick adaptability. The boy who works tho lift in the Vancouver hotel and tries to sell you a "corner lot'' may, withm twelve months, bo running b:.; own real estate offuo or developing some, industry far away on the Yukon. Tho atmosphere of adaptability In that climatn is infectious. The London suburban clerk, who lias stood the dull imprisonment of tube, typewriter, and hed-sittingroom untfl nature has biiisfc his bonds, catches on to tho Canadian life in most eases with a ra;4dity that is duo to the vitalising sunshine and the opportunities that offer themselves to everybody except those who are born temperamentally ''quitters.'' Sir .Lilian Byng and his Can ad an generals have utilised this adaptaHlity to the utmost. Be it remembered always that tho Dominion troops are iindorgo'ng experiences in contrast not known to our own men. Whereas the difference in lifcn England and Flanders is. not very great, the difference lietween Domini:.n life and European life is vji>t. The absence of siinshinn and ilm' damp, the difference of the diet and the Mrrreundngs, toustituto an hourly and daily contrast between North Ameitiuin life and ours. It is the French Canadians only who have an advantage over the others. Billet ilniii in a French village au:l they are at once at homo with the inhabitants. Their Louis XIV. accent does not differ a ; niii'-Ii from the ordinary French as do ihe argots of, let us sav, I'; ar.lv and tie Midi. Byni' and his Canadian troiiorals have the specialities of the daily work of the Canadians with ilgnal effect, lie and his officers " y;et together", to ii-o ;=ti cxprevoii often heard in Canada, continually in conferences n.nd lectures. fJy this menus they have found out exactly what part-Vul.tr aptitudes the Canadians can bring to hear in beating the Boche. One -p-dality is

A DAY WITH THE CANADIANS IN FRANCE.

map-making and survoyng. For obvious) reasons the Canadians are proba'ily the greatest map-makers in the world, just as they are the greatest railroad builders. They are map-makers by necessity, for they havo a rich and largely undeveloped territory 40 times the h ze of tho Old Country, which 'is being mapped and surveyed continuously. For tho better accomplishment of their purpose they have not only developed their own map-makers, but have absorbed the best talent from Europe. That skill has now lieen developed :n the Canadian Army in France. When I revisited Sir Julian to-dny, two features of his small personal workroom attracted my attention—the theatre posters of the " Bing Boys" and the redhot maps showing German portions of yesterday afternoon which had been already photographed by aviators, developed, mapped, printed, and circulated up and down the line. This would be "going somo"' even in Fleet-street. Accurate photography and mapping of the enmey lines is a life-saver of the first importance. How often in the earlier days of tho war did we bow our heads before heavy casualty Ists caused by machino guns from a German trench that had been overlooked in the planning of a bombardment! ! I havo described so many Amies in outline, and the broad outlines of our Armies are so similar, that I can only hero deal with a few of the marked differences. Tho Canadians are great as ra'ders. Each raid, as I have before pouted out, ds a battlo in miniature, and sometimes quite a largo battle. One of tho very first of thoso modern raids, if not tho first, was successfully accomplished by tho Canadians at Messmos. I find that people at home do not quite realiso tho significance of these sudden and violent pounces on the German trenches. Their effect may be gathered from some of the German documents with which I shall conclude In general it may be said that these raids, which began as small movements for tho (identification of opposing forces, are now a successful means of breaking tho worn German morale. Snow and frost havo been no deterrent to the Canadians, to whom 20 and even 40 degrees below zero are not unknown. What surprises the war investigator is not only the quickness with which the Dominion men have taken to warfaro bait the completeness with which their Government have equipped their ArnJies. Tho Canadians brought everything with them, from highly skilled surgeons and nurses to maple sugar. Everyone knows that there are no better hospitals in tlie world than such inst r tutions as the Royal Victoria, in Montreal, and Canadian nursing Ts famous all over North America, from Edmonton to Quay West and North Sydney to San Franscisco. It was to be expected, therefore, that despite the criticisms of disgruntled politicians the Canadian medical arrangements m Franco should be excellent. One of the best that I havo seen dince the beginning of the war is the fine hospital at St. Cloud, just outside Paris. I spent a couplo of days with the Canadian soldiers and found that they had. no cause of complaint of any 6ort, except that, univke tho British, tney cannot go home on leave and are therefore doubly exiled, and that they were 1 equipped at the-outset with the Ross • rifle, which they told me was an excellent weapon for maten shooting, but a real friend to tho Boche, as a N°va Scotian explained, when it came to warfare. Fortunately it does not take a Canadian long to make up his mind. Tho Ross rifle was automatic-ally abandoned by tho soldiers, and they are now armed with cur serviceable weapon, which is as able as any to withstand tho mud and violence of war.

Just a word as to the constitution of tno Canadian Army. Tho earliest contingents wero naturally composed of a considerable proportion of emigrants from the Old Country. Latterly, nativeborn Canadians have predominated. In fact, on my second day with the Canadian troops T encountered nothing but Canadians, both French and English speaking, wtth the Americans 1 described the other day. The French Canadians have so far not enlisted in numbers commensurate with tho population of tho great French provinces. But those who aro in France are enthusiastic soldiers. Their enthusiasm is largely for tho cause of their French kinsmen.

It is probable that if the French side could be explained in Quebec by some of the brave French pritsts from the trenches, French Canada's share would bo more worthy. To meet them marching along a cobble-stoned road of Flanders, dressed exactly liko our English soldiers, but speaking French, is one of the thousand confusing incidents of the front. Captain Papineau told me that these Canadian Frenchmen have brought buck to France the old folksongs taken away by the'r ancestors between two and three centuries ago. Sometimes a-s they pass through tho French villages singing their songs the old inhabitants come out to hear lilts that had almost passed from their memory. A Parisian journalist told me that their French has intermingled w.th it many sea terms. Tho emigres of that time were largely from Brittany and its ports and to this day they continue the, sea talk of their fathers.

Oho of my Canadian glimpse? was a little procession of shattcrcd-looking enemy prismenj, with t'.cir crestfallen officers, all in very different mood from those witli whom I convrsed 12 months ago. They were not only cowed, but what 1 have never seen In Prussian officers before, shabby as to their clothe-. It was explained to me by a Canadian who spoko German that it is the arrival of the big guns that has alarmed them. For years they had relied on big guns, and now the British and French have lugger guns. Something that had never entered into the call illations had appeared. Let mo quote from some documents captured upon them. Hero writes a lieutenant of the 170 th Regiment:

Yon ;uv '•till m Champagne and no longer in the witches' cauldron on the edge of winch wo are sitting, always waiting. During the last few days the af'r na.s been alive with aviators, and still more so with heavy shells which have been flying over our heads. Yesterday at neon there was an intense bombardment, frightfully near us, at Beaumont, and an attack which is said to have been re- ] ulscd. The number of guns, and of tiio heaviest calibres, too, that the English possess is the amount of ammunition they lire elf Cji.itu fabulous. And m addifon, which is -o bail, their airmen are<onstantly over our lines, discover our latteries <-o that they may be peppered, anil are always attacking our -i'.pt've balloons, winch Is the same

thing as putting our eyes out. Meanwlrilo the sky .s black ulth captive balloons a-nd hostile airmen—but of that I will say nothing: it would be merely pouring water into the Rhine. Solely tlia English artillery, the English Flying Corps, and their balloon observation have given them the success they have attained. That they have gained no more, in spite of all, is duo to our German infantry. \\e could save several thousands of lives if onlv wo had the English airmen and gunners. It makes one despair when one thinks of it all."'

From a Bavarian:— "The war fanatics and thctr friends ought to go through this hell and feel its effects on their own bodies, and then they themselves would surely come to tho decision; Peace, peace at any price, is the one and only maxim that ought to direct tho Government's policy." A Company Report, oth Grenadier Regiment : " I urgently request that I may be relieved to-morrow night, in case no relief takes place to-day. The men havo to lie in holes (there are no longer any dug-outs in my sector). In addition there is very brisk and well-aimed artillery and trench-mor-tar fire. We are so exhausted phyaicallv and mentally that with tho best will" (and that is not lacking) we aro no longer fin that phyjfcal state of* readiness that is absolutely essential." A private's jettor: ,; Not a day passes but the English let off their gas waves over our trenches at one place or another. People fivo or six miles behind the front have become unconscious from tho tail of the gas clouds. Its effects aro felt at even "i miles behind the front. One hag only to look at tho rifles after a gas attack to see. what deadly stuff ,it is. They are red with rust, as if they had lain 'for weeks in tho mud. And the effect of the continuous bombardment is indescribable."

From a man of the 11th R.I.R. : "Wo entrained at Savigny, and at onco knew our destination —ow old 'blood bath,' the Somme. We. relieved tho 119 th on October 7 and had dreadful casualties that night. Tho 9th Company dwindled to 29 men; two platoons were taken prisoners, and tho rest were buried in the dug-outs. Our company has up to date lest 30 men." From a letter written by a man in hospital : "Our regiment was suddenly taken from Flanders and flung ■ into the Sommo district. Twelve days we stayed there and were completely smashed up. Ten days I endured that hell and came to the end of my strength." From another: — "Yes, my dear comrade, I have been on the Somme, but can only tell you that I have been through a great deal in this war. Such a slaughter of men as there was there I have not yet experienced, for in two days our d'ht.ion was wiped out. I cannot help wondering that I came off with a whole skin, but there were not many of us."

From a man of the 3rd Reserve Ersatz Regiment: — "The officers we have up to the rank of captain are mostly boys who have no idea of anything. They draw high pay and have food and drink in abundance. We, on the other hand, livo nnserabiy. We do not receive by a long way what we should. The German Government is always writing about other States, and tho German Government deceives the people in a very shameful way;, ono sees it now very clearly in this wholesale murder. One can hardly help being ashamed of being a. German. Wo must turn our rifles round and destroy the whole Government. Dear Grete, if I should happen not to return, then think how I have written to you about it all, that the gang has caused us to bo kiKed for fun and for sport. It is very different from tho English. That is why they have not nearly so many losses. If only one of us shows himself, then they use up plenty of ammunition; but they work in hundreds without cover and our guns don't fire. They are not allowed to —there is a shortage of ammunition. The newspapers write, of course, that the enemy is short of ammuntron. By that they mean that we ourselves are. " It is quite clear that Germany is losing and is getting into a terrible state. It is all right for tho upper ten thousand. The canteens make a profit of two or three hundred per cent., not for us. of course, as they ought to do, hut for the officers' club. Tho officers here live in great luxury. In tho line the officers aro in bombproof dug-outs. We, on the other hand, have filthy, wet, tumbledown holes. The officers and others have it in thoir hands to take away our food, which we ought to have but do not get. I have heard it only too often from non-commissioned officers and old soldiers that if wo had letter leadership we should often have been nblo to do something without heavy losses, but we are generally too late, or do it in the wrong way and with heavy loss. If tho young officers did not swank ,°o much and treated tho men more like human beings we should lie more content and more would bo accomplished: but wo hate cur officers. We are bound to, for what miseraKo grub we get, while these swine live on the 'fat of the land! "Hero in Tonbrielen. where the airmen throw bombs and where we shall get artillery fire very shortly, tliora is a dug-out for tho officers, but none lor the men. In this wholesale murder we get to know completely how much we aro under tho knout."

Expressions of misery such as these are being voiced by most if the prisoncaptured anywhere between Alsace and Nicuport, but especially on the Sommn and Ancre. Kxciirsions to other theatres of the war arc regarded as more or less joy rides by the Prussian i;nd Bavarian soldier*. The citizen armies of the Rn't'sh, the Dominions, and the French peoples have anchored the greater |>art of the rea'l (ierman forces in front of them, within easy reach of London and Paris. It is the (ierman object to detach these armies of ours and scat tor them in little packets all over the world, in eider that a.' -hall not kill so many Prussians and Bavar an-. The Canadians, who are clear-sighted people, acctistomed to big tasks, see this situation very plainly, and one leave- the magnificent (-.iindcn Army with a feeling of content that they, at any rate, have not been recklessly dispersed, but are a compact wedge and perpetual menace t« the great body of Germans immediately facing them in the dreary snowScape of North-Western Frnire.