1917 First World War diaries of Horace Brown Not to be reproduced without the permission of
the Canadian War Museum Jan 1st, went back
into trenches today and Heinie was not a bit nice to us. We stayed in trenches for 8 days,
coming out on Jan 9th to practice for a raid, the first daylight raid to be
pulled off in this war. Jan 11. Practiced for the coming raid today. It must be some raid from the amount of men going
over. 800 of us all volunteers from two
Battalions. We have practiced this raid
every day from Jan 11 to Jan 17th. Tomorrow
morning at 3 am we move into trenches ready to go over the top at 8 am. At 3 am on 18th we
started for the front line. It was snowing a
regular storm. We were nearly frozen to death
waiting for the attack in the morning. I
took too much rum and had to lay out in our wire entanglement from 9 am until 8 pm at
night. Could not get back. Vowed I would never take another drink of rum in
France. The old French couple who I
had been billeted with in Bully Grenay thought I was killed and they were both sitting
before the fire crying when I opened the door and walked in. Poor old folks.
I can never forget how overjoyed they were to see me still alive. The raid was very successful
from the High Commander’s point of view. We
took 134 prisoners with 18 officers brought back, 21 machine guns, 10 trench mortars, blew
up 27 guns and mortars and blew 38 dugouts. We
lost 76 killed and wounded out of 800 men. We went back into front line
on Jan 22nd. P of W talked to me
while in front line this trip. Nothing stuck
up about that boy. We made another raid on 23rd. Brought back 11 Huns, no one lost. Made another raid on 25th and got 2
Huns. Another raid on Jan 27 got 5 Huns. Heavy shelling on Jan 28th. Made a raid 29th, got 4 prisoners and
just before 3 o’clock in the morning the Huns made a raid on us. 53 of them and we took every one of them prisoners
along with 3 officers. This is about the best
way to get prisoners that I know of. I am going down to Canadian
Corps School at (unreadable) on Feb 8 for a six weeks course. More of a rest I guess in preparation for a big
attack which is going to take place. Well I
feel a lot better after my six weeks at (unreadable) but I got into a jack-pot the
last day though telling the Colonel my views thus March 20th and I am back with
my Battalion and they have moved to a new front while I have been away. Things are fairly quiet on this front. We are now at Vimy Ridge. The Huns gave us the devil for 2 days, March 24
& 25th Left the trenches on March 27th. Went up in Areoplane sic on 28 and again on
29th to view the German trenches from the air.
We are going to attack V
R on
. We are now maneuvering every day
in preparation for the attack. Well part of the Vimy Ridge
scrap is over. What a sight that was. Hundreds of thousands of men swarming out of the
trenches and going up those slopes and not a Hun left on the ridge at 20 minutes past 6
am. Only 11,000 prisoners. I am taking my platoon over the Ridge tonight for
S
. This is April 9th. Although the diary ends at
this point, Sgt Brown remained with the Battalion for an additional month, being wounded
on May 9, 1917 and eventually invalided to England. Al Lloyd |