The Bayonet—Spirit Weapon

[US Army] Infantry School Quarterly, Vol 37, No 2, October, 1950
By Major Schiller F. Shore, Infantry

Editor's Note: This article represents the opinion of the writer, not necessarily that of The Infantry School.

We all know that the bayonet is seldom used to kill an enemy.* Combat experiences of World Wars I and II have pointed up this fact. It is difficult to find a man who has actually killed with cold steel. Bullets are better; no soldier in his right senses will engage in a bayonet duel while he still has a loaded rifle. Bullets are surer, easier.

For these reasons the bayonet and bayonet training have fallen into a period of what is known as "deemphasis." This is a long and nebulous word for "forget it; you won't need it."

It is easy to see the logic behind "deemphasis" of the bayonet. If we're not going to use it, let's cut out the hours spent on bayonet training and put them to use on training we do need.

This has been done. The hoarse-voiced bayonet instructors have disappeared. And bayonet training is now con sidered as merely the excellent physical conditioner that it is.

The writer maintains that this is excellent logic but poor psychology.

We have already discussed the logic of deemphasis, and few of us will find fault with it. But let us now look at the psychology of it.

Our infantrymen are taught to "close with and capture or destroy the enemy." This is the ultimate goal of all training. In the final phase of an assault our infantrymen come within--for want of a better word--spitting distance of the enemy. Or, if you prefer, close combat.

Well, what weapon in all our armament is symbolic of close combat?

I think it is the bayonet and what goes with it--the spirit of the bayonet, offensive-mindedness, and the will to kill.

All these things are tied in, in some intangible way, with the bayonet on the end of the rifle. I believe it belongs there, that it looks good there, that even though it seldom explores an enemy gut (bullets being better), the sight of cold steel brings fear to the defender and an extra bit of courage and confidence to the man who knows how to use it if he has to.

By "deemphasizing" the bayonet and the spirit of the bayonet as we used to teach it, this writer believes that we subtract in some measure from the spirit of the offensive and the will to close with the enemy. We strip ourselves of a "spirit" weapon that cannot be replaced by a pistol, a knife, a flamethrower, or any other lethal device. The bayonet is a tradition that we should not discard. Let us "reemphasize" the bayonet. Bring back the old time bayonet sergeants (though modifying their enthusiastic opinion that the bayonet is the only weapon). Let us reinstate cold steel as the symbol of final assault, even though bullets rightly do most of the killing.

*NOTE: A recent and notable exception is the case of Major John Cook, late of The Infantry School in the Korean War. Surrounded by infiltrating Communists, Cook emptied his pistol into the charging Reds, picked up a rifle, shot several of the enemy, and then, his ammunition gone, used his bayonet for a final kill before he himself was killed. He was awarded the DSC.

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They Are Returning

E.J. Pratt

On 15 June 1945 McLean's magazine commisioned and published this poem by E.J. Pratt, a leading Canadian poet and three-time recipient of the Governor General's Award for poetry.

• Wikipedia - E.J. Pratt
• E. J. Pratt: Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage
• The Complete Poems and Letters of E.J. Pratt: A Hypertext Edition

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Click image for larger version.

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The Colours in Action

From "Military Matters"
The Toronto Daily Mail; 6 May 1882

Orders were given some time ago by the War Office that colours were no longer to be carried into action. A change so decidedly at variance with the history and traditions of the army, and so humiliating, say the Army and Navy Gazette, could hardly be made the subject of a general order without raising a storm of angry remonstrance.

The London Globe, in referring to this matter, says that "our troops may, at some future time, encounter those of a nation that has not acknowledged that it is afraid to trust its colours to the valour and discipline of its soldiers. If we should capture some of their colours (and this, of course, might happen) we ought to return them as soon as possible, as under such circumstances we could not fairly keep them. When the colours of a regiment, or rather of a "Line battalion," are stowed away to save them from the risk of being captured, a pair of white flags might be served out instead, and precise instructions given as to the correct mode of offering to surrender, or of asking for quarter. Defeat instead of victory is the probably result of a battle for which our reformers are anxious to provide; and some of out latest encounters seem to justify their opinion."

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Making Canada's Militia Real Army

Scheme Now on Tapis to Send Whole Brigade to English Manoeuvres

Col. Hughes to Command

Four Battalions and One Composite Corps of Cavalry and Artillery to Compose its Make-Up

The Montreal Gazette; 5 August 1913
(Special to the Gazette.)

Ottawa, August 4.—A unique military proposition is at present being urged upon the Hon. Sam Hughes, minister of militia and defence, from different parts of the Dominion that Canada should send over in 1914 a Canadian brigade to the English divisional and army manoeuvres. Since the present minister took control of the military affairs of the Dominion there has been greater co-operations with the English authorities in military matters than ever before, and this scheme has been suggested to him as a forward step in still further modelling the Canadian militia on the liones of the English soldiers in tactical matters.

The scheme, as suggested, is that the brigade should be composed of four battalions and one composite corps composed of cavalry, artillery, etc. The brigade would be as follows:

One battalion of Highlanders composed of representatives of the different Highland regiments from all parts of the Dominion.

One battalion of Fusiliers and Guards, chosen from the different Fusiliers and Guards regiments of the Dominion. This battalion would be known as the "Bearskin Battalion."

Once battalion composed of the representatives from the different rifle regiments of the Dominion.

One battalion composed of representatives of other infantry regiments to be known as the "Scarlet Regiment."

One corps made up of the other arms of the service—Cavalry, artillery, Army Service Corps, and other units.

A Representative Brigade

The brigade would thus be representative of all the different arms of the Canadian service and those to be taken would be chosen on the recommendation of the officers of the regiment. The officers to be taken would depend upon the recommendation of the officer commanding their district and would depend upon the interest they had taken in their regiments.

It is also proposed that in order that the brigade should be ready to go in for hard work on its arrival in England that it should undergo a weeks' training in Quebec before sailing. The time required for the whole operations would not take more than from four to five weeks.

A most interesting feature of the English manoeuvres in 1914 would thus be to observe the results of the experiment of a Canadian brigade taking part in manoeuvres with the English troops. This would be the first time that a Canadian brigade had been sent to England, but not the first time that a full Canadian Regiment had gone across, as Sir Henry Pellat, at his own expense, took the Queen's Own Rifles, Toronto, with him to the English manoeuvres a couple of years ago. That experiment had splendid results.

It is likely that the Canadian brigade would be commanded by the Minister of Militia and Defence himself and a staff composed of distinguished Canadian officers.

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Unidentified airwomen preparing food in the test kitchen, No.1 Nutritional Laboratory, R.C.A.F., Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 3 April 1944. Location: Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Date: April 3, 1944. Photographer: Unknown. Mikan Number: 3583196 Visit the virtual exhibition Faces of War.

Canadian Soldier gets Good Food At Cost of Only 31 Cents a Day

Army Cooks Receive Careful Instruction On How to Avoid waste—Nothing That Can Be Used in Cooking Goes Into Garbage Can

Montreal Gazette, 30 Jun 1941

Ottawa, June 29.—(CP)—The Canadian housewife who strives for economical, tasty meals should have a fellow-feeling for the Canadian army cook, for whom avoidance of waste and preparation of good tea and coffee as matters of instruction instead of choice.

National Defence Headquarters said last night that regulations for army cooks come under the control of the quartermaster-general, Maj.-General E.J.C. Schmidlin, and the director of supply and transport, Col. H.O. Lawson. Through these regulations it has been possible to feed the Canadian soldier well for 31 cents a day, compared with an estimated 50 cents a day in the United States and from 24 to 40 cents for Canadian troops in the first Great War.

In comparison with 1914-18, the Canadian soldier's diet has been greatly improved, officers said, but an important fact in keeping costs down has been the specific regulations respecting avoidance of waste.

The army cook has constantly before him instructions such as the following:

• Potatoes and vegetables are to be prepared only immediately before cooking to prevent waste of food values.
• All suitable meat bones should be placed in the soup cauldrons or stock pots before being discarded.
• Fresh fish should not be thawed in water, as food values are lost, use only the heat of the kitchen to thaw.
• Fats should be saved for cooking purposes, and any surplus is put into containers for salvage sale.
• Nothing which can be used in cooking, or disposed of by sale, should go into the swill barrel or garbage container.

The army cook is required especially to see that the tea and coffee he serves is good.

The cook must be careful about the cloths used in his work. The regulation provides:

"Ample supplies of dry cloths should be available for use on alternate days. After being dried and boiled, they must be hung in the fresh air dry or wet. This keeps the cloths fresh, and also preserves them."

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Cannon Girt Halifax

A City Dominated by the Military

The Remarkable Strength of the Harbour's Defences—America the Nation at Which All Guns Point

(Extracts from an American visitor's description of his visit to Halifax.)

Boston Evening Transcript; Wednesday, 14 August, 1901
(Mark Sullivan — Special Correspondent of the Transcript.)

This map, from the Parks Canada History and Archaeology publication #46, Defending Halifax: Ordnance, 1825-1906 (Parks Canada, 1981), shows the locations of gun batteries surrounding Halifax Harbour in 1905.

Halifax, N.S., Aug 12.

"I wonder," said a fine old Roman Catholic priest, a chance companion of the voyage, who stood beside me on the forward deck as we rounded Sambro Light and faced the fort-lined sides of Halifax harbour, "I wonder if England ever stops to decide in her own mind just what her purpose is in spending a half million yearly on new fortifications for this harbour" Or does she keep it up like her court customs and her legal fictions, just because she began it a hundred and fifty years ago, and it would be a violation of precedent to stop."

"And I wonder, too"—here the priest pointed to the new redoubt on the left, built after the style of Gibraltar, where a dozen cannon mouths peer from holes in the solid rock like watchful giants in their caves taking a twilight look for lurking enemies before they go to bed—"I wonder, when an imaginative young lieutenant sights those guns in practice and aims them at the harbour mouth, what nation's flag he has in his mind's eye as a target? If he's learned anything at all at Sandhurst, more than how to keep his shoulders straight and carry his sword correctly, he must know that in the modern system of naval warfare, Germany and Russia and France, with their coal supply three thousand miles away, can't disturb him here."

"No, my friend," and the priest became very earnest, "if ever those guns are fired in anger, your country and mine will feel the wound. It's not nice, I know, in these days of Anglo-American billing and cooing to point out that while John Bull is squeezing out maiden fingers with one hand, he's getting a tighter grip on his sword with the other. And how futile it all is, after all; how Chinese to point guns at the inevitable, just like beating a drum to keep away thunder. It's a sure as fate you'll see the day, my friend—I won't for I am old; it will come either through trade of war or natural fellowship—when an American fleet will single-file down this harbor, and the American flag will fly on every fort from York Redoubt to the Citadel."

How soon or late Canada may seek, or accept under pressure, a union with the republic is a subject on which the priest and you and I and Canada may have each his own opinion (though it may be said in passing that one sanguine American's opinion has been changed by a recent trip through Canada); but of the enormous strength of the defences with which the empire is surrounding her "Warden of the North" there can be no manner of doubt.

At the Halifax Club they tell the story of an American naval officer who, shortly after the Venezuelan incident, visited the club as a guest of a fellow-countryman living in Halifax, and embarrassed his host and tested the urbanity of the British officers present by saying that when the incident began to look threatening he was in London, and cabled to Washington for permission to capture Halifax, adding that he had a plan by which he could do it without the loss of a ship.

Maybe he could; one does not know what plans and checks and counter-moves may lie in the drawers of locked cabinets in the Naval Department in Washington; but to the civilian tourist the regular indentations of the fortifications look like nothing as much as angry teeth, and Halifax harbor suggest the open mouth of a prostrate lion, sleeping now, but ready to crush and grind with those iron teeth when time hay serve. You are quite ready to believe what you are told a dozen times before you have been in Halifax a day, that on any one square foot of the harbour 200 guns can be trained at a moment's notice. When you know in addition that a man can sit at a keyboard in a room beneath twenty feet of stone and concrete on George's Island and manipulate wires which cover the bottom of the harbor like a piece of lace, then you wonder whether a spider on a chip could float down that harbor in safety. An attacking admiral would literally have

"Cannon to the right of him,
Cannon to the left of him,
Cannon in front of him."

After he had passed McNab's Island, if ever he got so far, he would have cannon back of him, to say nothing of the sunken mines and the two low, vicious little torpedo boats which hide in the coves and inlets and come darting out and scooting across the water like enormous insects, and at night point their search-lights about the harbor like watchful ogres.

And there are more fortifications than the casual tourist can see from the harbor. I had been in Halifax for a day and was driving through Point Pleasant Park, revelling comfortably in the mingled odors of wild roses and spruce and fir, as far as well could be from any thought of war, when we rounded a clump of trees and came plump upon a group of forty sweating Tommies tugging and straining to get a thirteen-inch gun with the paint of Woolwich fresh upon it into position in a new three-gun battery.

"Heavens," I exclaimed. "Another battery away up here. Why, you can't see this from the harbour."

Cabby was immensely tickled at his American fare's astonishment. "Of course you can't see it from the harbor," he said, "that's the reason it's here, and there's four more like it up here in the woods behind the hill." Then he added with a delightful grin, "Oh, I guess that man Dewey of yours won't come up this harbor very soon."

For a hundred and fifty years Halifax has been a scene of martial activity. War has always been kind to her. As I drove along the road to Bedford, cabby pointed to a handsome residence behind some maples: "one o' the richest families in Halifax," he said.

"Indeed," I replied; "How was the fortune made?"

"Privateerin', I think," said cabby.

On inquiry of better sources than cabby I learned that many of the older fortunes in Halifax, on which second and third generations now live in retired comfort date back to the early part of the century when the local merchants fitted out privateers to prey on the commerce of England's enemies. Still other fortunes rose from the enormous profits made on the captured prizes which the British men-of-war brought to Halifax to sell. Still later, during our Civil War, this garrison city was a hotbed of Southern sentiment and a rendezvous for hundreds of blockade runners; and many a retired Haligonian captain in slippered comfort sips rare wine today as the prize of four years of adventurous and profitable activity in eluding American men-of-war.

A garrison of two thousand soldiers, with more than a hundred officers, with the commander of his majesty's forces always a distinguished general and often a member of the royal family, with several score officers from visiting warships always in port, naturally the garrison dominates the social life of the city. It extends through all grades of society. While Lieutenant Trevelyan sings "Danny Dever" to my lady's accompaniment, Private Thomas Atkins dances for Jane below, and if, as Kipling assures us,

"The colonel's lady and Judy O'Grady
Are sisters, under their skins."

why, probably the tender nothings above stairs and below are much the same. Every time a regiment is ordered off for duty in South Africa or India or elsewhere, there are two results in the families of well-to-do Halifax; much sighing among the daughters and much searching for new maids and cooks among the mothers."

Truly, 't is "the army and navy forever" at Halifax. From morning till night the bugles keep the echoes flying about Chebucto head. In the morning you are wakened by the heavy clanking tread of a squad of the engineers' corps going from Citadel barracks to work on the new fortifications at Herring Cove. At breakfast you are startled by the booming of the cannon in the harbor; and the waiter tell you that a French man-of-war has just come in, and is giving two salutes—one to the military commander of the garrison, and one to Admiral Bedford of the British North Atlantic Squadron, whose flagship, the Crescent, spends the summer in Halifax, and the winter at Bermuda. Later on, a British officer, every detail of dress and manner the perfection of good form, gloved and booted and spurred, drops with clanking sword into the seat beside you on the street car. You take the ferry to Dartmouth, and pass H.M.S. Quail at the King's Dock, with a score of barefooted sailors washing down her decks; a little further up you see a line of dirty sailors carrying baskets of coal to the bunkers of the Indefatigable; out in the stream, a squad of marines are having sword drill on the Crescent, their sabres flashing rhythmically in the sun. At twelve o'clock you set your watch by the boom of cannon. After supper, "tea" it is in Halifax—you sit on the hotel porch and watch two thousand Tommies stroll by in all his varieties of uniform, but always with the same absurd little cane, his day's duties over, now mostly a-wooing bent.

As the twilight dies away you make up your mind to take a lonely row up the Northwest Arm in the moonlight. As you push out into the harbor you see the black bulk of the flagship lit up with colored lights. A little later you hear the ship's band strike up the "Marseillaise," in honor of the visiting Frenchman. There is an interval of silence, and then the "Blue Danube" floats out across the water, and you realize that the officers of the fleet are giving a ball on the flagship; so you draw your boat close up under the shadow of the ship and listen to the music and the voices, and watch the gay uniforms and dresses.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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The General Service Wagon

How Front-Line Rations Arrive

Nerve-Racking Work of the Canadian Army Service Corps
Germans Have Range
Food and Mail Must Be Brought Up Under Direct Fire

Toronto World, 8 July 1917

Paris.—"Give the word to limber up, sergeant-major. And you might tell my groom that I shan't walk my horse this evening. I'll walk instead."

"Very good, sir," says the sergeant-major as he salutes and goes out.

There arises a clattering on the cobbles of the farmyard; voices call out orders; the watercarts are filled; horses are harnessed to their limbers; the mail and the rations are piled on their wagons; and ten minutes later the whole column is standing ready in the dusk, the transport man mounted, the quartermaster, the transport officer, and a sergeant on foot.

The sound of a whistle, a straining of horses, the cracking of a whip, and the transport rumbles and jolts out of the farmyard gate on its way towards the trenches.

Away ahead the first star-shells shoot up and sink slowly in the brilliance to the earth again. All the way along the horizon little sudden pricks of flame come from the enemy's guns, the soft "pop" of bursting shrapnel sounds thru the darkness—for it would be folly to set out before night hid you from German observers, and the "heavies" away on the right crash and rumble and then crash again as they burst among the broken houses. The road—a narrow strip of pave with bottomless, clinging mud on either side of it—is thronged with limbers of other regiments, with cookers, ambulances, A.S.C. lorries laden with tools and trench stores and piles of sandbags, orderlies on bicycles, wounded men on their way back to the field ambulance, and men from hospital on the way back to their units. And thru or with this stream winds the transport officer at the head of his column.

Now and then there is a sudden halt—the enemy are shelling the road a little further up and there is nothing to do but wait. The transport officer fumes to and fro, for he has under his command a dozen men, more horses, and six or seven limbers, all packed tightly together on a narrow road with the Germans shelling in front and an interminable line of transport waiting behind. If the Boche gunners lengthen their range by a hundred yards of so—

"Lead on," comes the word from further up, and the whole road is movement again. The laden limbers crawl along over the pave till they reach a battered old building that looms up thru the night—the dumping ground where the supplies have to be left for the men in the trenches. Privates tramp to and fro with picks and shovels and ammunition; a sergeant is there to see that the rations for the different companies are placed in different piles; a post-corporal hurries hither and thither in search of "D" Company's letters, which have been mislaid, and the transport officer and quartermaster supervise and control everything—always in the most impenetrable darkness, save when a star-shell lights up the white faces, the sweating horses, the gleaming mud.

The transport officer gives the word, and the empty limbers jolt out of the yard on to the road again to join in the stream that flows back towards the billets and sleep.

Night after night there is the same slow crawl along the road pitted with shell-holes, and same halts, the same dead horse and broken limber in the ditch and the same knowledge that, in a moment or so, your own horses may be struggling in their death agony, your own limbers splintered and smashed, your own men lying dead and wounded.

And when the wagons are once more ranged in line against the wall of the farms, when the last of the men has climbed up to the hayloft where he sleeps, the transport officer sighs with relief as he drags off his muddy boots. "Thanks heaven that's over till tomorrow night," he mutters.

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Personnel of the Canadian Army Show loading equipment into a truck, Guildford, England, 21 June 1945. (L-R): Captain Maurice Burke of The British Columbia Dragoons, the Show's liaison officer; Private Daphne Marshall; driver Luther Daniels. Photographer: Harold D. Robinson, Location: Guildford, England. Date: June 21, 1945. MIKAN Number: 3596554

Images from the Library and Archives Canada database; Faces of war

Lieutenant Verity Sweeny adjusting the gown of singer Mary Leonard of the Canadian Army Show, Guildford, England, 21 June 1945.

Saxophonist Private Gordon Murray of the Canadian Army Show practicing in a field outside the Show's production centre, Guildford, England, 21 June 1945.

Major Rai Purdy, the head of the Canadian Army Show's production centre, Guildford, England, 21 June 1945.

Weird Camp Assembly Line

(Special to the Maple Leaf)

The Maple Leaf, 30 June 1945

Ever been to an army camp where, if you didn't step lively, you're liable to be trampled underfoot by hurrying, burly sergeants-major complete with lipstick and rouge? Or maybe your idea of a properly conducted military establishment doesn't include having OR's out in an open field tooting away on saxophones and clarinets.

Just outside Guildford is one of the strangest army camps. It is operated by Canadian Auxiliary Services Entertainment Unit (Army Shows) and is the spot where the troops shows are put together, hammered into smooth shape and put on the road.

At the moment, the organization has eight entertainment units in the field, five small groups touring hospitals, another five shows in rehearsal and talent for three more on the way over from Canada. A brand new show every week is being turned out by this show factory. That sort of activity needs plenty of talent and the army shows right now could use at least another 135 service performers. It's a mighty swell chance for anyone in khaki and with a bent for any department of the show business to acquire some valuable experience.

Greater Need

All the hectic activity on the entertainment front reflects recognition of the fact that, with active operations over, there is a greater need for good entertainment to take up the serviceman's time. The Army Shows these days are particularly pointing their talents toward entertaining the occupational forces and the lads who are getting ready to go home.

Canadian service personnel, of course, have been providing entertainment for their fellows ever since the early days of the war, principally through such groups as the Tin Hats, Forage Caps and Bandoliers—some of whose personnel are still in khaki shows. However, the present set-up did not really get going until around Christmas, 1943, when the big Army Show in Canada was broken up into five separate units and came overseas.

The whole organization at the time amounted to 135 people; total strength now is 864. Always the trend has been toward bigger and more elaborate shows. The early units went out with a piano, accordion and drums; now each once had at least a nine-piece band while three units boast a 16-piece orchestra. Biggest and best production to date has been "Apres le Guerre," which has 45 in it. This show was prepared strictly from scratch, made ready for the road in only three weeks and hjas just started on a Continental jaunt. All the army shows are being shot over to the continent as soon as they are ready, the boys there getting top priority in this high-grade Canadian brand of entertainment.

Each unit is completely self-contained, does its own cooking, hauling and fatigues and after the show is over all performers pitch in to move the scenery. All the necessary equipment is taken along with the show, including the power supply—each unit being equipped with a portable Diesel generator which is capable of supplying enough power to light up at least two miles of city street.

Quick, easy movement is a prime necessity for these units because during their three-month Continental sojourns they play up to 150 shows. When the war was on they very often moved up the line with fighting troops and played 500 yards from the enemy. A month after D-Day a unit under CSM Jimmy Shields and CSM Jimmy Hosack, both of Toronto, went to France and played from Arromanches right up to near Nijmegen. In eight days these entertainers put on 22 shows for the 3rd Div. with their theatre being a cleared out cave at Fontaine-Henri.

Getting these swiftly-paced shows together is a highly detailed job and their excellence is a tribute to the talent and technical efficiency of the whole Army Show organization. Biggest share of credit belongs to Major Rai Purdy, CO of the outfit, who used to run his own radio production set-up in Toronto.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Guelph Armoury

Guelph, Wellington County, Ontario

The data tabled below comes from forms maintained by the District Engineers of Military District No. 1 (which covered southwestern Ontario) on the Armouries and facilities in their district. The data on the transcribed forms was recorded in the 1940s and reflects the state and use of the buildings in that era. Some of the Armouries in use at that time continue to be the homes of local Reserve Force units, some have been repurposed, and others are long gone, the sites now home to other buildings. The area controlled by Military District No. 1 in the 1940s is now in the area of responsibility of 31 Canadian Brigade Group.

Guelph Armoury.

The Drill Hall.

The brickwork and stone crenellations.

Historic guns at the Guelph Armoury.

The Soldiers' Obligation, wall plaque in the armoury Drill Hall.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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RCAF Recuiting; 1949

Men With a Purpose

Published in McLean's magazine on 1 March 1949, this Royal Canadian Air Force recruiting advertisement seeks to inspire men to join the RCAF as Flying Officers.

Offering a monthly pay of $284 after completion of basic training, requirements for applicants were:

• Age 18 to 24.
• Unmarried.
• Junior Matriculation or better—a University degree is an advantage.
• Junior Matriculants are eligible for a short service commission of 6 years duration—University graduates for a permanent commission.
• A selected number of personnel holding short service commissions are granted permanent commissions on a competitive basis. The remainder receive a substantial gratuity on the termination of their engagement.

Click image for larger version.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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As the following news article shows, only weeks before the outbreak of the First World War, Col Sam Hughes, Minister of Militia, was set to reduce the strength of Canada's Permanent Force (the Regular Force). Never a supporter of the Permanent Force, this is just one more example of Hughes' attitudes towards the regulars.

Reduce Strength Canadian Militia

Colonel Sam Hughes
Minister of Militia

Engineers and Army Service Corps to be Cut Down

The Daily Telegraph; 15 July, 1914

Ottawa, July 17.—The permanent strength of two units of the permanent force, the engineer corps and the army service corps is to be reduced by the Minister of Militia.

The numbers of both units as at present constituted are considered too great, and Col. Sam Hughes intends to reduce both of them to a workable size. The Canadian army service corps is now one-third as great numerically as that for the whole British army, in spite of the great disparity in the size of the Canadian and British force. These units were constituted in their present strength ten years ago.

The present strength of the army service corps is about 450 and of the engineering corps about 300.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 16 September 2014 12:09 AM EDT

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Left Out of Battle

S.S. 135 — The Division in Attack; Issued by the General Staff, November, 1918
Appendix J – Number of Officers and Other Ranks to be Left behind before an Attack

1.     Infantry battalions, machine gun companies and light trench mortar batteries must not go into an attack with their full complement of officers and other ranks; a certain proportion must always be left behind to provide a nucleus upon which to reorganize the unit in the event of heavy casualties.

2.     The following is the minimum number of officers and other ranks which must remain behind when the battalion goes into action. Such officers and other ranks will not be available as reinforcements.

3,     A minimum of 25 per cent. of officers and other ranks must be left behind by machine gun companies and light trench mortar batteries when going into action. Such officers and men will not be available as reinforcements.

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Prices of Officers' Uniforms for the Canadian Militia, 1866

Published in The Annual Volunteer and Militia Service List of Canada, 1st March, 1866

Circular Memo, Sept. 5, 1864: Informed Officers of the Militia that the following Articles may be obtained from the Militia Department at the prices stated.

These prices include the Ocean and Inland transport, as well as Insurance and all other incidental expenses.

Infantry

Rifles

Artillery

Officers making a requisition for any of the above articles, will be required to send with the requisition a deposit receipt from the Bank of Montreal, to the credit of the Receiver General of the Province, for such a sum as will cover the price of the articles required; and in all cases where Shakos, Tunics, and Trowsers are required, it will be necessary to give the size of the head, the height, and the Waist and Breast measure.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Fairey Barracuda

In the months follwing the Second World War, Canada among other nations was determining what its armed forces would look like in the post-war era. Canada planned to acquire an aircraft carrier, and it would require aircraft for its naval air program. This advertisement, published in McLean's magazine on 15 June 1945 shows that aircraft manufacturers were already busy adjusting to the new operating environment that would dictate future sales, and they were working on convincing the Canadian public that they had the aircraft Canada's Navy would need.

The Royal Canadian Navy took delivery of 12 radar-equipped Mk II Fairey Barracudas (this was a Canadian designation, in British service these were the Mk. III). These aircraft were assigned to the newly formed 825 Sqn. which conducted flight operations from the aircraft carrier HMCS Warrior. HMCS Warrior waspaid off in 1948 and returned to Britain along with the Barracuda aircraft.

• 825 Squadron; Canadian-Manned Royal Navy Torpedo Bomber Reconnaisance Squadron (1945-46)
• Wikipedia - Fairey Barracuda; Canadian_service
• Canadian Warplanes, by Harold A. Skaarup
• Canadian Warbird Survivors: A Handbook on Where to Find Them; by Harold A. Skaarup

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Elora Armoury

Village, Wellington County, Ontario

The data tabled below comes from forms maintained by the District Engineers of Military District No. 1 (which covered southwestern Ontario) on the Armouries and facilities in their district. The data on the transcribed forms was recorded in the 1940s and reflects the state and use of the buildings in that era. Some of the Armouries in use at that time continue to be the homes of local Reserve Firce units, some have been repurposed, and others are long gone, the sites now home to other buildings. The area controlled by Militay District No. 1 in the 1940s is now in the area of responsibility of 31 Canadian Brigade Group.

• Historicplaces.ca - Armoury Hall; Elora Drill Shed, 23 High Street, 40 High Street
• Centrewellington.ca - High Street 23 (Drill Shed/Armoury Hall)

Heritage Landmark Plaque.

The Elora Drill Shed Historical Plaque.

The Elora Drill Shed.

Floor Plan.

Floor plans.

Site Plan.

Area Map.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Loyalty

Customs of the Army, The War Office, February, 1956

(a)     Own regiment or corps. An officer must never run down his regiment or corps in the hearing of outsiders. This is being disloyal.

(b)     Any other unit with which he may serve. An officer may have to serve in other units than his own and his behaviour should be the same as in his own unit.

(c)     Courtesy to other regiments. Esprit de corps must not tempt the officer into running down other regiments; it is bad manners and does harm. A junior officer should keep his opinions and criticisms to himself until asked for them.

(d)     The Army. Every officer must be careful not to decry the "Army" in the presence of civilians. There is a tendency to criticise the "powers that be" and, in particular, the "War Office" for any unpopular aspect of Army life. Such criticism is generally based on ignorance of the true facts and unjustified. In any case it is bad for the Army and achieves no useful purpose.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Remembrance in Wheatley Cemeteries

Over the past few years, my wife and I have fallen into the habit of wandering through cemeteries when we find the opportunity. She looks for those gravestones that hint at family stories of sadness or celebrations of life, while I am invariably attracted to the "soldier's stones." These soldier's stones, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission style markers (though not all have been placed by the CWGC) identify the graves of soldiers, sailors and airmen who have served our country at home and abroad. It is always a welcome experience to find the range of services, units and corps among the service men and women in a cemetery, often marking collective centuries of service spanning all of Canada's conflicts.

In two cemeteries in Wheatley, Ontario, we discovered a unique and striking way that has been used to mark veterans' graves. Scattered throughout each cemetery, with no immediately apparent pattern, were 2-foot tall white metal crosses. Each of these crosses bore a simple label with the name of the honoured individual. They were placed on otherwise unmarked graves, beside family stones and, in the few cases where "soldier's stones" had been erected, beside each of these as well.

These crosses are one of the more visually appealing, graceful and comprehensive approaches to marking and honouring veteran graves that I have seen. This was so much better than the Royal Canadian Legion poppy stickers you find on some graves, which have invariably faded to white plastic squares or been peeled off to leave ugly glue residue.

The cemeteries may not have expended extra funds on their fence or gates, but they are well maintained, both institutionally with beautifully cut and trimmed grass throughout the cemetery, and at the individual level with a number of family plots showing fresh flowers placed on loved ones graves. But the white veterans' crosses make these cemeteries and this community stand out.

In Wheatley, Ontario, they have not forgotten.

Erie Cemetery

Fairview Cemetery

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, 10 September 2014 12:10 AM EDT

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The Creeping Barrage (1918)

S.S. 135 — The Division in Attack; Issued by the General Staff, November, 1918
Appendix A – Artillery in Attack

Barrages

(i.)     Object.—The object of the barrage is to prevent the enemy from manning his defence and installing machine guns in time to arrest the advance of the assaulting infantry. The barrage must be sufficiently heavy, therefore, to keep the enemy in his dug-outs, and sufficiently accurate to allow the infantry to get so close to the points to be attacks that it can cross the remaining distance before the enemy is able to man his defences. The barrage should be organized in depth to ensure, as far as possible, the protection of the infantry from effective rifle and machine gun fire. What the depth of each actual barrage may be, depends primarily on the artillery resources available, the configuration of the ground and the enemy's dispositions for the defence. The enemy's machine gun fire may prove dangerous at ranges up to 2,500 yards from the attacking infantry.

(ii.)     Organization.—In accordance with the foregoing principles, the barrage is organized in several belts of fire, the belt nearest to the advancing infantry being composed of the fire of the major portion of the 18-pdr. guns and generally known as the "creeping barrage."

The 4.5" howitzers and the remainder of the 18-pdrs. form a barrage in advance of the "creeping barrage"; their fire, while dwelling on strong points, and working up communication trenches, is at the same time organize in depth.

Beyond this again, a further belt of fire is formed by medium and heavy howitzers and a proportion of the 60-pdrs. their fire is directed so as to search all ground which commands the line of advance of the infantry or from which it is possible that indirect machine gun fire might be brought to bear through the creeping barrage. Especial attention must be paid to localities from which flanking fire can be brought to bear on the front of attack.

All these barrages roll hack according to a time table, the main principle being that there should always be a searching fire up to 2,000-2,500 yards in front of the advancing infantry. The fire, other than that of the "creeping barrage" should not follow as even cadence, or lift in regular lines. It should be so handled that the enemy's machine gunners may be unable to realize when the lift has taken place.

Finally, from the beginning of the barrage, the fire of long-range guns of all natures should be, used against the probable approaches of troops which may be brought up for the purpose of counter attack.

(iii.)     The Creeping Barrage.—In the first assault, the "creeping barrage" opens and dwells a few minutes on the enemy's foremost position. If the opposing 1ines are so close that this cannot be done without endangering the attacking troops, or if the position of our own front line is uncertain, it is advisable to withdraw the troops slightly before they form up for the assault in order that there may be no danger of opening fire beyond any locality which the enemy may occupy with advanced machine guns.

In an attack on an entrenched system the barrage does not as a rule lift direct from one trench to another, but creeps slowly forward, sweeping all the intervening ground in order to deal with any machine guns or riflemen pushed out into shell-holes in front or, of behind, the trenches. This creeping barrage will dwell for a certain time on each definite trench line to be assaulted.

From both an artillery and an infantry point of view simplicity in the organization of the barrage is desirable; curves and irregularities must be avoided as far as possible. The advance of the infantry will be much facilitated if the creeping barrage is moved forward in a straight line parallel to the line of departure of the assault.

The barrage should be arranged so as to help any change of direction which the troops may have to make. Direction is a matter of particular importance. Troops are trained to keep up to the barrage and can only do so by conforming to its shape. Curves and irregularities in the barrage are, therefore, always apt to cause a loss of direction.

(iv.)     Pace of the creeping barrage.—(a) The pace of the barrage is governed by the pace decided on for the infantry advance. The pace decided on for the infantry advance is dependent on local conditions, and it is impossible, therefore, to lay down as a general rule any definite rate of movement for the barrage, the pace of which will, with rare exceptions, be identical with that decided on Eor the infantry.

In estimating the correct rate of advance, the following factors should be carefully weighed:—

First—the probable resistance of the enemy, depending on the moral, quality and number of his troops, the nature of his dispositions and the strength of his defences.

Secondly—The state of ground and weather. The extent to which the ground has been cut up by shell fire, the presence or absence of mud, wet or dry weather conditions, and the existence of woods, houses, villages and streams in the line of advance, all affect the pace at which the infantry can move.

Over good ground, and in the absence of serious opposition, infantry can advance at a rate varying, according to the depth of the advance, between 50 and 100 yards a minute.

Thirdly—The length of the advance. A uniform pace for the barrage throughout the advance is, as a rule, unsound; the general principle should be for it to move more quickly at the start and to reduce its pace during the later stages, in order to allow the infantry time to reorganize.

In the case of a long advance, the attacking troops should be afforded the opportunity of recovering their places close up to the barrage by means of short pauses between the different objectives; the barrage should also be kept on each objective for an increased period in order to ensure that the attacking troops are closed up and ready to rush to the assault immediately the lift takes place.

Fourthly—The moral effect on the attacking troops. A slow advance checks, a rapid advance stimulates the keenness of the attacking troops.

(b)     If the pace decided on is too rapid, the whole advantage of the barrage will be lost, since the attacking infantry will fail to keep up with it and the enemy will be given time to man his fefences before he is attacked.

As a result, the advance may be brought to a standstill in close range pf the enemy's rifle and machine gun fire, while the barrage will continue to move on in accordance with the time table.

If, on the other hand, the pace decided on is too slow, the rear portions of the attacking force will tend to push on too fast and will become mingled with the leading portions, thereby forming a denser line and incurring heavier casualties, and also losing the momentum of the attack. Further, the enemy will be given time in which to withdraw his guns and infantry, and to reorganize his defence.

Finally, it must be remembered that the slower the rate of advance the greater will be the amount of ammunition expended in the barrage. This is an important factor for consideration in cases where the rapidity of the general advance may have rendered ammunition supply a matter of difficulty.

(v.)     Barrage Tables (or maps).—The arrangements for the barrages are made, as part of the corps artillery plan, by the corps commander after consultation with the divisional commanders, particular attention being paid to the points of junction between divisions to ensure that the barrages on each divisional front overlap properly.

Lifts and timings worked out are then embodied in a time table or map and issued to all concerned, the corps being responsible that these maps or tables are issued in sufficient time to enable the artillery to carry out the necessary arrangements. [From a later paragraph these arrangements include the supply of additional ammunition to batteries, the working out of firing data for the guns, and the setting of fuses and preparation of ammunition according ti the firing plan]

When the barrage maps or tables have been approved and issued by the Corps, no alterations by subordinate commanders are allowed, unless there is a change in the general plan of attack.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, 9 September 2014 7:43 AM EDT

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Kingsville Historical Park

"A Military Museum Plus …"

Tucked in behind Royal Canadian Legion Branch 188 in Kingsville, Ontario, is a military museum that is worth seeking out for anyone traveling through the area. Dedicated to the service and sacrifice of local men and women who have served in the Canadian Armed Forces abroad and at home, in wartime and in peace, this museum has a collection worth taking the time to visit.

See the brochure scan below for hours and directions. If you will be visiting outside of their normal operating hours, call ahead, one of their volunteers may be available to ensure you dont miss this opportunity.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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Dress and Equipment (1918)

S.S. 135 — The Division in Attack; Issued by the General Staff, November, 1918
Appendix K – Dress and Equipment

1.     Officers. — All infantry officers taking part in an attack must be dress and equipped exactly the same as their men. Sticks are not to be carried.

2.     Fighting Order. — It is impossible to lay down definitely the equipment rto be carried in an attack. It must depend upon the distance of the objectives, the condition of the ground and other circumstances. Weight must always be the guiding factor in arriving at a decision in the matter of equipment. The following is suggested as a normal fighting order for all ranks of infantry, machine guns, light mortar and engineer units:—

(i.)     Clothing, etc. Worn on the man. — As issued.

(ii.)     Arms. — As issued.

(iii.)     Entrenching Tool. — As issued.

(iv.)     Accoutrements. — As issued.

(v.)     Box Respirator.

(vi.)     Solidified Alcohol. — As issued.

(vii.)     Articles Carried in the pack. — Mess tin, cardigan jacket, when issued, pair of socks, spare oil tin, holdall, iron ration, unexpended portion of day's ration, waterproof sheet, and two sandbags.

(viii.)     Ammunition. — 170 rounds, except for signallers, scouts, runners, machine, Lewis, and Stokes mortar gunners and carrying parties, who will only carry 50 rounds.

(ix.)     Bombs. — The number to be carried must be determined by the task to be carried out, the condition of the ground and the general physique of the men. (See S.S. 182, "Instructions on Bombing," Part II, para 28.)

(x.)     Aeroplane Flares. — Two, carried one in each bottom pocket of the jacket. They are not required by engineer, pioneer, machine gun and light mortar units.

(xi.)     Water. — One filled water bottle. A second water bottle is useful when there is likely to be difficulty in sending up water, or in warm weather.

3.     Disposal of Surplus Clothing and Equipment. — The surplus clothing and equipment of each man will be tied up in his haversack or a labelled sandbag, which will be stored under cover at the unit's transport lines or in some suitable building, if available.

4.     In addition to the munitions and stores mentioned in paragraph 2, the following ammunition stores, etc., may be required:—

(i.)     Wire Cutters and Breakers. — Wire cutters must be attached to the man's shoulder strap by a string, and cutters tucked into his waist belt.

(ii.)      Picks and Shovels. — The tools should be carried on the back.

(iii.)     S.O.S. Signals. — Twelve should be carried by each company, to be distributed among the reserves.

(iv.)     Artillery Flags or Discs. — One to be carried by a selected N.C.O. Or man in each platoon of assaulting troops.

(v.)      P. or K.J. Bombs. — Carried by parties especially detailed for clearing trenches and dug-outs.

(vi.)     Hand and Rifle Bombs. — Carried by bombers and rifle bombers, either in waistcaots, haversacks or canvas buckets. (See S.S. 182, "Instructions on Bombing," Part II, para 28.)

(vii.)     Very Pistols. — Two 1-in. Very light pistols should be carried with each company headquarters for signalling to the artillery.

5.     Issue of S.A.A., Tools, etc. — In order to save the men unnecessary fatigue, it may be possible to issue the S.A.A., bombs, tools, flares, S.O.S. Signals, etc., mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 4, which are not part of the man's ordinary equipment, at a forward dump. This dump must be sufficiently far back, however, to avoid the danger of heavy shell fire and the resulting confusion.

These stores, which are additional to the establishment fixed for the dump, should be laid out beforehand, so that no time may be lost in issuing them.

Posted by regimentalrogue at 12:01 AM EDT

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