{"id":6395,"date":"2016-06-09T04:23:55","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T11:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/?page_id=6395"},"modified":"2016-07-07T15:40:48","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T22:40:48","slug":"running-the-gauntlet-walter-draycotts-1917","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/about-us\/the-war-years\/running-the-gauntlet-walter-draycotts-1917\/","title":{"rendered":"Running the Gauntlet: Walter Draycott\u2019s 1917"},"content":{"rendered":"

In January of 1917 Walter Draycott and the Princess Patricia\u2019s Canadian Light Infantry were stationed near the town of Neuville St Vaast, a town dominated by the heights of Vimy Ridge. For the first time in the war, the entire Canadian Corps was together, all four divisions, staring up the daunting slopes of what was to become the most famous ridge in Canadian history. The Germans had held Vimy Ridge since 1915, beating back both French and British attempts to capture it. The Germans were well aware that the Canadians were concentrating in the area and German artillery pounded the Canadian lines continuously. The Canadian artillery responded in kind. More than once Walter was caught in the middle of these artillery duels, \u201cDamn the Hun. He has spoiled our dinner with his blasted shelling. Have to run the gauntlet between here and Neuville St. Vaast. By jerky running I outwit him with his shells.\u201d Walter continued in his regimental role as topographer and mapmaker, sketching landscapes, enemy positions drawing maps for use at headquarters. In one scouting trip Walter snuck up to the front line after a particularly accurate German shelling and found the location of an enemy battery, \u201cMake sketch and plan and submit same to artillery thru\u2019 [sic] our intell[igence] officer.\u201d The artillery responded immediately after Walter\u2019s submission, destroying the enemy guns.<\/p>\n

While Walter contended with rats, struggled to stay warm and dodged enemy fire one of the few respites was watching the deadly game of air combat being played in the skies above him. The British Royal Flying Corps (including numerous Canadians, Americans, French and other nationalities) was engaged in a continual battle against the German Air Force. The skies above Vimy Ridge were constantly filled with the acrobatics of planes engaged in a life or death struggle. An entry from 24 March 1917 reads, \u201cEnemy aeroplane painted red shoots down one of our \u2018planes and later on we shoot down one of theirs. The red \u2018plane is manned by a dare-devil Hun.\u201d It is very likely that the red plane Walter mentioned was the famous Baron Von Richtofen, more commonly known as the \u2018Red Baron,\u2019 who was stationed in the region during this period. A few days later Walter recorded another sighting, \u201cEnemy has a plane painted red and manned by a skillful pilot \u2013 a daredevil.\u201d<\/p>\n

A front row seat t\"Sergt_W_Draycott_1917\"o the battle in the skies was only a temporary break from daily activities. Draycott was well aware that a big offensive, or \u2018push,\u2019 was in the works and March was filled with constant map making and terrain sketches. The Canadian Corps meanwhile punished the Germans on Vimy Ridge with continual and sustained artillery fire. The Canadian Corps commander, Sir Julian Byng, future Governor General of Canada, wanted not only to unnerve the German defenders but keep them on their toes as to when the actual assault would take place. Thus Byng would launch full artillery barrages without actually attacking, forcing the Germans to be on edge continually, wearing them down both physically and mentally. Notably, Byng ordered a continual week-long barrage in the seven days leading up to the actual assault. The Germans stationed on Vimy Ridge called this \u2018the week of hell.\u2019<\/p>\n

On the morning of 9 April as light snow fell lazily to the earth the Canadian guns opened up their largest barrage yet. Draycott recorded the moment in his diary, \u201cAt 5:20 am our artillery open up their barrage\u2026There\u2019s a regular hell on earth, truly a grand sight \u2013 for us! The semi-darkness is lit up by bursting shells, making sprays of red light.\u201d Walter was ordered to follow closely behind the advancing troops and make a panorama sketch. By noon that day almost all of the Canadian objectives had been completed. The last German stronghold on the ridge, known as \u2018the Pimple,\u2019 was captured several days later. By 12 April 1917 what was thought an impregnable German position was completely in Canadian hands, \u201cOur troops take Vimy so it is reported.\u201d
\nAlthough Walter experienced numerous close calls before and during the battle nothing seems to have affected him more than his encounter with poison gas on 4 May 1917. His diary that day reads, \u201cI lay in bed all afternoon with weakness from effects of shell gas poisoning\u2026Temperature is 104. Awful pain in head and chest\u201d His memoir written after the war recounts that fateful day, \u201cThe wearing of a gas mask is a confounded nuisance. To tell men to put these queer appliances on, one must, of necessity speak\u2026with the thing off. This was being done when a voice behind me called, \u2018Put your own on, Sergeant!\u2019 Too late\u2026It was akin to swallowing finely broken sharp pieces of glass.\u201d Walter suffered such severe gas poisoning that he had to be evacuated to England for recuperation.<\/p>\n

By August Walter was able to return to active duty although this meant working with the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade\u2019s mapping and topographical office in London. These London offices were the final step in the information ladder, taking the reports and sketches from the field and converting them into large, more contiguous maps for use at senior command. Walter also spent time lecturing at the British army mapping school located nearby. Several times during this period Walter requested to be returned to France but was continually denied. Finally, on 24 October he wrote, \u201cI am \u2018refused permission\u2019 to go overseas again, 4th time. They tell me I have to rest up and have done my bit.\u201d After suffering shrapnel wounds, experiencing innumerable close calls, constantly putting himself in danger and finally being exposed to poisonous gas, one can only agree.<\/p>\n

Next:\u00a0Walter Draycott’s 1918 – Finally home<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In January of 1917 Walter Draycott and the Princess Patricia\u2019s Canadian Light Infantry were stationed near the town of Neuville St Vaast, a town dominated by the heights of Vimy Ridge. For the first time in the war, the entire Canadian Corps was together, all four divisions, staring up the daunting slopes of what was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"parent":1107,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-6395","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6395"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7447,"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6395\/revisions\/7447"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monova.ca\/greatwarchronicles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}