The final orders were given by General Byng to the Canadian Corps Royal Artillery Commander to commence a two-week preliminary bombardment.
The goal of this intense bombardment was to demoralize, confuse, and overwhelm the enemy, together with the destruction of German fortifications and heavy weapons.
The Canadian Corps had 245 heavy guns and howitzers, and more than 600 pieces of field artillery. British support troops provide an additional 132 heavy guns and 102 field artillery pieces.
At 0800 hours on 21 March 1917, the heavy artillery begins. The opening salvo is followed by a second round of medium 18 pounders, between 0900-1000 hours, directed at the German position known as Fast Trench. The next target is Fanny Trench. The final two-hour bombardment is directed at selected targets, ending at 1400 hours in the afternoon.
Due to the magnitude of the shelling, officers from the 58th and 60th Canadian Infantry Battalions order the immediate evacuation of their trenches to prevent casualties in an anticipated reprisal by the German heavy artillery units.
The German guns remain silent.
Edward N. Ross, Bullets, Bombs, and Bayonets, (Friesen Press, 2016).
Photo: Canadian 8-inch Mk. VIII Howitzer. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3395340)
Read more interesting articles on the First World War at First World War "Day by Day" at the Friends Website |