ade won distinction in the German
offensive of March and April. On August 12, 1918, the Canadian corps was
engaged in the brilliantly successful battle of Amiens, which completely
upset the German offensive plan. On August 26th to 28th the Canadians
captured Monchy-le-Preux, and, in one of the hammer blows which Foch
rained on the German front, were given the most difficult piece of the
whole line to pierce--the Queant-Drocourt line. This section of the
famous Hindenburg line was considered by the enemy to be absolutely
impregnable, but was captured by the Canadians on September 3d and 4th.
With this line outflanked a vast German retreat began, which ended on
November 11th with the signing of the armistice.

To the Canadians fell the honors of breaking through the first
Hindenburg line by the capture of Cambrai, on October 1st to 9th. They
also took Douai on October 19th, and Dena on October 20th. On October
26th to November 2d they had the signal honor of capturing Valenciennes
thereby being the first troops to break through the fourth and last
Hindenberg line.

It surely was a curious coincidence that Mons, from which the original
British army--the best trained, it is said, that has taken the field
since the time of Caesar--began its retreat in 1914, should have been
the town which Canadian civilians were destined to recapture. The war
began for the professional British army--the Contemptibles--when it
began its retreat from Mons in 1914; the war ended for the British army
at the very same town four years and three months later, when on the day
the armistice was signed the men from Canada re-entered it. Was it
coincidence, or was it fate?

During the war Canadian troops had sustained 211,000 casualties, 152,000
had been wounded and more than 50,000 had made the supreme sacrifice.
Put into different language this means that the number of Canadians
killed was just a little greater than the total number of infantrymen in
their corps of four divisions.

The extent of the work involved in the care of the wounded and sick of
the Canadians overseas may be gathered from the fact that Canada
equipped and sent across the Atlantic, 7 general hospitals, 10
stationary hospitals, 16 field ambulances, 3 sanitary sections, 4
casualty clearing stations and advanced and base depots of medical
stores: The personnel of these medical units consisted of 1,612
officers, 1,994 nursing sisters and 12,382 of other ranks, or a total of
abo