ficer as the
Indian army knows its trade.

On the afternoon of the 28th, while the Germans were trying to destroy
the Canadian batteries with heavy seventeen-inch shells, a German
aeroplane came along flying low to check up the big gun practise. We
were getting very tired of these German visitors so I ordered my
battalion to fire on the flyer, using one thousand elevation and
leading the birdman about five times his own length. In a few minutes
we had the satisfaction of seeing him turn back with a tail of fire
streaming from his gasoline tank. We had got his tank and he was on
fire and trying hard to make the German lines. He fell in our lines
and the aviator and observer were made prisoners.

Aeroplane activity in that section ceased for a time. The fighting,
however, never let up night or day.

On the evening of May 2nd we were ordered to co-operate with British
troops in our right who were heavily attacked with gas. There was a
dull, heavy atmosphere and everything seemed favorable for the German
poison plan. Our guns, however, were ready and they opened a fierce
bombardment with shrapnel over the German trenches. It was here the
shell incident described at the beginning of the chapter happened. A
gentle shower came which dissipated the gas. Three times their
infantry climbed out of their trenches and started to charge across
the space intervening between the lines. The iron voices of the
bursting shells blended into one note as the deadly spray of lead
swept entire sections of them away. There was little left for the
rifle fire to do.

The attack was beaten off easily. The German offensive for the moment
was weakening. They had never fully recovered from the terrible
punishment they had received during the first three days from the
Canadians. They realized that a new element was barring the way to
Calais and victory.

Canada had won many championships on the fields of sport, science, art
and mechanics, and now another championship had been won on a sterner
field, the field of battle in historic Flanders.

CHAPTER XXIX

AN APPRECIATION OF VALOR

During the night of the 3rd and 4th of May our brigade was withdrawn
from the salient and marched to a bivouac west of the Chateau Trois
Towers in which our Divisional Headquarters were located all through
the battle.

As we marched through the park the day was breaking and the birds were
singing more sweetly than I had ever heard them before, even in
C