www.ns.legion.ca 59 continued ... pipe band, eat cigarettes, drink beer, and demand its blanket at "lights out". Apparently, the animal was repeatedly sold to Belgian farmers, only to be "retrieved" by the men under cover of darkness. At war's end, Robert the Bruce retired to a much deserved rest on the Baddeck, Nova Scotia farm of one of the battalion's most decorated officers, Major Guy McLean Matheson, MC, MM, DSO. The "Mackenzie Battalion" spent 339 days in the treacherous Belgian trenches, 164 of which involved front line duty. Its reassignment to the Somme region of France in September 1916 may have come as a relief to the men, but this new locale proved to be just as treacherous as the muddy trenches of Belgium. On September 15, 1916, the 25th participated in an attack on Courcelette, moving through the town, establishing and holding new forward positions for several days before being relieved. In the early days of October 1916, the 25th Battalion took part in a series of attacks on Regina Trench, one of the most fortified German positions on the front lines. The price of its Somme engagements was costly. By the time the battalion left the area, less than 100 of the men who had initially arrived in France with the unit were still available for duty. The regiment relocated to Lens, where it was reconstituted with reinforcements and undertook training in preparation for a return to the front. The 25th spent the autumn and winter of 1916 - 17 in the Lens sector, where its soldiers honed their skills as "trench raiders". Its personnel captured enemy positions at Fresnoy and Arleux, France in February 1917, suffering severe casualties in the attacks. Several months later, the unit participated in the April 9, 1917 attack on Vimy Ridge, as well as the Second Battle of the Scarpe later that same month. On August 15, 1917, it played a key role in the Battle of Hill 70, withstanding a ferocious German counter-attack after participating in an advance near Cite St. Laurent. As part of the 5th Brigade, the battalion also took part in the final assault on the Belgian town of Passchendaele in November 1917. 25th Battalion brass buttons In March 1918, the 25th relocated once again to northern France, where German forces launched a major "spring offensive". The battalion was assigned to the Mercatel-Vetasse sector during the assault. In its aftermath, the unit established a reputation as the "Master Raiders" of the Canadian Corps, carrying out excursions into enemy outposts on each tour of front line duty. On occasion, its soldiers ventured as far as three-quarters of a mile into German lines, earning the nickname the "raiding battalion" in recognition of their daring exploits. By late summer, a major Allied assault was launched on German positions in northern France. The 25th was "in the line" at Amiens on August 8, participating in an attack that advanced a remarkable 12 miles in two days. Relocated to Berneville, near Arras, its personnel fought in the advance that continued throughout the month. After a brief twoday break in early September, the battalion returned to the front lines, where it remained until after the fall of Cambrai on October 9, 1918. On November 9-10, 1918, the members of the 25th participated in what became its last combat action of the war - an attack on Elouges, a small mining town near Mons, Belgium. The battalion was scheduled to participate in an assault on Mons the following day when news of the
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