of the place. They told us how
the 16th Battalion, the Canadian Scottish under Lieut.-Colonel Leckie
and the gallant 10th Battalion under Lieut.-Colonel Boyle, had hurried
from Ypres to the aid of their comrades. These two battalions reached
the reserve trenches in front of Wieltje about eight o'clock, when
they were ordered on to 3rd Brigade Headquarters and preparations made
for them to counter attack the advancing Germans who had seized the
wood northwest of St. Julien.

The counter attack was launched at midnight, the 10th on the right in
two lines, and the 16th on the left. Major Lightfoot led the front
line of his battalion, the 10th.

"Come on, boys," he said, "remember you are Canadians." The line
advanced with great spirit, less than two thousand Canadians against
a hundred thousand Germans. It was the biggest bluff in history but it
won. On and on went the Canadians, 10th and Highlanders, one moment
with the bayonet the next moment firing. The Germans, who were busy
digging in south of the wood, saw the Canadians coming in the
twilight, and only waited to fire a few shots and then they started to
run. Lightfoot was down, but the line went on. Major McLaren fell, but
the lines never wavered. They drove the Germans into the wood and
clear through it on the other side. If there had only been plenty of
supporting troops the German victory would not only have been stayed
but the charging Canadians would have gone through the German army
that night.

The British howitzer battery which had been lost was retaken, the
French guns were recaptured and a great victory was in sight.

When the Germans were caught they began to throw down their arms and
cry for mercy. The gallant Canadians gave it, but in the hot rush of
the charge they did not wait to disarm their foe. The second lines
merged into the first and the fight in the dim forest became Homeric.
Then the cowardly Germans whose lives had been spared, plucked up
their courage. They picked up their rifles and began like the Arabs in
the desert to shoot the men in the back who had spared their lives.
Colonel Boyle went down, killed almost immediately. He had led his
troops on through the forest by voice and example, armed only with a
riding crop. The Germans were driven beyond the northern edge of the
forest. The charge by this time had spent a good deal of its force,
and as the flanks of the charging lines were not protected, and men
were falling on every side,