Donald Fraser, Private 31st Battalion

• The Battle of Vimy Ridge
• Donald Fraser's Diary
• Vimy Ridge
• First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams
• Canadians at Vimy Ridge
• Prisoners and Casualties

The Battle of Vimy Ridge

The 32-year-old Donald Fraser enlisted in the 31st (Alberta) Battalion on November 24, 1914. His experiences, which he meticulously recorded in his diary, were typical of the thousands of Canadians who served King and Country during the Great European War. Private Fraser first went into action in September 1915 at Kemmel, near Ypres, Belgium, and over the next two years he fought in every major battle in which Canada participated -- St. Eloi, Mount Sorrel, The Somme, Vimy, and Hill 70 -- before being wounded at Passchendaele in November 1917.

Fraser's account of the Vimy operation brings the common soldier's perspective to one of the more decisive battles of the war. Over a four-day period, the Canadian assault on the 60-metre high, muddy scarp gained more ground, seized more guns and captured more prisoners than any previous British offensive.

Donald Fraser's Diary

Donald Fraser's account of the Great War is representative of the common soldier's story. Fraser began his detailed diary shortly after his arrival at Kemmel and kept his entries up-to-date throughout his entire two-year stint at the front, even though it was against Army orders, because it could fall into enemy hands. A narrative of his experiences, based on his diary, was started in the summer of 1918 while he was recovering from wounds.

Unfortunately, the original diary has been lost, but the narrative remains. It was later edited by Professor Reginald H. Roy of the University of Victoria, and published by Sono Nis Press in 1985.

A paperback edition was published in 1998 by CEF Books.

With the permission of professor Reginald H. Roy.

• Donald Fraser's Diary

Vimy Ridge

Vimy Ridge was of great tactical importance to the western front, since it was the only significant height of land in northeastern France. It formed a key position linking Germany's new Hindenburg Line with the trenches that led north from Arras, France. The Canadian assault on Vimy was undertaken as part of a much larger initiative by armies of the Entente - the name given to the British and French alliance. The Canadian operation was to help secure the flank of the British Third Army which had spearheaded an attack against the German lines south of Vimy in the Scarpe Valley. The combined British-Canadian offensive was intended as a diversion for a much larger attack by the French between Soissons and Reims. Unfortunately, despite Canada's success, British and French forces were unable to make much headway. As a result, the great break through that the Entente had hoped for would take another 15 months. In a war that had given the people at home little to celebrate, news of Canada's well-planned attack and clear victory was greeted with wide enthusiasm.

First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams

The success of the Canadian Corps at Vimy Ridge immediately prompted a number of specialized studies by various military authorities of the Entente. The intent, of course, was to try and duplicate the Vimy experience in subsequent engagements with the Germans. This part of one report shows the disposition of units along the Vimy front, the communication plan between the front and rear sections of the line, and the extensive use that the Canadian Corps made of its ammunition supplies.

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Library and Archives Canada, PA-001446

Canadian Troops Overlooking the Douai Plain at the Retreating German Army

When the Canadian Corps arrived at the crest of the ridge, before them was the entire Douai Plain and the retreating German Army. A German counter attack up the steep eastern face of the ridge never materialized since it would have proved suicidal. Unfortunately, the muddy escarpment prevented the Canadian Corps from quickly moving its artillery forward, and its infantry was unable to exploit their momentary offensive advantage.

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III, vol. 4774

First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III, vol. 4774

First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III, vol. 4774

First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III, vol. 4774

First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III, vol. 4774

First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III, vol. 4774

First Army Administrative Report of the Vimy Ridge Operations, Part V, Maps, Plans and Diagrams

 

Canadians at Vimy Ridge

The attack on Vimy Ridge called for an in-line frontal assault by all four Canadian divisions. The plan was simple in principle but complicated in practice since the advancing infantry had to be protected from German machine gun fire by a creeping barrage, which called for accurate and timely artillery fire. However, before the attack could begin, the Canadian Corps spent almost three months reinforcing their own lines and mapping German defences (in particular their trenches, gun emplacements, barbed wire entanglements, dug-outs, supply dumps, listening posts, roads and railway lines). In the weeks leading up to the attack, the largest concentration of artillery since the beginning of the war delivered some 2,500 tons of ammunition a day on German targets in an effort to paralyse their resistance. The attack called for careful coordination and open communication between infantry, artillery, aerial observers and senior command. It also required that every man understand fully his responsibilities and the objectives of his unit.

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Library and Archives Canada, NMC-111113

Barrage Map [Showing Boundaries and Objectives for Assault on Vimy Ridge]. -- Scale [1:10,000]. -- [s.l.]: 1st Field Survey Company, [1917].

All 850 Canadian guns, plus another 280 from the British 1st Army, began firing at precisely 5:30 a.m. on April 9, 1917. The heavy guns concentrated on German gun emplacements, ammunition dumps and key communication nodes. The field artillery fired for three minutes on the front German trenches and then began to lift the barrage forward, 90 metres at a time, every three minutes, in order to allow Canadian troops to advance behind its protective curtain. Because the topography of the ridge varied considerably from north to south, allowances had to be made in the barrage pattern where the infantry might have more difficulty keeping up with the advance.

 

Library and Archives Canada, WWI, Vimy, item 8, NMC-111121

[Disposition of Canadian Corps at Zero Hour, 9th April, 1917]. --[Various scales]. --Ottawa: Geographical Section, General Staff, Dept. of National Defence, [192-].

Acting together for the first time as a single fighting force, the four Canadian divisions advanced across the cratered, debris-strewn ground towards Vimy Ridge in a "leap frog" system. The first units, totalling 8,000 men, were to reach the black line along the rear of the German forward trenches and then push forward to the red line. After a pause to enable reserve units to move up, the barrage started again to allow the reserve units to push beyond the red line to the blue line. The plan was repeated again for the brown line.

 

Library and Archives Canada, WWI, Vimy, item 8 (text), NMC-111121

Order of Battle of the Canadian Corps and Attached Troops, 9th April 1917

The command structure for the Canadian Corps, and attached British troops, at the time of the Vimy assault.

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9M, 77803/15, item 7, NMC-112621

"[Plan of] Ecurie Defences [Dated 04-08-16]". -- Scale [1:5,000]. -- [s.l.: 3rd Army Troops Company, Canadian Engineers], 1916.

A detailed plan of one small section of the defence line at Écurie along the southern boundary of the Canadian front. Such plans gave commanding officers a good overview of their defence situation.

 

Library and Archives Canada, PA-001101

German Gun Emplacement on the Crest of Vimy Ridge

The effect of Canada's accurate artillery fire is clearly evident in this photograph of a cement bunker and gun emplacement. They have been devastated almost beyond recognition.

 

Library and Archives Canada, PA-001131

German Shrapnel Bursting over Canadian Troops

Despite the best plans of senior command and the effective use the Canadians made of their artillery, German batteries were still able to inflict a casualty rate of about 25 percent on the advancing Canadian infantry. Still the Vimy campaign was considered a success because earlier battles in the war had seen casualty rates twice as high and without any significant gain in amount of ground captured.

 

Library and Archives Canada, PA-001062

Canadian Troops Digging in under Heavy Shell Fire on Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917

Once they reached their objective, Canadian troops had to immediately ready themselves for a possible German counter attack. Holding newly-won ground was often more difficult than taking it.

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III-C-3, vol. 4078, folder 7, file 6, reel T-10742

War Diary of the 31st Battalion, April 6-17, 1917

This is the official record of the 31st (Alberta) Battalion's participation in the battle for Vimy Ridge. Such records were maintained by all Canadian battalions once deployed to the theatre of operations and are an invaluable source of the day-to-day operations of the Canadian Corps.

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG9 III-C-3, vol. 4142, folder 5, file 1

Instructions No. 4 for the Offensive on Vimy, Issued to the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade, April 6, 1917

These instructions were issued to the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade three days before the Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge. As part of the second wave, the 6th Brigade (which included the 31st Battalion) was to pick up the assault (at zero plus eight and a half hours) from where the first wave had entrenched (called the red line) and continue the line to a point just east of Thélus (blue line) where Vimy Ridge overlooked the town of Farbus. Further detailed instructions were also issued to each Battalion in the Brigade.

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III-C-3, vol. 4142, folder 5, file 1

Instructions Issued to the 31st (Alberta) Battalion, April 7, 1917

Detailed instructions on how, when and where the 31st (Alberta) Battalion (of the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade) was to proceed in the final days leading up to the battle for Vimy Ridge.

 

Library and Archives Canada, Mary Riter Hamilton, C-101321

German Gun Emplacements, Farbus Wood, Vimy Ridge

Using recent advances in flash spotting, sound ranging and aerial observation, Canadian reconnaissance teams identified 175 German batteries which were capable of defending Vimy Ridge. Canadian counter battery work prior to the assault eliminated almost 86 percent of these, and in the process, greatly reduced the number of Canadian casualties.

 

Library and Archives Canada, RG 9 III-C-3, vol. 4142, folder 5, file 1

Message Card

With wireless radios almost non-existent, Company commanders communicated with Battalion headquarters using pre-printed message cards carried by runners. It would take several days for telephone lines to reach the newly-established front line and even then they were often cut by German artillery.

 

Prisoners and Casualties

No figures are available on German losses during the months of bombardment leading up to the Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge; however, earlier assaults by the armies of the Entente resulted in about 220,000 casualties on all sides. Out of the 40,000 Canadian infantry who participated in the April advance, casualties totalled about 10,500, of which 3,500 were never to return home. The Canadian Corps captured about 4,000 German prisoners during the assault.

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Library and Archives Canada, PA-001145

German Prisoners Captured during the Attack on Vimy Ridge

German prisoners of war on the march to confinement areas behind the Canadian lines. Detailed orders issued by the British 2nd Army placed clear restrictions on how these prisoners were to be treated.

 

Library and Archives Canada, PA-001021

Removal of Canadian Casualties from the Front

It was not unusual for prisoners of war to help stretcher bearers remove wounded infantry from the battlefield.

 

Library and Archives Canada, Mary Riter Hamilton, C-104794

Vimy Ridgeand Its War Graves

A sombre reminder of the true cost of the Vimy campaign.