Second to None: The Fighting 58th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary ForceOne of only fifty infantry battalions to see action with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I, the 58th nevertheless had no official history. Second to None tells the story of this important, yet forgotten, battalion. The soldiers who formed the 58th exemplified the ideal citizen soldiers and later evolved into the tough, battle-savvy veterans who destroyed the cream of the German Imperial Army and won battle honours. The author uses the men’s letters and diaries and family oral histories to amplify the terse account of the 58th’s war diary, bringing to life once more the men who paid the price for freedom. |
Contents
| 9 | |
| 13 | |
| 29 | |
| 37 | |
| 45 | |
Battle for Mount Sorrel | 55 |
More of the Same | 67 |
A Veteran Battalion | 73 |
Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres | 167 |
Passchendaele Retained | 183 |
Restoring the Edge | 195 |
The Perfect Raid | 201 |
The Calm Before the Storm | 211 |
The Storm Breaks | 215 |
The Storm Passes | 221 |
Preparations for the Counter Stroke | 225 |
Into the Meat Grinder | 79 |
Expendable | 87 |
Recovery | 97 |
Anatomy of a Trench Raid | 103 |
Winter Sets In | 111 |
Preparation for Something Big | 115 |
Keeping the Enemy Off Balance | 119 |
The Battle for Vimy Ridge | 125 |
Keeping the Pressure On | 135 |
Leading the Way | 139 |
Relative Calm | 149 |
Hill 70 and Lens | 153 |
A Temporary Reprieve | 161 |
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Common terms and phrases
116th Battalion 3rd Division 43rd Battalion 52nd Battalion 58th Battalion 9th Brigade action April Archie MacKinnon Army arrived artillery fire attack August Avion barrage battalion moved Battle began billets bombardment bombing British Camp Canada Canadian Corps Canadian Expeditionary Force Canadian Mounted Rifles Captain captured casualties command Company counterattack Cumulative Killed Distinguished Conduct Medal dugouts enemy shelling enemy trenches enemy’s fighting four France front line Gassed German grenades heavy Human Balance Sheet infantry Joyce Jucksch June kilometres left flank letter Lewis gun Macfarlane machine gun machine gun fire Major Carmichael Man’s Land March metres Military Cross Military Medal missing month morning night o’clock October officers party Passchendaele patrol platoon positions prisoners Private raid raiders ranks Regiment Reinforcements relieved reserve returned sector sent Sergeant Shell Shocked soldiers Somme Stokes mortar Toronto trench mortar troops unit moved unit’s Villers-au-Bois Vimy Ridge Waldron wire wounded Ypres