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Show FEARFUL LOSS OF BATTALION Toronto, Ont , June 24 The First Western Ontario battalion was all but annihilated in the action near La Baser Bas-er in northern France, ou June 15 ! i:-t says a semi-official account received re-ceived here today Out of between 600 and 70n men the battalion lost in killed kill-ed and wounded nearly 500. including twent) officers. Twelve of the officers were killed In this action, according to the account, leaving only three officers of the battalion bat-talion unwounded The First Western Ontario battalion, the account says, was selected to act in co-operation with the British troops in attacking a German position. Threo trenches were their objective. They came from the rear, having had a rest prnparatory to the onslaught, which took place in the evening The German? Ger-man? apparently had an idea that a serious atiack was to be attempted, and. as events proved, had made elaborate elab-orate preparations for resistance. The first enemy trench was only 40 yards away from that occupied b the First Western Ontario battalion. A mine had been laid and its explosion was the signal for a forward movement move-ment on the part of the Canadians The mine itself killed main Germans. A member of the battalion w ho took pari m the subsequent charge declared that the battalion rushed forward under un-der a terrific fire from machine guns and bursting high explosives. "I shall never forget," he said, "look ing around and seeing Colonel Freher Of London. Ont . apparently standing on the parapet of a trench, leading his men by voice and gesture. The next instant the colonel fell, struck by a bomb, ond w;r carried to the rear, but (Jul not live long "Conditions grew more terrible as the fighting progressed. The Germans brought up reinforcements from troops that were fighting the British, with whom we were linked. "The second trench was about 00 vard6 beyond the first, which was cap lured, or about 100 yards from our starting point The cost to ourselves n t.iking the first trench was vpp-great vpp-great We took the second trench, and It proved a hot position. "We then went for tho third trench, but the Germans with reinforcements concentrated a tremendous volume of Ore on us. I should thiak by this time considerably more than half our officers offi-cers and men had either been killed or wounded. "Graduallv the position became untenable, un-tenable, and it was necessary to relinquish relin-quish the ground already won. we , ould not, with our depleted force, remain re-main there so u e moved back. The Oermans then tried hard to shift us from our original position, but to no purpose. The battalion went Into that action from COO to 700 strong. The killed and wounded numbereG nearly 500, including 20 out of 23 officers, 12 of whom were killed." |