The Battle of Mount Sorrel 1916

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2nd to 13th June 1916

British formations engaged: XIV Corps : 20th Division; Canadian Corps : 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions

The Mount Sorrel Position

The action described as the Battle of Mount Sorrel took place between Hill 60 at Zwarteleen and Hooge. Much of the ground was wooded, as it is again today. The eastern edges of Armagh Wood and Sanctuary Wood lay on a crest line, topped by the heights of Mount Sorrel and Tor Top. The latter was alternatively named Hill 62, as it rose to 62 metres above sea level, some 25-30 metres higher than the shallow ground at Zillebeke and on towards Ypres. Once on the crest line, an occupying force enjoyed excellent observation over the Ypres salient, the town itself, and the approach roads, railways and tracks.

Hooge Crater cemetery, looking south-east from the Menin Road. The northwestern face of Zouave Wood and Sanctuary Wood is the darker mass behind the cemetery to the left; the higher ground of Tor Top and Observatory Ridge is to the right of the Cross of Sacrifice. Ypres lies to the right of the photograph. The cemetery slopes down to the lower ground; the Royal Canadian Regiment was holding this ground when the Wurttemburgers attacked on 2nd June 1916.

The German XIII (Wurttemburg) Corps prepares to attack

Six weeks of planning and careful preparations for the capture and retention of the Tor Top ridge were made by the XIII (Wurttemburg) Corps, before they launched their attack on 2nd June 1916. Their objective was simply to grab the last dominating observation position in front of Ypres and keep as many British units as possible pinned down in the area, to avoid them assisting the obvious build up on the Somme or relieving more French units to go to the defence of Verdun. Although no fresh infantry Divisions were brought in, much heavy artillery was assembled, as was a mass of trench mortars. New advanced outpost positions were dug, along with many new dugouts for sheltering the assault troops. On 31st May and 1st June 1916, the three Canadian Divisions holding the line all reported much increased enemy artillery and airborne activity, but apart from that there was no obvious cause for alarm. News of the naval battle of Jutland (or Skagerrak) was filtering through, and while both sides claimed victory it did not seem that the Royal Navy had scored the expected knockout blow.

Canadian senior officers in front line as bombardment starts

At 6am on 2nd June, Major-General Malcolm Mercer, GOC 3rd Canadian Division, went on a personal reconnaissance of the Mount Sorrel and Tor Top front, accompanied by Brigadier-General V.A.S. Williams, GOC 8th Canadian Brigade. They were under instruction by new Canadian Corps commander Lieutenant-General Hon. Sir Julian Byng to plan a local attack to improve their position. Just over two hours later, the German bombardment - on the front lines and half a mile behind them - intensified. The shellfire continued and intensified yet again at 12:30pm, as the British front line - trenches, wire defences, dugouts - were destroyed. Many wounded were taken to the only seemingly safe place, an underground work called "The Tunnel" on the reverse slope of Mount Sorrel which was also the HQ of the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles, of 8th Brigade. The British artillery replied, but gradually it became less effective as telephone lines were cut by shellfire, and all of the forward observation officers in the front lines became casualties.

Death of Major-General Mercer

Brigadier-General V.A.S. Williams was wounded in the head soon after the German bombardment began; he was taken prisoner when the enemy infantry attacked. Major-General M. S. Mercer, stunned and deafened by the shell burst, found his way to an aid post but insisted on leaving to rejoin his HQ. He was hit and his leg broken. As he lay in the open, he was struck by shrapnel and killed. The loss of two key commanders in the very centre of the operations was a critical blow. Much later in the day, when it became clear the officers had been lost, Byng hurriedly appointed Brigadier-General E. S. Hoare Nairne, the commander of the 3rd Division's artillery, to command of the Division.

Blowing of mines heralds German infantry attack

At just after 1pm, the German pioneers blew a small number of mines just short of the now-obliterated British fire trench at Mount Sorrel. Five battalions of the 25th and 26th Wurttemburg Divisions, with another eleven behind them, moved to the advance. The main strength fell against 4th and 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles, of 8th Brigade, and the right-most Company of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. There was little fire from the British positions here, although machine guns on both flanks did good work, to halt the enemy advance. However, the fight for the shell holes of the old front line was dogged, with much hand to hand combat. At Sanctuary Wood, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry held off the attack, at a high cost in casualties. Elsewhere the Germans overran the British line, capturing the heights at Mount Sorrel and Tor Top and advancing some way down the slope to take a number of strong points. As the defenders recovered and the enemy came into view on the downward slope, fire intensified and the Germans halted, consolidating their gains.

Reserves arrive and prepare to counter attack

By an hour after the enemy infantry attack had begun, reserve units were arriving in the area: 2nd and 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles of 8th Brigade, and 42nd Battalion of 7th Brigade. It was clear that this was too small a force to mount a successful counter attack, so orders were given for these units to form a defensive line, using the best communication trenches and other features they could find. More units were moving up too, including 7th Battalion of 1st Canadian Division, and the Canadian Motor Machine Gun Brigade.

Julian Byng issued an order at 4.25pm for a counter attack to take place, directing that a Brigade of 1st Canadian Division should attack to the south, and one of 3rd Canadian Division to the north. The latter part was abandoned after discussion with 3rd Division about the state of their troops. 1st Division decided that Brigadier-General Louis Lipsett's 2nd Brigade should make an attack against Mount Sorrel, with Brigadier-General George Tuxford's 3rd Brigade against Tor Top. The two Brigadiers met at Railway Dugouts to plan the attack in detail. 7th Brigade was added to the plan, to attack between Tor Top and the Appendix. But the fresh units, still moving up from as far away as Poperinge, were not fully in position when the agreed time for the assault came, at 2am on 3rd June. Many were caught in German barrages falling on the roads and tracks as they trudged towards the inferno.

The counter attack fails, with heavy losses

It was not until the broad daylight of 7.10am on 3rd June that the Canadian units were ready to make the planned counterattack. Uncertainty arose when fourteen signal rockets were fired before six - the chosen start signal - had been successfully ignited. A terrible consequence was that the three attacks began at different times, and the enemy was able to concentrate their fire. Small parties penetrated into the German front lines, and fearsome close fighting took place but the Canadians were too few in number to capture the trenches and hold on, and between noon and 1pm they fell back to their start positions. But at least the gaps in the British line had been filled, and the general position established some 1500 yards from the German line, closer than it had initially been after the German attack.

Haig insists on the recapture of the ridge line, reinforces the sector

With the enemy now having unhindered observation across the salient, Ypres and the rear areas, it was imperative to wrest the heights back from the Germans. Sir Douglas Haig, desperate to avoid diluting the build-up of forces on the Somme any further, had little choice but to reinforce Second Army if they were to achieve this. 89th Siege Battery, 51st Howitzer Battery and two South African Howitzer Batteries (the latter new to France) were ordered intro the area, as was the artillery and 9th Infantry Brigade of 3rd Division which was out at rest under GHQ orders. 9th Brigade moved into the St Eloi sector and relieved 5th Canadian Brigade, that moved north. For some days, the weather deteriorated, making the work of consolidating the new position and making it ready for an assault very much more difficult.

British counter-attack plans are disrupted by another German effort

German infantry attacked at Hooge and Hill 60 after a three-hour bombardment and the blowing of four mines at the former place at 3pm on 6th June 1916. They met the 6th Canadian Brigade, which had just arrived in the area. For a while the enemy entered the Canadian trenches and were only ejected in places after a stiff fight. They were beaten off at Hill 60. Julian Byng, tempted to regain the Hooge trenches, considered an effort to do so but decided to leave the old British front line in enemy hands while concentrating forces on the regaining of Mount Sorrel and Tor Top. Douglas Haig approved Byng's plan, but deployed the 2nd Cavalry Brigade, dismounted, of 2nd Cavalry Division as a reserve for the Canadian Corps, just in case this latest German effort was a forerunner of further attacks. The proposed recapture of the ridge was further delayed when the weather closed in, and air reconnaissance became impossible.

Final preparations are made

Despite the rain, British artillery shelled the German lines on Mount Sorrel and Tor Top for four hours each day from 9th June. Unable to be spotted from the air, the effects were uncertain. Final orders for the attack were issued on 11th June, and zero hour was fixed for 1.30am on 13th. The depltede Canadian battalions were formed up into two composite Brigades for the attack. On the left, 2nd, 4th, 13th and 16th Battalions under George Tuxford would go for Tor Top. On the right, Louis Lipsett would have 1st, 3rd, 8th for the effort at Mount Sorrel, with 7th holding Hill 60. 5th, 10th, 14th and 15th Battalions were held as close reserve under Brigadier-General Garnet Hughes. The bombardment was lengthened and intensified on 12th June, and the attacking units moved into position without incident. Smoke screens were laid down by the artillery and Stokes mortars (indeed, 20th (Light) Division, on the left of the Canadians across the Menin Road near Railway Wood, also used smoke, under cover of which they mounted four successful trench raids as the bigger effort opened to the south). The leading waves moved out into no man's land under cover of the barrage and the smoke, and waited for zero in driving rain.

The counter-attack goes in

The assault began on time at 1.30am, and the Canadian infantry quickly took the German front lines. More than 190 prisoners were taken in the first minutes. A heavy German bombardment opened on the newly captured positions, which combined with the mud (after days of rain) and the already churned-up nature of the ground made the spade work of consolidation of the position very difficult. It was simply impossible to be sure where the original front lines had been, so numerous were the water-filled shell holes and mine craters. As it turned out, the new posts that were dug - it was not possible to make a continuous line - were in places a hundred yards behind the original position, but it did not matter. The Germans had been pushed off the Mount Sorrel and Tor Top ridge, and the Canadians had most successfully executed their first deliberately planned attack on the Western Front. A combination of excellent staff work and planning, brilliantly executed artillery work in poor weather, and the formidable courage of the Canadian infantry, had saved the day.

Eyewitness

Charles Harington - always known as Tim - was Brigadier-General, General Staff of the Canadian Corps during the Mount Sorrel fighting. In his biography of the redoubtable Herbert Plumer, commander of Second Army, he wrote: "It was between 3rd and 13th June that General Byng said to me 'You have got to go to the Second Army as Major-General, General Staff'. Knowing his sense of humour I never took it seriously. I had known that Brigadier-General Bruce Williams was vacating the appointment in order to take up a command, but I had never given a thought to any idea that I should be even considered for such an appointment. When, however, General Plumer visited our HQ next day, I thanked him for his kindness in selecting me. Whereupon, he remarked in a moment, 'I won't have you unless you get Mount Sorrel back'.".

Senior officer casualties

Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Buller DSO, 34, OC Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and formerly of the Rifle Brigade, killed in action at Sanctuary Wood, 2 June 1916. Buried in Voormezele Enclosure No. 3.

Major-General Malcolm Mercer CB, 56, GOC 3rd Canadian Division, killed in action at Mount Sorrel, 2 June 1916. Buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.

Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Shaw, 34, OC 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles, a resident of Calgary, killed in action at Mount Sorrel, 2 June 1916. Has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, Ypres.

Lieutenant-Colonel George Baker, 38, OC 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles (Quebec Regiment), a Member of the Canadian House of Commons, died of wounds, 2 June 1916. Buried in Poperinghe New Military Cemetery.

Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Creighton, 41, OC 1st Canadian Battalion (Western Ontario Regiment), originally from Nova Scotia but a resident of Winnipeg, died of wounds incurred during the relief of his unit on 13 June, on 19 June 1916. Buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.

Other casualties

Between 2nd June and 14th June 1916, the Canadian Corps lost a total of 73 officers and 1053 other ranks killed; 257 officers and 5010 other ranks wounded; 57 officers and 1980 other ranks missing, a total of 8430. German losses recorded were 32 officers and 1191 other ranks killed; 71 officers and 3911 other ranks wounded; 6 officers and 554 other ranks missing, a total of 5765. It is generally believed that German methods of reporting wounded differed, and that losses were about the same on both sides.

Tip

Next time you are in Ypres, visit the Canadian Memorial at Hill 62, signposted and accessible from the Menin Road. You are on Tor Top, right in the middle of the Mount Sorrel battlefield, and the views across to Ypres will explain why this position was so important to hold.

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