The Battle of Langemarck

16-18 August 1917

While the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) fought the Battle of Hill 70, the Newfoundland Regiment was taking part in the Battle of Langemarck from 16 – 18 August 1917. Advancing across a stream and approximately 1,000 yards of enemy frontage, the Regiment fought splendidly and over ten Military Medals were awarded to soldiers in the ranks. The 29th Division, in which the Regiment served, was the only unit to capture all its objectives in the offensive (Nicholson, The Fighting Newfoundlander, p. 385). But the victory was not without loss; 103 Newfoundlanders fell as casualties, 27 of these being fatal.

Perhaps the lasting memory of the Battle of Langemarck was the mud. Foreshadowing the morass of Passchendaele in autumn, the Newfoundland Regiment moved to the start line along a wooden plank road that was buried in knee-deep mud (Nicholson, The Fighting Newfoundlander, p. 380). Meanwhile, in the midst of battle, one private, “a man not blessed with great height”, and entrusted with a basket of carrier pigeons, “found himself stuck up to his middle in the bog” (Nicholson, The Fighting Newfoundlander, p. 384). A long day in the mud passed before a pigeon arrived at battalion headquarters, carrying an informal message about the state of affairs at the front and the plight of one plucky private stuck out in the mud. Before long, “a party went forward to rescue the pigeon bearer from his predicament” (Nicholson, The Fighting Newfoundlander, p. 384).

Editors Note: It is important to note that the Royal Newfoundland Regiment served in the Commonwealth forces as a separate contribution to the war effort from the Dominion of Newfoundland; consequently it was not part of the CEF and often fought at entirely separate engagements.  

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