8. Canadian Enthusiasm for Trench Raiding
All Commonwealth forces were encouraged to raid enemy trenches, but Canadians in particular earned a reputation as the war’s most enthusiastic, innovative, and ferocious trench raiders. They kept on raiding even after other Commonwealth troops eventually stopped. As one Australian officer described it, “Raids are not worth the cost, none of the survivors want to go anymore“. Not so the bloody minded Canadians, who continued to raid German trenches until war’s end. To approach their foes as stealthily as possible, Canadians blackened their faces, and wore thick rubber gloves. For enhanced lethality, they crafted grenade catapults and homemade pipe bombs. When they reached and came face to face with their foes, they often employed fearsome homemade weapons such as spiked clubs, meat cleavers, and push daggers.
