7. The War’s Most Skillful Trench Raiders
Canadians eventually became the war’s most skillful trench raiders. As the war progressed, some Canadian raiders grew skillful enough to reach nearly a mile behind enemy lines. There, they inflicted lethal mayhem on surprised Germans who believed themselves safe from direct contact. In the runup to the attack on Vimy Ridge in 1917, Canadians launched raids of up to 900 men at German trenches every night. They were exceptionally deadly affairs that amounted to mini battles in their own right, conducted in the dark of night, which only enhanced horror of combat. Only difference was that, rather than hold their ground, the raiders aimed to slaughter, sow death and chaos, and otherwise visit mayhem upon the enemy before they disappeared.
