 | |
| Typical Picardy countryside, west of Moreuil |
The Canadian Cavalry Brigade is remounted, with all three regiments, Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), and Fort Garry Horse all in one place. The Strathcona's billet overnight at Sains Morainvillers, Picardy.
6 am--Reveille, an hour later than the normal 5:00.
The Canadian Cavalry Brigade is beaten up, men and horses showing the strain of lack of sleep and short rations. It has been raining, but at least they managed a better than normal amount of sleep.
3 pm--the brigade is on the move, crossing to the west bank of the Noye River. They bivouac at Guyencourt Wood.
midnight--the troopers get their heads down, having set up horse lines, seen to their horses, managed something to eat.
Orders--"Stand To Your Horses" at 5:30 am tomorrow. They'd be up, horses taken care of, scant rations wolfed down, saddled up and ready to go.
5 comments:
I love the details, Robert. You have me waiting for the next post. What a great idea to post the details on the anniversary dates.
This series reminds me why I wrote "Soldier of the Horse" in the first place--namely, to remind us of our fast-fading history.
We retraced this route one cold, rainy March 30th five years ago, through the countryside, over the small bridge, through the town and up into Moreuil Wood. We could picture sodden horses and men, the sound of the hooves, the fear in their hearts. Good blogs Robert
I can still feel the excitement of starting the day at Guyencourt, crossing the Noye, moving along the road that without doubt was the same one where the hoofbeats of the Brigade resounded.
Great details. I would like to walk that road though I must admit that thanks to Soldier of the Horse I almost feel that I have.
Post a Comment