The Canadian Cavalry in the Last 100 Days (Part 3)

One of the Canadians caught up in the 2nd Battle of Le Cateau was S. H. Williams, author of “Stand to Your Horses”. He was temporarily attached to the 6^th Brigade, and watched while two British regiments went at full gallop across an open stretch of land some 2,000 yards long, where there was no cover for man or horse. They were being shelled by the Germans, and in the midst of it a flight of “aeroplanes, which I took to be ours until their actions proved them to be enemy,” attacked from the air. Williams’ assessment of the situation was that it made for an “exciting few moments”. In his view, though, in that particular incident the guns and aircraft didn’t do more damage than hitting a few men and horses, due to the speed of their gallop. Probably not enough to ruffle the feathers of Williams, a tough officer who had been through four years of war by this time.