The 1st Canadian Battalion are back in their tents in the chalk quarry at the Maison Blanche to start the month. Plans are to assemble on May 2nd to attack and take back the village of Fresnoy from Germany. Those initial plans go awry. Upon assembly one Lieutenant is killed and two more are wounded by heavy German artillery fire. The troops retreat but don’t give up. They attack again the very next night. This time they are successful in taking Fresnoy back from the Germans. But that success comes at a horrific cost for the 1st Canadian Infrantry Battalion who are involved in leading the offensive. 51 men are killed, 70 are missing and 224 are wounded for a total of 345 casualties. It was worse than Vimy Ridge. Combined with the 235 casualties incurred at Vimy it meant that the 1st Canadian Battalion had lost more than half its men in the last two months. And sadly the success at Fresnoy was all for nothing. The Battalion was relieved the night of the 4th by a British Battalion. The British Battalion were promptly met with a heavy German artillery fire counter attack. As the Canadians returned to Maison Blanche they would soon receive the devastating news that the Germans had recaptured Fresnoy. All the loss of life , all the wounded and missing men, all this for nothing. Dejected the Battalion return to the Covigny Huts. After Vimy and Fresnoy they deserve some down time . They are visited by General Currie again and then by Lieutenant General Byng. They are there to thank the troops for their achievements the last two months – and too boost morale. At the same time training continues, troops are brought in from the reserve battalion to replace those lost. Over a dozen men are awarded military medals for their actions at Fresnoy. Good for them , and without taking any honor away from any of them, I have to say that if it was up to me everyone would have been given medals. Everyone in that battalion deserved a medal – not just a chosen few.
Oh ,I forgot to mention- the weather in May was nice and warm.