Caribou statue at Masnieres Northern France commemorating the Newfoundland Division's role in the Battle of Cambrai in 1917
The 5 actions involving the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during The Great War 1914-18 are each commemorated by the presence of a bronze caribou. They are located at Beaumont-Hamel, France; Gueudecourt, France; Monchy-le-Preux, France; Cambrai, France; & Courtrai, Belgium. This caribou is at Masnieres, near Cambrai, the battle taking place in October 1917. The Regiment was to follow the main attack on the Hindenburg Line in order to seize the St. Quentin Canal and the town of Masnières, clearing the way for cavalry to move on to Cambrai. During the advance, the four tanks accompanying the 29th Division were disabled. However, the Newfoundland Regiment pushed ahead, clearing out German garrisons in the deep dugouts of the Hindenburg Support Line. The men continued to the St. Quentin Canal, west of Masnières. There, the Regiment came under fire from the enemy's defences. With the support of a tank the men captured the canal lock by 1330. The Essex, which had been assigned to advance on Masnières from the right, had not begun its attack because of delays earlier in the battle. Despite this, the Newfoundland Regiment attacked Masnières from the left, advancing along the banks of the canal. By sunset, troops had reached the edge of the village. In the night, small groups of men from the Regiment a worked in "mopping up parties" to clear Masnières of the enemy. By next morning all but a few patches of the village were in Allied hands. Early on November 30, the Germans counterattacked, bombarding Marcoing and attacking to the S-E of Masnières. The Newfoundland Regiment was ordered to proceed to the front to help stop the German advance but was surprised to find the enemy had advanced as far as Marcoing Copse. In hand-to-hand combat they pushed the enemy back, thus preventing them cutting off the Allied forces holding Masnières. The day cost the Newfoundland Regiment 57 men killed and 74 wounded on December 3, the Newfoundland Regiment were withdrawn from the battle
Size: 2671px × 4300px
Location: Masnieres Northern France
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: battle, cambrai, caribou, division, great, masnieres, newfoundland, statue, war, ww1
