THE COLONIST. MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1917. THE HERO OF CAMBRAI.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14588, 17 December 1917, Page 4

THE COLONIST. MONDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1917. THE HERO OF CAMBRAI.

The despatch sent by Mr. F. H. Simonds to the "New York Times'.' throws further light upon the statement made by Mr. Bonar Law in the House of Commons last week in response to persistent catechising. lie Chancellor of the Exchequer deprecated an exaggerated view of the reverse at Cambrai, and said that the i German surprise was one. of the inevifc able accidents of war. The Government would make inquiries and act accordingly. Cabinet would not favour any officer's retention if the circumstances showed that he should not be retained. It seems ttat the Cambrai set-back has set on foot the usual search for a scapegoat, and Mr. Si<monds' telegram indicates that General Byng has been fastened upon as the victim. Whether that officer's precipitation in endeavouring to enlarge his earlier success at the expense of his flanks contributed to the reverse we do not yet know, and until the actual occurrences lave been disclosed it is useless to speculate. It is reasonable to recollect when, such-attacks are made upon responsible commanders, however, that they are very frequently and often very lightly made. Sir Julian Byng is having an experience that at some time or other has fallen to the lot of nearly every Allied commander. There is a noisy section in England for which the Nprthcliffe press is the mouthpiece, from whose destructive attentions no Allied general, admiral, or statesman is safe, and their misdirected activities have iiad the natural result of causing all such charges to be'received with suspicion and reservo. Sir Julian Byng may have been guilty of the neglect alleged against him, but his experience and record in tlis war and before it does not lend colour to such an assumption. Still less does it seem, likely that Sir Douglas Haig, who seems to be made to share his1 subordinate's responsibility, would have sanctioned such 3 departure from the caution which invariably characterises his plans. Sir Julian Byng was in charge of the operation last montr.! which broke through the Hindenburg Lino at Cambrai, and he directed the defence of the captured ground against the subsequent counterattacks. A few notes upon his career may be of interest. Joining the Hussars in 1883, he served in the Soudan expedition in 1884, being present at the actions of El Teb and Tamai. In South' Africa he commanded a column with great distinction in the pursuit of De Wet, and finisled the campaign with the rank of colonel. One of his most successful actions was on the Vlei River, west of Reitz, where ho surprised a Boer commando, and took a 15-pounder, two pom-poms, and many prisoners. He landed in Belgium in i October, 1914, in command of the 3rd Cavalry Division. He accompanied Rawlinson's 7th Division in its retreat from Antwerp to Ypres. The doings of the famous 3rd Cavalry Division are writ large in history. Bays "Generals of the British Armyi" fromwhich tfcese particulars have been obtained. And in all tho great drama of Ypres there was no finer incident than the charge of the Household Brigade at Klein Zillebeke on November 6th, 1914. In May, 1915, General Byng succeeded General Allenby in command of the Cavalry Corps, and was responsible for > the cavalry fighting in the latter part of tte second battle of Ypres. In August of that year ho went to the Dardanelles to take over the command of the IX. Corps, and was present during the later stages of that campaign and the famous withdrawal from the Peninsula: In February, 1916, he returned to France to command the XVII. Corps, and was transferred to the Canadian Corps on May 24th. Since tlren he has been one of the most brilliant among corps commanders.. During tho battle of the Sommo the Canadians fought on the right of Sir Hubert Gough's sth Army, and did notable work, taking Courcelette, and fighting many desperate actions on the Thiepval Ridge. During tl:e long stormy winter their raids on the enemy line were among the most remarkable' on the, British front. Mdre especially they made the section north of Arras an unquiet place for the enemy.. Their culminating achievement came at the battle of Arras on 9th..April, , 1917, when ttey stormed in one stride four positions on the Vimy Ridge, and wrested-from the enemy the key of the plain of Douai. In June Sir Julian Byng succeeded General Allenby in command of the 3rd Arm\