100 Years Ago Today

​The 15th Field Artillery Regiment RCA perpetuates the following sub units:
31st Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, Canadian Expeditionary Force,
58th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, Canadian Expeditionary Force,
5th Canadian Siege Battery, Canadian Artillery, Canadian Expeditionary Force,
68th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, North Russia Expeditionary Force, and the
85th Battery, Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force.
 
One hundred years ago, on 3 April 1917 the batteries disposition was as follows:
31st Battery, Canadian Field Artillery was a sub-unit of the 8th Canadian Field Artillery Brigade in the 3rd Canadian Division. The Brigade war diary records:
The enemy is apparently adopting a policy of “Watchful Waiting” as outside of aerial activity, his visible activities have been nil of late. His shelling has dropped considerably below normal. Meanwhile we are expending every effort in the speedy destruction of his wire while the heavy artillery is constantly pounding his roads and defences. The once well constructed and well defined SWISCHEN STELLUNG TRENCH has been reduced to an irregular mass of shell craters and piled earth.
 
58th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a sub-unit of the 14th Canadian Field Artillery Brigade in the 5th Canadian Division. The Division was training in England and the Brigade war diary records:
WITLEY - Duke of Connaught did not arrive. Only BATTY to go in field was 58th. Wet snowy day. (?) S. Smith to ALDERSHOT for course. CAPT LATIMER (?) to be attached as from 24th March.
 
5th Canadian Siege Battery, Canadian Artillery, Canadian Expeditionary Force war diary records:
Mt St Eloy - At 11.15. a.m. fired 11 Rounds on crater D62 to check error of day. And at Noon switched to Baby Trench in S15a 83.10 to S15a 83.28, fired 88 Rounds with ground observation, no direct hits were observed altho several fell on the edge of the trench. During the afternoon we fired 15 Rounds on La Chaudiere, south of line through S18d 0.5 without observation and also 25 Rds on GIVENCHY, portion north of E and W line through S10a 1/2.1 ½ and east of line through S4c 2.0. At 4.40 started shoot on Hostile Battery by aeroplane observation in S12d 45.15. 1st Rd was unobserved and after 2nd round nothing more was heard from plane.
 
68th Battery, Canadian Field Artillery, North Russia Expeditionary Force was not authorized to be formed until 3 August 1918.
 
85th Battery, Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force was not authorized to be formed until 12 July 1918