Riding Into Battle

Since the Boer War, cyclists worked with cavalry units to carry out duties requiring troops to dismount.  “The act of dismounting deprived a cavalry unit of the services of the men detailed to care for the horses…A cyclist unit, however, did not have to worry about its mounts running off on their own accord or being hit by stray small-arms fire.”  Source: Croker, F.P.U. “The Man-Powered Military Vehicle.” The Army Quarterly and Defence Journal 101, No. 4 (July 1971).

Recruiters for the five original Cyclist companies advertised for “men with a fair education … as some knowledge of map reading is desirable.  Young fellows who have had experience in surveying, engineering or such office work as is performed by bank clerks have proved useful men in the Cyclist Corps.”  Source: Unknown. “Cyclists in Demand to Chase the Huns.” The Globe, December 1, 1916.

A recurring training exercise for soldiers at Camp Exhibition was the “Battle of the Humber.”  For one such Battle in 1915, “the enemy was supposed to be retreating from [an offensive force] composed of the 10th Battalion, two batteries of artillery and the Divisional Cyclist Corps. The scene of the engagement covered a space of some three square miles, three-quarters of a mile on each side of the Old Mill.”  Source: Unknown. “Realistic Battle along Humber River.” The Globe, March 25, 1915.

For most of the Great War, Canadian Cyclists performed few of the specialized duties they were trained for.  During the Battle of Ypres in 1915, for example, the Cyclists were assigned to “guarding prisoners, guarding important crossings and bridges, as well as for obtaining information and acting as dispatch riders.”  Source: Everall, Lieutenant. “Precis written by W.M. Everall, 1st Divisional Cyclist Co. July 1915, and submitted to HQ 1st CDN Division.” Cyclone 3, Issue 8 (October 1970).

The Battle of Amiens (August 1918) was a particular significant victory for Canadian Cyclists as it marked the first time they “finally came into their own. The open warfare gave them a chance to carry out the work for which they were enlisted, namely, as advance patrols and general troubleshooters.” Source: Quoted in Ellis, W.D., and J. Gordon Beatty. Saga of the Cyclists in the Great War, 1914–1918. Toronto: Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion Association, 1965.

During the Pursuit from the Sensée Canal (October 1918), the Cyclists got in “perhaps their most telling work…Being out in advance most of the time we never knew when we were going to run into trouble and lost quite a few men killed and wounded. Sometimes it would be snipers; sometimes machine guns; sometimes field artillery using “open sights,” that is, firing directly at us from positions in the open.” Source:  Ellis, W.D., and J. Gordon Beatty. Saga of the Cyclists in the Great War, 1914–1918. Toronto: Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion Association, 1965.

By November 11, the Canadian Corps had reached Mons, Belgium.  “On November 11th there was naturally a big celebration in Mons, including a march past, but some of our men who were then over three miles past Mons did not know that the war was actually over at 11 o’clock until a German official car came through to arrange the take-over by the British.” Source: Quoted in Ellis, W.D., and J. Gordon Beatty. Saga of the Cyclists in the Great War, 1914–1918. Toronto: Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion Association, 1965.

The Hundred Days Offensive of the Great War proved that Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie’s Canadian Corps had evolved into an innovative, efficient, and highly professional fighting force.  Riding Into Battle (Dundurn Press, 2018) tells the story of how Canadian Cyclists made small, but deadly contributions to that evolution: Out of a total enlistment of 1,138, 261 were killed or wounded, a casualty rate of 23 percent.  Source:  Glenn, Ted.  Riding Into Battle: Canadian Cyclists in the Great War.  Toronto: Dundurn Press, 2018.