In darkness on 9 April, the Canadians moved into their forward positions, ready for the pre-dawn attack. Byng envisaged that complete success could be achieved in less than two days. That did not happen. Not all the intermediate goals were reached on his schedule, and he may have underestimated the fierce resistance put up by the Germans.
By the afternoon of 14 April the northern tip of Vimy Ridge, the last position to be taken, was finally in Canadian control. Altogether the corps had gained 4, yards and captured 54 German heavy guns, machine guns, trench mortars, and 4, prisoners. The price had been high: 10, casualties were suffered by the attackers, including 3, killed.
He had twice turned down requests from Sir Douglas Haig, commander of the BEF, to lead one of its five armies, and he could not refuse when Haig ordered him in June to take over the 3rd Army, having named him temporary general. Unlike the contested area at Vimy, this battleground was on a flat plain, and the front line had been largely untested.
Byng, taking lessons from Vimy, once again developed a meticulously detailed plan that included rehearsing his troops behind the front. There were new features: the advance would be covered by aircraft, and the ground forces would be supported by the heavy use of tanks. To retain the element of surprise, there was to be no artillery bombardment. Tanks would lead the charge to open channels through barbed-wire emplacements, allowing the infantry, backed by cavalry regiments, to quickly advance and engage the Germans.
The assault, scheduled for 20 Nov. Just eight days before the scheduled attack, however, Haig suddenly shut down the Passchendaele offensive, and reserve units essential to the Cambrai plan were sent to Italy. Still, Haig ordered the attack to proceed. Byng might have protested but did not. The assault began at dawn on 20 November and was initially a major success, with 3rd Army troops advancing three to four miles on a six-mile front.
The march forward did not last. Nonetheless, his innovative use of air and ground forces in a concerted attack was unprecedented for the British, and it would become the model for battle tactics in World War II. Before the fighting ended early in December, Byng had been raised to the full rank of general 23 November.
Byng and the 14 divisions of the 3rd Army were given the task of defending 28 miles of the line in northern France. That spring the Germans launched a massive offensive that was intended to end the war.
It was initially successful, but, exhausted, they halted on 17 July. After the war Byng, now 56, returned to England, where he and Evelyn resided in Thorpe Hall, a manor house in Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex, that they had purchased while he was stationed in Egypt.
He briefly worked at the War Office and was given the option of leading the Southern Command, but declined the post. In July he was offered the chairmanship of the United Services Fund USF , which provided dedicated support to former soldiers and their families. Byng accepted on the condition that the fund would be independent of the government and the military, which meant that he had to resign from the army to take up his new post.
In the Colonial Office suggested that Byng be appointed governor general of Canada, in succession to the Duke of Devonshire [ Cavendish ], whose five-year term was about to expire. Churchill recommended Baron Desborough or the Earl of Lytton.
The Canadians approved of Desborough, but he refused the appointment and they did not want Lytton. Meighen then accepted the suggestion of Byng, who had long before committed himself to taking up the position if offered it. His appointment was announced on 3 June On 2 August Byng received his commission as governor general and commander-in-chief of the Dominion of Canada.
He also received a gcmg from King George V, who told Byng not to worry about his lack of viceregal experience. More likely I shall just be Byng in my Byngdom. Byng took the oath of office in the legislative building, where a luncheon was given in his honour by the federal government. I made some mistakes in France, but when I did the Canadians always pulled me out of the hole. On the social side, Ottawa, with a population of just over ,, had a small and tight-knit social elite whose members tended to treat Rideau Hall as their own little bit of England.
They soon regarded Lord and Lady Byng, who broadened the guest list at their residence, with some suspicion: Byng was only a baron, after all, and a new one at that, whereas his two most recent predecessors had been dukes.
A welcome change, however, was that Julian and Evelyn held frequent lunches and dinners for small groups of parliamentarians from all parties, during which they learned much about Canada. A major responsibility of the governor general was to see, and be seen, in places across the country.
Julian and Evelyn, experienced travellers, took to this task eagerly. During his tenure they made four extended tours of western Canada using the viceregal train and, on the coasts and the Great Lakes, steamer services. Unpretentious and cheerful, Byng was very popular with Canadians.
In July he and Evelyn visited Sydney, N. The federal government feared violence and advised Lord and Lady Byng not to go, but they went anyway, refused the recommended police protection, and were welcomed joyously by huge crowds of strikers.
Over the next four years, King and Byng had frequent talks about foreign affairs and the imperial connection. He maintained that it would be more appropriate for the British to have a diplomat in Ottawa and for Canada to have its own ministerial-level representative in London. In the general election of 29 Oct.
King had lost his own seat, and Byng and many others expected him to resign as leader of the party, but he did not. He instead told Byng that his caucus had insisted he meet the house, and that he believed he would prevail with the support of the Progressives. I feel very privileged to work here. Designed by. Developed by. Toggle navigation. Viscount Byng of Vimy Soldier. Further reading: J. Williams Byng of Vimy Viscount Byng of Vimy, stall plate. Related commemorations See all commemorations.
Henry Cooke Musician , Soldier and Composer. Three years after attaining the rank of field marshal, he died at his home, Thorpe Hall on 6 June Julian Hedworth George Byng en.
Julian Byng Signature. Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire, England en. Thorpe Hall, Essex, England en. Quarterly Sable and Argent in the first quarter a lion rampant of the second over all in bend sinister a representation of the colours of the 31st Regiment a crescent Gules for difference.
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