This is the 104th anniversary of the battle of Hill 70 during which the 15th Battalion (48th Highlanders) assaulted and captured Puits 14 and Bois Hugo as part of the Canadian Corps’ assault on Hill 70 near Lens, France. The battalion was in the first wave of the assault on the Corps’ exposed and vital left flank. Having secured all their objectives on the morning of 15 August 1917, the battalion defended its position for a day and half against numerous German counter attacks until it was relieved and withdrawn from the line.
Hill 70 was the first time that all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together completely under Canadian leadership and it is one of the twenty one Battle Honours awarded to the 15th Battalion for its service during The Great War and one of the ten emblazoned on the Colours of 48th Highlanders of Canada which perpetuates the 15th Battalion.
This video on Hill 70, which was produced and uploaded to YouTube last year on the 103rd anniversary of the battle, was the first in a series of videos being produced by the 15th Battalion CEF Memorial Project to commemorate the battalion’s role in a number of the key battles of The Great War in which, as part of the Canadian Corps, the 15th Battalion (48thHighlanders) was engaged. The programs also acknowledge the sacrifice of those men of the battalion who fell during those battles and to whose memory we remain Dileas Gu Brath – Faithful Forever.
15th Battalion CEF(48th Highlanders of Canada) – Battle for Hill 70 104th Anniversary – YouTube
