On 9 September 1916, near Pozières, France, Cpl. Leo Clarke and the men of 2nd BN CEF were ordered to conduct a trench raid against a flanking sector of the German line.
Under heavy fire, the raiding party managed to reach their objective, but it was so heavily defended that they had to battle their way through with hand grenades, bayonets and their rifles as clubs. Clarke was the only man left standing; the rest had either been killed or wounded.
At that time, about 20 Germans counter-attacked. Clarke advanced, emptying his revolver into their ranks. He then picked up two enemy rifles and fired those too. One of the officers attacked with a bayonet, wounding Clarke in the leg, but Clarke shot him dead at point blank range. The Germans retreated, but Clarke pursued, shooting four more and capturing a fifth.
In all, Clarke single-handedly killed 19 of the enemy, capturing one.
He was immediately reccomended for the Victoria Cross.
Weeks after his heroism, however, Clarke was buried by the debris from an exploding artillery shell near the German stronghold of Regina Trench. Covered in mud, his brother Charlie dug him out alive. But it was too late, for Leo was paralyzed and had suffered serious internal injuries. He and died from trauma on 19 October 1916 — the same day the British army announced Leo's VC.
Clarke was one of 3 Canadian soldiers, all from the same street in Winnipeg, to be awarded the VC. All 3 VCs earned by the men of Pine Street — later named "Valour Road" — was a feat unmatched in any other part of the Empire. #ww1 #reality #stayzero #zerofoxtrot