Before 27 March, Plumer intended that the Canadians should take over the sector as soon as the attack was complete but the Canadian Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Edwin Alderson preferred to carry out the attack or wait until the front had settled before taking over.
The tiredness of the 3rd Division meant that the Canadians were sent to take over while the front was still unsettled and the 2nd Canadian Division (Major-General Richard Turner) had to relieve the 3rd Division on the night of 3/4 April before the captured ground had been consolidated and the German defences opposite had not been identified.
Fifty men per company of the 6th Canadian Brigade wore the new Brodie helmet and took over from the 76th Brigade by 2:48 a.m., the British battalions being so depleted that only companies were needed to take over but the relief cost twelve hours of consolidation.
The 3rd Division infantry went into reserve and the artillery stayed on until the night of 12 April, then lent its trench mortars and the 24 Lewis gun teams to the 2nd Canadian Division artillery.
At noon on 4 April, the Canadian Corps took over from V Corps with the three Canadian divisions, the 1st Canadian Division having taken relieved the 50th (Northumbrian) Division on 3 April and the 3rd Canadian Division the 24th Division, the Canadian Corps holding the line from St Eloi, across the Ypres–Comines Canal to the II Corps north of Hooge.

The 27th Canadian Battalion took over in front of the craters with parties from the 31st Canadian Battalion in craters 5 and 6 and beyond crater 7 up to the canal, taking three Germans prisoner on craters 5 and 6.
The mines, artillery bombardments and inclement weather had demolished parapets, cut the wire and even well built trenches had collapsed.
The shallow ditches and captured trenches facing the wrong way had no drainage and few dugouts, all waterlogged and incapable of resisting shell-splinters.
There were no communication trenches and the four largest craters had to be by-passed, supply parties being tied together to pull out those who got stranded in flooded shell-holes.
Wounded and dead lay everywhere and the relief parties could only find posts, some connected by shallow trenches.
The Canadian commander recommended digging a temporary defence line along the west lips of the craters rather than the longer line in front, on a forward facing slope, easily watched from the ridges above, when a counter-attack was expected from the direction of the Bluff.
The 6th Canadian Brigade, 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion and large working parties from the 4th and 5th Canadian brigades began to sandbag the defences and repair the drainage but the water was thick mud and oozed back when it was thrown out.
German guns bombarded the area every 30 minutes from the front and flanks, which made it impossible to consolidate the craters for 24 hours but the support and old front line, were much improved.
Lack of rest and inability to carry food forward, led to a decision to swap the 27th Canadian Battalion with the 29th Canadian Battalion on the night of 5/6 April.
Before 27 March, Plumer intended that the Canadians should take over the sector as soon as the attack was complete but the Canadian Corps commander, Lieutenant-General Edwin Alderson preferred to carry out the attack or wait until the front had settled before taking over. The tiredness of the 3rd Division meant that the Canadians were sent to take over while the front was still unsettled and the 2nd Canadian Division (Major-General Richard Turner) had to relieve the 3rd Division on the night of 3/4 April before the captured ground had been consolidated and the German defences opposite had not been identified. Fifty men per company of the 6th Canadian Brigade wore the new Brodie helmet and took over from the 76th Brigade by 2:48 a.m., the British battalions being so depleted that only companies were needed to take over but the relief cost twelve hours of consolidation. The 3rd Division infantry went into reserve and the artillery stayed on until the night of 12 April, then lent its trench mortars and the 24 Lewis gun teams to the 2nd Canadian Division artillery. At noon on 4 April, the Canadian Corps took over from V Corps with the three Canadian divisions, the 1st Canadian Division having taken relieved the 50th (Northumbrian) Division on 3 April and the 3rd Canadian Division the 24th Division, the Canadian Corps holding the line from St Eloi, across the Ypres–Comines Canal to the II Corps north of Hooge.
The 27th Canadian Battalion took over in front of the craters with parties from the 31st Canadian Battalion in craters 5 and 6 and beyond crater 7 up to the canal, taking three Germans prisoner on craters 5 and 6. The mines, artillery bombardments and inclement weather had demolished parapets, cut the wire and even well built trenches had collapsed. The shallow ditches and captured trenches facing the wrong way had no drainage and few dugouts, all waterlogged and incapable of resisting shell-splinters. There were no communication trenches and the four largest craters had to be by-passed, supply parties being tied together to pull out those who got stranded in flooded shell-holes. Wounded and dead lay everywhere and the relief parties could only find posts, some connected by shallow trenches. The Canadian commander recommended digging a temporary defence line along the west lips of the craters rather than the longer line in front, on a forward facing slope, easily watched from the ridges above, when a counter-attack was expected from the direction of the Bluff. The 6th Canadian Brigade, 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion and large working parties from the 4th and 5th Canadian brigades began to sandbag the defences and repair the drainage but the water was thick mud and oozed back when it was thrown out. German guns bombarded the area every 30 minutes from the front and flanks, which made it impossible to consolidate the craters for 24 hours but the support and old front line, were much improved. Lack of rest and inability to carry food forward, led to a decision to swap the 27th Canadian Battalion with the 29th Canadian Battalion on the night of 5/6 April.
Actions of St Eloi Craters