noon
Hal and Chester found themselves in the midst of the fighting , alongside the heroic Canadians of Vimy Ridge fame . The part of the field in which they found themselves was to the extreme north of the Hindenburg line , almost opposite Douai . Time after time the Canadians drove the foe back at the point of the bayonet . The Canadians , it appeared soon after noon , had been the most successful of the entire British army . They had pushed their lines almost to Douai . To the south , General Byng 's forces had not advanced quite so far . Suddenly there was an explosion inside a tank scarcely a hundred feet from Hal and Chester .