 Innis 's role as an artillery <unk> gave him firsthand experience of life ( and death ) on the front lines as he participated in the successful Canadian attack on <unk> Ridge . <unk> , or <unk> , watched where each artillery shell landed , then sent back aiming corrections so that the next shells could hit their targets more accurately . On July 7 , 1917 , Innis received a serious shrapnel wound in his right thigh that required eight months of hospital treatment in England . 
