Royal Winnipeg Rifles

The Little Black Devils was the informal name of an elite commando unit of the Canadian Army during the Great War, trained to carry out actions of sabotage behind American lines.

In the early stages of the US occupation,  Arthur McGregor gave refuge in his home to a soldier of this unit, sent to sabotage railway lines used by the Americans. McGregor's son, Alexander McGregor, admired the soldier and wanted to take part in his mission - to which the soldier refused, saying that his mission was designed for one person only.

However, later on Alexander and some of his friends tried to carry out sabotage on their own, which led to their being caught and executed. This led to Arthur McGregor - and later, Alexander's sister  Mary McGregor Pomeroy - embarking on carrers of sabotage of their own. Thus, the indirect effects of the Little Black Devils' operation lived on in the town of Resenfeld long after the unit itself was disbanded together with the rest of the Canadian Army.