Canada at Second Battle of Ypres
First Division Faces First German Chlorine Gas Attack of WW I
By the spring of 1915, the German Army occupied all of Belgium except for a five-mile deep salient – or bulge – around the city of Ypres. Determined to wipe out the Ypres salient, the Germans turned to the use of poison gas. Although both sides in the war had experimented with the use of tear gas against opposing troops, the strategic gains had proved to be negligible. For the attack on the Ypres salient, the Germans would turn to chlorine, which, once inhaled, attacked the victim’s respiratory system, causing fluid to rapidly build up in the lungs, literally drowning the victim from within.
Although the first Canadian troops had arrived on the Western Front in December 1914, they had seen little action to this point. Early in April 1915, the First Division was ordered to move into the Ypres salient and take up positions in the centre of the 10-mile long bell-shaped front line, with French and French Algerian troops to their left, and the British on their right.
The First Gas Attack at Ypres
On the evening of April 22, with a light breeze blowing toward the Allied lines, the Germans released 160 tons of chlorine gas, aimed at the French sector. As the mysterious green cloud drifted across no-man’s land, French commanders – suspecting a smoke screen for an infantry attack – ordered the troops to ‘stand-to’ on the trenches’ firing step. In this position, they were quickly overcome by the chlorine fumes. Within minutes, thousands were gasping for air and collapsing in the trenches. In panic, the remaining troops dropped their weapons, turned and ran.
The entire French front collapsed, leaving a gaping four-mile hole in the line. A Canadian medical officer from Montreal, Captain F.A.C Scrimger, quickly recognized the chlorine for what it was, and passed word that the Canadians should urinate on their handkerchiefs and hold them against their face to combat the effects of the gas (at the time it was thought the ammonia in urine would have a neutralizing effect; it was later found plain water was just as effective against the water-soluble chlorine gas. A few days later, Captain Scrimger would earn a Victoria Cross for evacuating a medical aid station while under fire).
The Battle of Kitcheners' Wood
Fortunately for the Allies, even the Germans were surprised by the effectiveness of the gas attack, and did not have enough troops available to take full advantage of the breach in the lines, while the Canadians and British quickly scrambled to bring up reinforcements. Even so, large numbers of German troops were able to advance through the gap, and take up positions within the salient. One such area was known as Kitcheners’ Wood. On the night of April 22, the 10th and 16th Canadian Battalions launched a counter-attack to drive them out. Without the aid of reconnaissance, the Canadian battalions were forced to make a virtual blind charge over open ground to attack the Wood. Fighting with rifles, grenades and bayonets against German machine guns, the two battalions together suffered 75 percent casualties, but succeeded in re-capturing the position.
On April 24, the Germans would launch a second chlorine gas attack, this time directed at the Canadians. Although the Canadians were forced to abandon their most forward trench positions, they held at a secondary position, and this time drove back the German infantry as they advanced out of the gas cloud.
Canadian Casualties at 2nd Ypres
The First Canadian Division was relieved from the front line on May 3. In 10 days of fighting against a vastly superior force they had suffered nearly 6,000 casualties – or one-third of their total strength – including 1,000 killed. But their stubborn resistance in the face of the horrible new weapon had played a pivotal role in the Allies’ success in holding the Ypres salient. It was a position they would not relinquish through the entire course of the war.
Restored WW I Trenches
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