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By April 1915, the Western Front was mired in trench warfare. Germany's new Chief of Staff, General Erich von Falkenhayn, didn't think his army could break the deadlock, and Germany needed to help struggling Austro-Hungarian forces in the East. Before the Germans turned against Russia though, they decided to attack in the West to keep the Allies off balance. They chose to strike at the vulnerable Ypres Salient - and they would support the coming offensive with a weapon their enemies had never seen. In late 1914 the 1st Battle of Ypres saw British, French, and Belgian forces stop the German advance around the Belgian town of Ieper, better known in English as Ypres. The front line now formed
an awkward salient, but the Allies held on to the town because it was an important rail hub, protected the routes to French channel ports, and was the last major Belgian town in Allied hands. If the Germans can eliminate the Salient, they'll cover the withdrawal of 8 divisions for the East, and free up more troops by shortening their line. The German 4th Army under the Duke of Württemberg had about 50,000 men ready for the initial assault, 7 divisions. Facing them was a mixed Allied force of similar size: a Belgian division, two French divisions (the 87th from Brittany and
the 45th from Algeria), the Canadian Division (which was 2/3 British-born), and two British divisions. Crucially, the Germans had many more heavy guns and shells than the Allies, who faced a severe shortage of munitions. French and Belgian troops were under the command of General Henri Putz, while the Brits and Canadians formed General Herbert Plumer's 5th Corps, part of General Horrace Smith-Dorrien's 2nd Army. One of the Canadians was my great-great Uncle, Private Edwin Dickenson. Another goal of the German operation was to test a new weapon, poison gas. Both sides had already experimented with ineffective tear gas,
but this would be different. Chemists led by Fritz Haber had weaponized a form of chlorine gas. Haber, who would win the Nobel prize in 1918 for his work with explosives and fertilizer, also helped develop a delivery system for the gas. A specially-created engineer unit would release the chlorine from steel cannisters via rubber hoses, after which the wind would carry it towards enemy lines. The many small streams and low hills around Ypres, and the fact the wind more often blew towards the German line than away from it meant the area was not ideal for gas, but the German command decided to go ahead as soon as the winds were right. The pre-war Hague Conventions outlawed
poison gas delivered in artillery shells, so some Germans argued that releasing it from cannisters was allowed. Other German officers though, were against it: "Poisoning the enemy as one would rats affected me as it would any straightforward soldier. I was disgusted." [German general] (Cook 112) From April 5, the Germans installed 6000 cannisters filled with 150 tons of chlorine on a 7-km section of the front line facing the French and Algerians. The first objective for German troops following the gas cloud was to seize the high ground overlooking Ypres at Pilckem Ridge, and advance to the Yser Canal. Success would open
up other possibilities, though it is unlikely they planned to push west of Ypres itself. On the Allied side, British-led forces had recently taken over part of the Salient from the French, and most of the Allied units entered the line in mid-April. They hadn't had much time to improve their positions, so the trenches were in a poor state. Because of the high water table they were too shallow, the sandbag parapets were too thin, and the parados protecting men's backs were too low. The front line was also covered with corpses from earlier fighting:
"We were walking on oozing bodies in the bottom of the trench. There'd be a hand or a foot sticking out of the trench in front of your face, it was horrible." [Ian Sinclair] (Cook 111) Belgian intelligence had warned the French about a potential gas attack, and some British officers knew of the possibility, but no one had the time or equipment to take meaningful precautions. In any case, Allied attention was on the large offensives they'd planned to start further south in May, not on the relatively quiet Ypres Salient. So the Germans were set on a limited attack against the Ypres Salient to distract the
Allies, and to test their new chemical weapon as soon as the winds allowed. On April 19, the German bombardment began, and their heavy guns pounded Allied positions and lines of communication throughout the Salient. On April 22, the wind blew towards Allied lines, and the 2nd Battle of Ypres began. In late afternoon, German gas engineers wearing beathing equipment used in mining released the chlorine into the air. The greenish haze moved towards the shocked Frenchmen and Algerians, and since chlorine is heavier than air, it sank into their
trenches and dugouts. The effect was immediate - men began to asphyxiate, and panic spread quickly. Many of those in the front lines were overwhelmed by the cloud, while others fled. Colonel Henri Mordacq described the scene: "Everywhere were fugitives: Territorials, joyeux [North African soldiers], tirailleurs, Zouaves, artillerymen - without weapons, haggard, greatcoats thrown away or wide open, running around like madmen, begging for water in loud cries, spitting blood, some even rolling on the ground making desperate efforts to breathe. I shall see for a long time, in particular, a staggering joyeux who […] noticing
me, called, 'Colonel, those bastards have poisoned us!'" (Hart 217) [Henri Mordacq] The Germans also gassed a few of their own men, but most followed a safe distance behind the toxic fumes, and took the French lines against sporadic resistance. They advanced cautiously, not only to avoid exposure to gas, but also because German commanders had not expected the chlorine to work so well. German soldier Willi Siebert was among the attackers: "What we saw was total death … Nothing was alive. All of the animals had come out of their holes to
die. … You could see where men had clawed at their faces, and throats, trying to get breath. Some had shot themselves." [Willi Siebert] (Everts) The gas worked not only because it killed well over 1000 men in minutes, and not only because the Allies had no gas masks - it also worked because the way it killed terrified its victims. The chlorine so irritated the mucous membranes of the lungs that they filled with fluid, essentially drowning the victim. British Sergeant Elmer Cotton later noted the effects in his diary: "The effects are these: -a splitting headache & a terrific thirst […] a knife edge pain in
the lungs the coughing up of a greenish froth […] the colour of the skin from white turns a greenish black or yellow, the tongue protrudes & the eyes assume a glassy stare-it is a fiendish death to die." (Girard 1) Many French and Algerian soldiers would suffer terribly for hours or days before succumbing. The gas had opened up a 6km-wide gap in the Allied front line, leaving the Franco-Belgian and Canadian flanks wide open, and putting the entire Salient in danger. The 13th Canadian Battalion, my great-great uncle Edwin's unit, had caught
the edge of the gas cloud, and quickly extended their line to protect the open flank. But the Germans had already passed them by. Small groups of Algerians and Canadians made isolated stands, but the more numerous Germans wiped most of them out. A Canadian artillery battery near the village of St. Julien fired desperately over open sights at the Germans just 500m away. A detachment of the 13th, including a Colt machine gun team led by 20-year-old Lance-Corporal Frederick Fisher, set up in front of the guns, and together, they checked the
German advance in their sector. The guns safely withdrew, though Fisher was killed the next day and posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The Germans, though, were surprised by their own success and advanced cautiously behind the gas - some historians argue they missed an opportunity to tear open the Allied line. Within the first hour they took the villages of Langemarck and Pilckem with its high ground, and soon crossed the Yser Canal north of Ypres. They also captured 51 Allied guns, but lacked the reserves to do more. Allied commanders rushed any available units - or parts of units - into the line to stem the tide,
but confusion reigned. The fog of war caused reinforcing units to get lost on the way, or mistake their own location. Gassed French and Algerian troops and Belgian refugees clogged the roads. Canadian officer Richard Turner recalled his fear: "At 6:30pm on the 22nd April, I really thought all was lost." (Cook 118) Still, around midnight, Canadian troops attacked German positions in a wood near St. Julien, known to the French as the Bois des Cuisiniers and to the Canadians as Kitchener's Wood. With little time to prepare, they charged over open fields in
the dark and captured most of the wood, including some British guns that had been lost there. German Lieutenant Grotrian described the fierce fighting: "The advanced guard ran back to us and exclaimed, 'The English are coming!' But by this time the Canadians were already on top of our position. [Our] fire slowed the enemy's advance, but the attack was too strong, and despite high losses, they entered our trenches. […] Our men resisted the superior force, and bayoneted some of the Canadians, but eventually we were overrun." (Iarocci 115) The frontal assault resulted in very heavy Canadian casualties, and they couldn't hold
the wood for long - but it threw the Germans off balance. The same night, the French also launched chaotic local counterattacks north of Ypres but couldn't push the Germans back across canal. So the German gas attack had created a success they were not prepared for, but even so the Allied situation was critical, and some feared the Salient might be lost. On paper, the Allies had a last-ditch defensive line just east of Ypres known as the GHQ line, but it was mostly incomplete and shallow trenches. If the Germans could turn the British and Canadian flank, they might cut off all Allied forces in the Salient. German command was unprepared for the extent of its success, but now,
on April 23, ordered the attacks to continue in "the direction of Poperinghe," a town west of Ypres. There's a debate about how far they really intended to go, but the order probably just meant a continued attack west and south. Still, Allied commanders made preparations to blow the bridges across the canal in case, which would have meant the sacrifice of nearly all forces east of it. They also began to move up reserves to plug the gap, but the ad-hoc reactions resulted in a complete mixup of units and chains of command. Algerians fought alongside Canadians,
British units appeared in the Canadian trenches, and French General Fernand Quiquandon soon found himself commanding several different brigades - none of which was part of the division he had been commanding at the start of the battle. Despite the confusion, the British and French did re-establish a thin continuous front line on the east bank on April 23. A scratch force of French, British, and Canadians attacked up Mauser Ridge towards Pilckem, but the Germans easily stopped them. Meanwhile the Germans, Belgians and French attacked each other on the west side of the canal,
but neither side made progress either. The 24th, the Germans renewed their offensive against the exhausted Canadians and British around St. Julien - again with chlorine gas. Some Canadians were able to limit the effects of gas by urinating in cloths and holding them over their mouths, but many were overcome. To make matters worse, some of their Canadian-made Ross Rifles jammed under the intense conditions, and the German forces smashed two Canadian battalions - including Edwin's 13th. Private Samuel Archer was among the wounded: "I should not call this war - it is slaughter. I crawled half a mile to get my wounds dressed….
The shells were bursting all around, and bullets coming in all directions over my head, while the dead were lying everywhere. No matter where you went you could see nothing but dead bodies." (Cook 158) Under extreme pressure, the Canadian officer commanding Edwin's brigade suddenly ordered a retreat to the GHQ line over open ground, which exposed the men to German fire, and left neighbouring British and Canadian units hanging. The mistake was quickly rectified, and the desperate Canadians held on with the help of British reinforcements. Still, German pressure forced them to give up St. Julien and
some critical high ground. Fresh British units soon replaced the mangled Canadian Division, which had lost 1/3 of its strength in four days. German officer Rudolf Binding saw the battlefield in a similar way to Archer: "A sleeping army lies in front of one of our brigades, they rest in good order, man by man, and will never wake again - Canadian divisions. The enemy's losses are enormous." (Cook 160) So a renewed German attack against the Canadians had failed to break through, but it had taken the Canadian division out of the fight. Now, the Allies planned to strike back and save the Salient.
On the 25th, generals Putz and Smith-Dorrien met to hash out a plan: the French wanted to launch major counterattacks and thought the Germans could be driven all the way back to Langemarck, but Smith-Dorrien hesitated given the weakness of British positions. Over the next few days, British and French troops launch local counterattacks east of the canal, but failed to meet each others' expectations. A British brigade was nearly wiped out trying to retake St. Julien, and the Indian Lahore Division and Moroccan troops failed to advance as well. Punjabi
soldier Abdul Rahman wrote home to a friend: "There was a great army of the French, the English and the Belgians. They attacked the Germans. This attack they repulsed by lightning, fire and smoke, blasting some to pieces and blinding others. Others were killed by cannon and machine gun fire. My friend, the Germans have got the most perfect contrivances [weapons]. Our Sirkar's [government's] army retreated to save its life." (Omissi 64) [Abdul Rahman] Smith-Dorrien now asked overall British commander Field Marshal John French to pull back to the GHQ
line just outside Ypres, so French - who disliked Smith-Dorrien - gave Plumer sole command of British Empire troops in the salient. French forces though, struggled to coordinate enough strength for a major attack, and their efforts on April 27 and 29 failed. The British and French both felt the other had not done enough, and Field Marshal French now accepted Plumer's request for a withdrawal similar to the one proposed by Smith-Dorrien just days before. So by early May, the Allies had plugged the gap in their line opened up by the gas attack, but failed
to dislodge the Germans from the high ground east of the canal, and their bridgehead west of it. By May 3, British Empire forces had pulled back to Frezenberg Ridge. The Germans, partly thanks to an intercepted message that revealed Allied difficulties, knew the Allied situation was weak. Over the previous week, they'd brought in more troops and moved up their artillery to break the new British line. They once again used gas coupled with a heavy bombardment to inflict crippling losses on the British and push them off the ridge. The British took up positions on Bellewaarde
Ridge, the last high ground east of Ypres. Meanwhile, the French focused their efforts on the German bridgehead west of the canal. With Belgian support, in three weeks of fierce fighting they pushed the Germans back across by May 17: "Between the road and the canal, it's an unimaginable mass grave. To our left, the Belgians were giving it their all as well. In the end, the few remaining Germans had to cross back across the canal, as nearly all of them had been captured or killed." (Historique sommaire 73e 18) The Germans made one last attempt on May 24,
and attacked Bellewaarde Ridge. Some British units now had primitive gas masks made of cotton pads, but many still fell victim to the chlorine: "On the way up we passed our own batteries, the artillery men were working like slaves and some were overcome with the gas […] green and blue, tongues hanging out and eyes staring. One or two were dead and others beyond human aid, some were coughing up green froth from their lungs. […] The gas which I breathed in my dugout had told on me. I was forced to lie and spit, cough and gasp the whole of the day in that trench." (Girard 1)
Despite the gas, the British held their positions against the German attack of May 24-25, and since by this time the main Allied offensives in Artois and Champagne were in full swing, as was the German offensive in Russia, the 2nd Battle of Ypres came to an end. Because the battle was so chaotic and the Allies overestimated gas casualties at first, casualty figures for 2nd Ypres vary. The French may have lost up to 20,000 killed, wounded, or prisoners, the British 50,000, the Canadians 6500, the Indians 4000, and the Germans about 35,000. Among the dead was my great-great Uncle, Private Edwin Dickenson.
His body was never found, so his name is on the Menin Gate memorial to the missing at Ypres. In the end, the Germans had advanced about 5km and tightened the salient, as their guns now dominated the ruins of Ypres and the supply lines in and out of it. They had successfully tested chlorine gas, and opened a new chapter of modern warfare. Fritz Haber reckoned the gas might have had a bigger impact if the Germans had put more resources into the offensive, but once better gas masks appeared, gas lost its potential as a primary breakthrough weapon. On the contrary, the Germans had opened a Pandora's Box. The Allies used the attack
for propaganda purposes to discredit the Germans, and they soon developed chemical weapons of their own. As German officer Rudolf Binding put it: "The effects of the successful gas attack were horrible. I am not pleased with the idea of poisoning men. Of course, the entire world will rage about it first and then imitate us." (Cassar 36) The battle left a particular mark on Canada. It was Canadian troops' first major action, and stories of desperate courage filled newspapers back home, and are still present in the memory of the war today. So are debates about the performance of the Canadian Division and the
Ross Rifle, which was soon replaced by the British Lee Enfield. During the battle, Canadian medical officer John McCrae took a break from treating casualties and wrote the poem In Flanders Fields, perhaps the best-known WW1 poem in English and partly responsible for the symbolism of the poppy in the Commonwealth. In the poem, the dead ask the living to "Take up our quarrel with the foe" - and indeed, the Ypres Salient would see much more fighting in the years to come. 30 Years after the 2nd Battle of Ypres, Canadian troops had just battled their way through Belgium again, with very different results. The First Canadian Army and other
allied formations were ready to cross the German border and eventually the Rhine river. If you want to learn more about the last set-piece battle on the Western Front of World War 2, the Battle of the Rhine, you should check out our 3-hour, 5 part documentary series Rhineland 45. Covering the entire battle from the Dutch border until the final crossing of the Rhine with detailed maps, animations, expert interviews and more, Rhineland 45 is one of the most detailed documentaries about this often-overlooked battle. With our uncompromising portrayal using authentic combat footage, we couldn't
upload it to YouTube because of their advertising guidelines. So, where can you watch Rhineland 45? On Nebula, a streaming service we're building together with other creators, where we don't have to worry about advertising guidelines or the almighty algorithm. Nebula is available in 4K resolution in your browser, on your smartphone, Smart TV or streaming box like Apple TV or Roku. If you go to nebula.tv/thegreatwar you can watch Rhineland 45, our other original documentaries 16 Days in Berlin and Red Atoms as well as a host of other smart creators - and all that for just $36 for an entire year. And that's not all, on Nebula you can
also watch all our regular videos ad-free and earlier than on YouTube. Nebula is also a great gift by the way. Just go gift.nebula.tv/realtimehistory to gift an entire year to family and friends even if they already have an account. Weather you watch Nebula on your own or give it to someone else, you are supporting us here at Real Time History directly. We want to thank Leander Lerch for his help with this episode. If you want to learn more about the First World War in 1915, check out our documentary about Russia's Great Retreat. As usual you can find all the sources for this episode in the video description below. If you are watching
this video on Patreon or Nebula, thank you so much for the support, we couldn't do it without you. I am Jesse Alexander and this is a production of Real Time History, the only history channel that listens as The larks, still bravely singing, fly/Scarce heard amid the guns below.
