THE STRUGGLE RENEWED
The Germans had only stopped the struggle for a breathing spell.
On the following morning, Monday, May 3, they made an attempt to
force the allied position back again. This attempt was made on the
British left, west of the Bois des Cuisenirs, between Pilkem and
St. Julien. The Germans cut their wire entanglements and, leaving
their trenches and lying down in front of those protecting places,
they were ready to advance; but, before they could start forward,
the artillery of their enemy did such effective work that the Teutons
returned to their trenches, and gave up an attack at that point.
But they made an assault against the northern side of the salient
which had by this time become very narrow. A German bomb wrecked a
section of the British trenches, and the defenders of that part of
the line had to go back of a wood that was a little to the northwest
of Grafenstafel, where they were able to stop the German onrush.
The Belgians were bombarded with asphyxiating gas bombs beyond
the French lines south of Dixmude. The Germans charged the Belgian
trenches only to be cut down by machine-gun fire. That night, the
night of May 3, 1915, an attack was made on the British front;
but it was stopped by the artillery.
Sir Herbert Plumer in the meantime had been executing the order he
had received from Sir John French, and shortened his lines so they
were three miles less in length than before starting the movement.
The new line extended from the French position west of the
Ypres-Langemarck Road and proceeded through "shell-trap" farm to
the Haanebeek and the eastern part of the Frezenberg ridge where it
turned south, covering Bellewaarde Lake and Hooge and bent around
Hill 60. This resulted in leaving to the Germans the Veldhoek,
Bosche, and Polygon Woods, and Fortuin and Zonnebeke. This new
front protected all of the roads to Ypres, and, at the same time,
it was not necessary to employ as many soldiers to hold this line.
Moreover the defenders of it could not be fired upon from three
sides as long as they held it. In some places the British and German
trenches had been no more than ten yards apart, but the difficulty
of evacuating the British position was completed in safety on the
night of May 3, 1915. The work included the taking with them 780
wounded. Sharpshooters were left in the trenches, however, and
they maintained such an appearance of activity and alertness that
the Germans kept on shelling the trenches all of the following
day.
The attempt of General Putz to force the Germans back across the
Yperlee Canal on May 4, 1915, was stopped by a combination of machine
guns, asphyxiating gas and fog. Then the French spent the next
ten days in tunneling to Steenstraate. Their tunnels toward their
objective point were through that territory between Boesinghe and
Lizerne. On May 5, 1915 the Germans made a careful advance on the
British front under the cover of fog and a heavy bombardment, to
find only that the British position had been changed. But they
intrenched opposite the new alignment, and brought up their big
guns. Then they used poisonous gas again with the result that the
British retreated and the Teutons followed, in spite of the many
men who fell because of the accurate work of the British artillery.
The greater part of this action took place around Hill 60, and some
of the British trenches to the north of the hill were captured by
the Germans. They then penetrated toward Zillebeke to the supporting
line. Up to midnight the Germans seemed to be victorious; then,
however, the British drove them from the hill only to be driven
away in turn by the use of asphyxiating gas. On the following day
the Teutons held Hill 60 and some of the trenches north of it.
Asphyxiating gas also had been used in an attempt to break the
British front on the left, on both the north and south sides of
the Ypres-Roulers railroad. Though this attack failed, the Teutons
were ready to make as near superhuman efforts as possible because
they knew that the French were getting ready for a decisive action
in the Arras territory, which would have the aid of a British attack
south of the Lys. Hence it was to the advantage of the Germans to
force Sir John French and General Foch to retain most of the British
and French soldiers north of the Lys. On May 8, 1915, they turned
their artillery on that part of the British front that was near
Frezenberg. It destroyed the trenches and killed or wounded hundreds
of the defenders. After three hours of this, the Germans commenced
an attack on that part of the British front between the Ypres-Menin
and the Ypres-Poelcappelle highways, the greatest pressure being
brought to bear along both sides of the Ypres-Roulers railroad.
The British fought bravely, but it was impossible for them to hold
out against the avalanche of lead. First the right of a brigade
went to pieces and then its center and the left of another brigade
south of it were forced back. Princess Patricia's Canadian Light
Infantry held fast. The Second Essex Regiment also made some little
success for their side by annihilating a small detachment of Germans;
but that was more than offset by the breaking of the center of
another brigade, after which the First Suffolks were surrounded
and put out of the fight. Finally the Germans pushed their way
on to Frezenberg. Sir Herbert Plumer realized by the middle of
the afternoon that a counterattack was necessary. He had held two
battalions in reserve along the Ypres-Menin Road. He also had five
battalions with him and reenforcements in the form of a brigade
of infantry had arrived at Vlamertinghe Château, back of Ypres.
He sent the First Royal Warwickshires, the Second Royal Dublin
Fusiliers, the Second Surreys, the Third Middlesex, and the First
York and Lancaster Regiments into the break in the line with the
result that Frezenberg was retaken. This victory was short-lived,
however; for the German machine-gun fire was too fierce for the
men to withstand. The British retired to a new front which ran
north and south through Verlorenhoek. The Twelfth London Regiment,
on the left, though it lost many men, managed to get to the original
line of trenches. Next the British were menaced from the north
and east. Great bodies of Teutons rushed from the woods south of
the Menin highway, when others rushed down the Poelcappelle Road
and took Wieltje, which is only about two miles from Ypres.
The fighting continued all night, but shortly after midnight the
British charged with the bayonet and retook Wieltje as well as
most of that section to the north of it which they had lost. Early
on May 9, 1915, the fighting was continued, and, in the afternoon,
the Germans charged from the woods in a vain attempt to take Ypres
after a severe bombardment of the British trenches. An attacking
party of five hundred was slain north of the town. On the eastern
side of the salient there were five distinct attacks. An attempt
to capture the Château Hooge was made early in the evening, only
to result in heaping the ground with German dead. The day closed
with 150 yards of British trenches in the hands of the Germans;
but they had been taken at a fearful cost to the kaiser's men.
The Germans began the next day, May 10, 1915, by shelling the British
north and south of the Ypres-Menin road. They followed the cannonade
with a cloud of asphyxiating gas. They then started for the opposing
trenches. Many of them, the British allege, wore British uniforms.
The British had by now been equipped with proper respirators and
could withstand a gas attack with comparative ease. When the Germans
were in close range they received a rifle and machine-gun fire
that mowed them down almost instantly. Those who had not been shot
fell to the ground to escape the leaden hail. But escape was not
for them. Shrapnel was poured upon them, and nearly all of the
attacking troops perished.
Another gas attack was made between the Ypres-Menin road and the
Ypres-Comines canal. There two batteries of gas cylinders sent
forth their deadly fumes for more than a half hour. The cloud that
resulted became so dense that it was impossible for the British
in the opposite trenches to see anything; so they were withdrawn
temporarily; but the troops to the left and right kept the Germans
from following up this advantage and the trenches were saved to the
British. When the gas had passed away the men returned to their
former position. North of the Menin road, however, the Germans
were successful in driving the Fourth Rifle Brigade and the Third
King's Royal Rifles to a new position, the trenches which the British
occupied having been battered by shell fire to such an extent that
some of the occupants were buried alive. Hence the British here
retreated to a new line of trenches west of the Bellewaarde Wood
where the trees had been shelled until they were part of a hopeless
entanglement rather than a forest.
The next day, May 11, 1915, was started by the Germans hurling
hundreds of incendiary shells into the already ruined town of Ypres.
They also fired almost countless high-explosive shells into the
British trenches. The British big guns replied with considerable
effect. One of the German cannon was rendered useless by the fire of
the Thirty-first Heavy Battery, and several howitzers were damaged by
the North Midland Heavy Battery. The German cannonade was especially
effective near the Ypres-St. Julien road. The Teutons, however,
did not confine their work to the artillery, for they made three
assaults on the British trenches south of the Menin road. This
part of the line was held by Scottish regiments, who, though they
were forced out of their trenches, regained them with the aid of
other Scots who were supporting them.
By now it was apparent to the British commanding officers that
they must still further lessen the projection of their salient.
So on May 12, 1915, the Twenty-eighth Division was sent to the
reserve. It had experienced continuous fighting since April 22,
1915, and had suffered severe losses. It had only one lieutenant
colonel. Captains were in command of most of its battalions. The
First and Third Cavalry Divisions took its place. They were under
the command of General De Lisle. From left to right the new line
was held as follows: The men of the Twelfth Brigade, the Eleventh
Brigade, and a battalion of the Tenth Brigade of the Fourth Division
guarded the new front to a point northeast of Verlorenhoek. Next
came the First Cavalry which held the line to the Roulers railroad.
From the railroad to Bellewaarde Lake the Third Division held the
line. From the lake to Hill 60 the Twenty-seventh Division had
its position. The British admitted that this new position was not
strong, because it lacked natural advantages, and the trenches
were more or less of hasty construction.
The Germans started a heavy bombardment of the cavalry on May 13,
1915, when the rain was pouring in torrents and a north wind was
adding to the discomforts of the British. The fiercest part of
this attack was on the Third Division. Some idea of the fierceness
of the bombardment can be gained when it is known that in a
comparatively short space of time more than eight hundred shells
were hurled on a part of the British line which was not more than
a mile in length. In places the British were buried alive. In spite
of the destructive fire, the North Somerset Yeomanry, commanded by
Lieutenant Colonel Glyn, charged the Germans who were advancing
on their trenches under cover of the bombardment. The charge was
effective, and the Teutons were driven headlong toward their own
trenches. But the German artillery had the range of the Seventh
Brigade on the right, and poured upon it such a fire that it retreated
several hundred yards, leaving the right of the Sixth Brigade exposed.
As soon as possible the British made an attempt to remedy the defect
in their line, and found it necessary to make a counterattack. In
this counterattack very satisfactory results were obtained by the
use of the Duke of Westminster's armored motor cars. The British
regained the lost ground, but they found it impossible to retain
it, for the Teuton's heavy artillery had the range of the position
so accurately that no man could live there. The result of the day's
fighting was a farther pushing back of the line of the British
so that it bent backward from Verlorenhoek and Bellewaarde Lake.
In addition to being forced back, the British suffered a large
loss of men, especially officers.
The infantry on the left had been fiercely attacked on this same
day; but it managed to keep from being driven from its position.
One of the defenders of this part of the line was a territorial
battalion, the London Rifle Brigade. There were only 278 men in the
battalion at the beginning of the day, it having suffered severe
losses previously. By night ninety-one more had been lost. Four
survivors, under command of Sergeant Douglas Belcher, and two hussars
whom the sergeant had added to his squad, held that part of the
line in the face of repeated attacks. These plucky men not only
made the Germans think the front was strongly defended there by
using quick-firing methods, but they undoubtedly saved the right
of the Fourth Division. Another especially gallant piece of work on
the part of the British was done by the Second Essex, the reserve
battalion of the Twelfth Brigade. With a bayonet charge they drove
the Germans from Shelltrap Farm, which was between the Langemarck
and Poelcappelle highways, and, though it was held by first one
side and then the other, the British had it at the close of the
day in spite of the bombardment it received.
[Illustration: GAS BATTLE OF YPRES]
The French met with better success on the British left. Under the
command of General Putz they made an attack on Het Sase and
Steenstraate. The sharpshooters of the Zouaves and Algerians took
a trench in front of the latter place and entered the village.
They fought on to the canal by the end of that day, which was May
15, 1915. More than six hundred Teuton dead were counted after
that engagement. At the same time the Zouaves captured Het Sase
with great ease, because the artillery had rendered its defenders
useless for more fighting. The Germans, however, were not inclined
to give up the town so easily. They bombarded Het Sase that night,
using asphyxiating shells. Nothing daunted, the Zouaves put on
their respirators and drove off with hand grenades and rifle fire
the Germans who followed in the wake of the poisonous shells. On the
following day it was said that the only Germans left alive on the
left side of the Yperlee Canal were either wounded or prisoners. The
French had destroyed three German regiments, taken three redoubts, and
captured four fortified lines and three villages. In this connection
it may not be amiss to note that the French reported that, on May
15, 1915, the German Marine Fusiliers who were attempting to hold
the Yperlee Canal concluded it was the better part of valor to
surrender. Before the Germans could relinquish their places they
were shot down by their comrades in the rear.
Fighting along the line of the salient continued with more or less
vigor for nearly ten days, but, until May 24, 1915, there were
no engagements that had much out of the ordinary. On that date,
however, the entire front from Bellewaarde Lake to Shelltrap, a
line three miles in length, was bombarded with asphyxiating shells.
This was followed by a gas cloud that was sent against the same
extent of trenches. The wind sent the cloud in a southwesterly
direction, so that the deadly fumes got in their work along nearly
five miles of the front. It is asserted that the cloud was 40 feet
in height, and that the Germans continued to renew the supply of
gas for four and a half hours. It had little effect wherever the
British used their respirators, for they managed to stay in their
positions without undue inconvenience. Those who suffered the most
from the gas cloud were the infantry of the Fourth Division on
the left. The cloud which had followed the asphyxiating shells
was in turn followed by a severe bombardment from three sides--the
east, northeast, and north. The principal attacks were made in the
neighborhood of Shelltrap, the British front along the Roulers
railroad, and along the Menin road in the vicinity of Bellewaarde Lake.
In those places the British were pushed back at least temporarily;
but counterattacks were delivered before nightfall, and the greater
part of the lost ground regained. Thus, to the disappointment of
the Germans, their extra effort, with all the means of warfare
at their disposal, had resulted only in reducing the salient at
an enormous cost in lives on both sides, but the gain had been
for the most part temporary.
Before leaving the consideration of the second battle of Ypres
it may be well to estimate what has been gained and lost by both
sides. In the attempt to wear down their opponents one side had
inflicted as much of a blow as the other, to all intents and purposes,
for there had been an almost prodigal waste of human life and
ammunition. The distinct advantage that Germany had gained was
in pushing back and almost flattening out the prow of the British
salient, and they had demonstrated the superiority of their artillery.
Britain, on the other hand, had lost no strategical advantage by
the change of her line. The knowledge that Germany had a superior
artillery acted as a stimulant in making the British provide a
better equipment of big guns. But the British had demonstrated
the great superiority of their infantry over that of Germany. In
fact there was comfort to be derived by the friends of each side
as a result of the second battle of Ypres. The fighting had to
stop, as far as being a general engagement was concerned. There
were other parts of the front in western Europe which were becoming
by far too active for either the Germans or the British to neglect
them. Hence it is necessary to leave Ypres and the brave men who
fell there, and consider what was being done elsewhere.
* * * * *