To the Secretary of State for War, War Office, London, S.W.
GENERAL HEADQUARTERS,
June 15, 1915.
My Lord,
I have the honor to report that since the date of my last dispatch
(April 5, 1915) the Army in France under my command has been heavily
engaged opposite both flanks of the line held by the British Forces.
1. In the North the town and district of Ypres has once more in this
campaign been successfully defended against vigorous and sustained
attacks made by large forces of the enemy and supported by a mass of
heavy and field artillery, which, not only in number, but also in
weight and caliber, is superior to any concentration of guns which has
previously assailed that part of the line.
In the South a vigorous offensive has again been taken by troops of
the First Army, in the course of which a large area of entrenched and
fortified ground has been captured from the enemy, whilst valuable
support has been afforded to the attack which our Allies have carried
on with such marked success against the enemy's positions to the east
of Arras and Lens.
2. I much regret that during the period under report the fighting has
been characterized on the enemy's side by a cynical and barbarous
disregard of the well-known usages of civilized war and a flagrant
defiance of The Hague Convention.[2]
[Footnote 2: In a long statement seeking to justify the use of
asphyxiating gases in warfare the semi-official Wolff Telegraph Bureau
asserted in German newspapers of June 25 that the Allies first used
such gases against the Germans, and it cites French documents as proof
that France in February, months before the German advance at Ypres,
made extensive preparations for the application of gases and for
counteracting their effects on the attacking troops.
After quoting the official German war report of April 16 that the
French were making increased use of asphyxiating bombs, the statement
says:
"For every one who has kept an unbiased judgment, these official
assertions of the strictly accurate and truthful German military
administration will be sufficient to prove the prior use of
asphyxiating gases by our opponents. But let whoever still doubts
consider the following instructions for the systematic preparation of
this means of warfare by the French, issued by the French War
Ministry, under date of Feb. 21, 1915:
Minister of War, Feb. 21, 1915.
Remarks concerning shells with stupefying gases:
The so-called shells with stupefying gases that are being
manufactured by our central factories contain a fluid which
streams forth after the explosion, in the form of vapors
that irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. There are two
kinds: hand grenades and cartridges.
Hand Grenades.--The grenades have the form of an egg; their
diameter in the middle is six centimeters, their height
twelve centimeters, their weight 400 grams. They are
intended for short distances, and have an appliance for
throwing by hand. They are equipped with an inscription
giving directions for use. They are lighted with a small bit
of material for friction pasted on the directions, after
which they must be thrown away. The explosion follows seven
seconds after lighting. A small cover of brass and a top
screwed on protect the lighted matter. Their purpose is to
make untenable the surroundings of the place where they
burst. Their effect is often considerably impaired by a
strong rising wind.
Cartridges.--The cartridges have a cylindrical form. Their
diameter is twenty-eight millimeters, their height ten
centimeters, their weight 200 grams. They are intended for
use at longer distances than can be negotiated with the hand
grenades. With an angle of twenty-five degrees at departure
they will carry 230 meters. They have central lighting
facilities and are fired with ignition bullet guns. The
powder lights a little internal ignition mass by means of
which the cartridges are caused to explode five seconds
after leaving the rifle. The cartridges have the same
purpose as the hand grenades but because of their very small
amount of fluid they must be fired in great numbers at the
same time.
Precautionary measures to be observed in attacks on trenches
into which shells with asphyxiating gases have been
thrown.--The vapors spread by means of the shells with
asphyxiating gases are not deadly, at least when small
quantities are used and their effect is only momentary. The
duration of the effect depends upon the atmospheric
conditions.
It is advisable therefore to attack the trenches into which
such hand grenades have been thrown and which the enemy has
nevertheless not evacuated before the vapors are completely
dissipated. The attacking troops, moreover, must wear
protective goggles and in addition be instructed that the
unpleasant sensations in nose and throat are not dangerous
and involve no lasting disturbance.
"Here we have a conclusive proof that the French in their State
workshops manufactured shells with asphyxiating gases fully half a
year ago at least," says the semi-official Telegraph Bureau. "The
number must have been so large that the French War Ministry at last
found itself obliged to issue written instructions concerning the use
of this means of warfare. What hypocrisy when the same people grow
'indignant' because the Germans much later followed them on the path
they had pointed out! Very characteristic is the twist of the French
official direction: 'The vapors spread by the shells with asphyxiating
gases are not deadly, at least not when used in small quantities.' It
is precisely this limitation that contains the unequivocal confession
that the French asphyxiating gases work with deadly effect when used
in large quantities."]
All the scientific resources of Germany have apparently been brought
into play to produce a gas of so virulent and poisonous a nature that
any human being brought into contact with it is first paralyzed and
then meets with a lingering and agonizing death.
The enemy has invariably preceded, prepared and supported his attacks
by a discharge in stupendous volume of these poisonous gas fumes
whenever the wind was favorable.
Such weather conditions have only prevailed to any extent in the
neighborhood of Ypres, and there can be no doubt that the effect of
these poisonous fumes materially influenced the operations in that
theater, until experience suggested effective counter-measures, which
have since been so perfected as to render them innocuous.
The brain power and thought which has evidently been at work before
this unworthy method of making war reached the pitch of efficiency
which has been demonstrated in its practice shows that the Germans
must have harbored these designs for a long time.
As a soldier I cannot help expressing the deepest regret and some
surprise that an Army which hitherto has claimed to be the chief
exponent of the chivalry of war should have stooped to employ such
devices against brave and gallant foes.