THE POISONOUS CLOUD.
While the Germans were fiercely shelling Hill 60 the tide of war rolled
along the Ypres Salient, which has so often figured in these pages. The
Gaspipe Officer already quoted says: "The old Ypres salient was such a
silly thing. Imagine for a moment one of those old Greek theatres,
semicircular. All the way round the Germans were on the top row of
seats, and we were only halfway up. They could see everything that we
were doing, while we, hemmed in, had to trust to aeroplanes. And down on
the floor of the theatre stood Ypres, through which, or by which, nearly
every road to the salient passed."
If you look at the diagram on page 189, you will see how we were holding
the salient on the morning of 22nd April. Our lines ran in a semicircle
from Steenstraate, on the Yser canal, about four and a half miles to the
north of Ypres, right round to the Ypres-Comines canal, about two miles
south of the city. Nowhere was the salient more than four and a half
miles across; every part of it, including Ypres itself, was, therefore,
within range of the enemy's big guns. As the Gaspipe Officer tells us,
the Germans held the higher ground, and were thus in a very favourable
position for sweeping all parts of the salient with their fire. All the
roads to the outer rim of the salient spread out from Ypres like the
spokes of a wheel. Our supply and ammunition columns were, therefore,
under fire the moment they entered or passed by the city.
The British forces had greatly increased since those days of terrible
trial in the preceding October and November, when, with never more than
150,000 men, we had beaten back the furious onrush of at least half a
million Germans, and had blocked for ever the coveted road to Calais. We
had now some 500,000 men at the front, and we felt, after our great
assault at Neuve Chapelle, that we had the upper hand of the enemy, and
that henceforth the attack was with us and the defence lay with him.
Before, however, he sank into this secondary position he meant to make
another desperate effort to reach the Channel ports. This long and
fierce struggle, which I am now about to describe, is known as the
Second Battle of Ypres.
[Illustration: Second Battle of Ypres.
Sketch showing position at the Ypres salient on the morning of April 22,
1915.]
Look again at the diagram. The Allied line from Steenstraate to
Langemarck was held by Turcos and Spahis, French colonial troops from
Algeria. Continuing the curve for 5,000 yards was the Canadian Division,
consisting of three infantry brigades, in addition to artillery
brigades. The first infantry brigade was in reserve, the second (8th and
5th Battalions) lay on the right, and the third (13th and 14th
Battalions) on the left, next to the French. The whole division was
commanded by General Alderson; Brigadier-General Turner commanded the
3rd Brigade, and Brigadier-General Curry the 2nd Brigade. The trenches,
which the Canadians had taken over from the French, were badly made and
very wet, and could only be improved with difficulty, as the dead had
been buried in the bottoms and the sides. The 28th Division continued
the line to the south-east corner of Polygon Wood, where Princess
Patricia's Own were stationed. From the wood to Hill 60 the remainder of
the salient was manned by the 27th Division.
Though the salient was well known to be a source of weakness, it was not
strongly held by the Allies at this time. Probably the Germans were
aware of the fact, for suddenly they launched a furious and determined
attack against the forces holding it. The only warning which the Allies
received was on the 20th, when the guns of the enemy began to bombard
Ypres. Huge shells from the heaviest of guns fell in the streets, which
were then thronged with citizens and our own reserves. Fifteen little
children were killed at their play, and a number of the townsfolk
perished amidst the ruins of their houses. Our generals understood at
once the meaning of this bombardment. It was meant to block the roads to
our lines on the salient, and make the work of sending forward supplies
and ammunition very difficult, if not impossible. It was not meant to
embarrass us at Hill 60, for we had free roads leading to that position
from the west. It could only be the forerunner of an attack on that part
of the salient extending from the Yser Canal to the Menin road--that is,
on the portion held by the French Colonials, the Canadians, the 28th
Division, and Princess Pat's. Our generals viewed the bombardment with
anxiety; they knew that we were ill prepared to meet the attacks which
were soon to follow.
Thursday, 22nd April, was a peaceful day, warm and sunny. A light,
steady wind was blowing from the north-east. About five in the evening
an aviator reported that he had seen a strange green cloud, higher than
a man, surging across the open ground from the German lines towards the
French trenches. It was the deadly poison gas chlorine, which when taken
into the lungs sets up acute bronchitis and causes its victims to die in
horrible agony. At every fifty feet or so along the German front a
battery of twenty retorts had been established. The gas from these
retorts had been pumped at high pressure into huge reservoirs from which
pipes ran to the front trenches. When the nozzles were turned on, the
deadly gas rushed out, and was carried by the wind towards the French
lines. Special respirators had been served out to the German soldiers,
who were waiting in readiness to take advantage of this foul blow. Never
before had poison gas been used in this manner on the battlefield. The
Germans were about to sound the deepest depths of their infamy and try
to poison those whom they could not beat in fair fight.
Onward rolled the greenish-white cloud, across fields, through woods,
and over hedgerows. Soon the Turcos in their trenches were gasping and
choking and suffering unspeakable tortures. They were brave men; there
was no mortal foe they were not ready to engage; but this creeping cloud
that struck them down in agony was a devilish magic which they could
neither understand nor resist. A horrible, unreasoning terror took
possession of them, and they ran. Back they fled through the dusk, a
coughing, blinded crowd, leaving behind them hundreds of their comrades
gasping out their lives or lying dead with blue faces and frothy lips.
Some of them fled due south towards the Langemarck road, and in the
early darkness came upon the reserve battalions of the Canadians, who
gazed in amazement upon their wild dark faces, their heaving chests, and
speechless lips. Soon the Canadians began to feel the effects of the
gas, and many of them were afflicted by a deadly sickness.
[Illustration: Stand to your Arms!
_By permission of The Sphere._
The incident pictured above occurred when the Turcos were assailed by
poison gas and fled from their trenches. When the first fugitives
arrived on the outskirts of Ypres, some of our reserves gathered in
groups, wondering what had happened and trying to find out what was the
matter. Suddenly a staff officer rode up, shouting, "Stand to your
arms!" and in a few minutes the troops had fallen in and were marching
to the scene of the fight. "Nothing more impressive ran be imagined than
the sight of our men falling in quietly and in perfect order amid the
scene of wild confusion caused by the panic-stricken refugees who
swarmed along the roads, striving to flee as quickly as possible from
the German menace behind them."]
A great breach, four miles wide, now yawned between Steenstraate and
Langemarck. On the left of the Canadians there was a huge rent, through
which the Germans were preparing to advance, while their artillery
pitilessly whipped the fugitives onward. The situation was dangerous in
the extreme. Ypres appeared to be within the Kaiser's grasp. The
Canadians were unsupported on their left; the French trenches were
choked with dead and dying; and fifty French guns were in the hands of
the enemy. In vain the officers strove to rally the fleeing Turcos.
Meanwhile a great mob of Germans pushed through the wall of gas which
was now breaking up into patches behind them, and rushed on towards
Ypres. Only two miles of open country now separated them from the city
of their desire.