The 2 nd Battle of Ypres

1. The 2nd Battle of Ypres Kyle Woodbury Patrick Hagan

2. Outline • The Second Battle of Ypres consisted of four separate engagements. • The Battle of Gravenstafel (April 22nd to April 23rd) • Sub-battle of Kitcheners Wood • The Battle of St Julien (April 24th to May 4th) • The Battle of Frezenberg (May 8th to May 13th) • The Battle of Bellewaarde (May 24th to May 25th) This was the very first Battle of the war the Canadians participated in

3. Map of Ypres

4. Combatants and Strength Versus GermanEmpire AlliedForces Belgium France -French Colonial Forces Britain -Canada Germany Eight Infantry Divisions Seven Infantry Divisions

5. Battle Objectives • Both the German and Allied Forces had the same strategic objective for this battle. Both sides wanted to break through the enemies lines and reinitiate mobile warfare, to end the stalemate of trench warfare.

6. Battle of Gravenstafel At 5pm on the 22nd of April 1915 the German army released nearly one hundred and seventy tons of poison gas over a four mile front. The front that the gas was released by was held by the French. The French troops suffered over 6000 fatalities in less then ten minutes. The Gas was denser then air and forced the troops out of the trenches who were mowed down by German machine gun fire. Any French forces who weren’t killed, or captured, retreated leaving a four mile gap in the Allied line. The German High Command had not counted on the effectiveness of their new weapon and had not had any reserve troops ready to take the gap. The 1st Canadian Division reinforced the gap and held it until reinforcements arrived against further gas attacks until the 3rd of May suffering nearly 5000 casualties and 1000 deaths from an initial force of nearly 10000 strong.

7. Chlorine Gas Attacks

8. Battle of St Julien On the 24th of April the Germans initiated another gas attack. However this time it was directed at the newly reformed Canadian line at the west of the village of St Julien. The gas attack forced the Canadian line to scatter and the German forces occupied the village. The next day the Northumberland Division attempted to retake the village however failed in achieving any of their objectives. All they managed to do was gain a line closer to the village. The following day the Northumberland Division attacked again and even managed to take back a part of the village for a short time. However a German counterattack resulted in the loss of nearly 1900 men and 40 Officers, nearly seventy percent of their force and were forced to retreat.

9. The Battle of Frezenberg The Battle of Frezenberg began on the 8th of May when the German forces attempted to break the Allied line. On May 10th the Germans attempted another gas attack with little effect and made little progress. After six solid days of fighting the German forces made no more then 1000 yards of progress or a little over half a mile.

10. Battle of Bellewaarde The shortest engagement in the second battle of Ypres occurred at Bellewaarde. On the 24th of May the Germans launched another gas attack over a 4 and a half mile British front. The British troops were able to hold off against the initial attacks however eventually were forced to retreat north and south. Several failed British counterattacks resulted in a 1000 yard northward loss of ground.

11. Aftermath of the Battle The surprise use of Chlorine gas from the Germans and their continued use of it throughout the entire battle cost the Allies one of the most destructive losses this early in the war. Of the approximately eighty thousand troops that had been present for the allied side nearly seventy thousand were wounded, dead or missing compared to the thirty five thousand casualties the German forces had sustained. The town of Ypres nearly didn’t exist. When the German forces realized they couldn’t get rid of the Allies they bombarded the town with impunity and left it nearly completely destroyed. The Ypres salient had gone from a hill into a crater that was nearly three miles deep.

12. Aftermath of the Battle Remains of the Town of Ypres after German bombardment.

13. Spoils of the Battle This battle could be considered a German victory however it was barely worth it. The Germans after over three weeks of fighting had gained a little over one mile at the cost of thirty five thousand troops. The horrors of fighting this kind of war were revealed.

14. The EndThe Battle is over…..But the War has just begun....