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• Neon Genesis Evangelion, .hack//SIGN, Naruto, Bleach, Beck, Peacemaker Kurogane, Ranma 1/2 (the guilty pleasure)
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• Can recognise most quotes from almost any movie/show on first listen; Can recite the entire 12 days of Christmas by memory
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Tuesday, November 8, 2005
The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915
Throughout World War I, there were four separate Battles of Ypres in Flanders. The first battle in 1914 was mainly the race to the sea between the German Army and the British Expeditionary Force. The Germans were attempting to cut off the British supply lines from Calais and Dunkerque, but the British were able to reach the coast first and dig in. With support from the Indian army and other British "Territorials", the BEF was able to hold back a vastly larger German force, albeit at the cost of basically the entire Expeditionary Force. By the end of the battle, both armies had bogged into the stalemate of trench warfare that lasted for essentially the rest of the war.
The Second Battle of Ypres was the German effort to break the stalemate. In the evening of April 22nd, 1915, the Germans dumped 168 tons of chlorine gas across a four mile front at Ypres. Choline gas is a frightening thing, quickly asphyxiating and choking anyone caught under it, basically melting the respiratory system, burning the eyes and skin, resulting in an absolutely horrific death.
The primary French Colonial and Algerian defenders, completely unprepared for such warfare, either died in the trenches under clouds of yellow-green gas or fell back; the result was a four mile gap in the battle lines. The Germans, however, did now know just how effective the gas attack would be, and did not follow up the attack with troops to hold the ground.
Up until that point, the 1st Canadian Division was being held in reserve at Ypres. After seeing the gas attacks, they immediately reinforced the wide gap as best they could. Though a rather gutsy move in of itself, it also had tactical reasoning in that poison gas works due to how the wind blows; thus, the freshest air would be closer to the German trenches, the gas blowing past that point soonest. Of course, the forward trenches were still flooded with the heavier-than-air gas . . .
The Canadian regiments marched into the gas, urine-soaked handkerchiefs over their faces. The ammonia in the urine neutralized the chlorine to a degree, allowing the soldiers to breathe and continue fighting. Under these conditions, the Canadian division held the line and resisted all German advances for a week and a half until May 3rd, when the British finally relieved them. Needless to say, gas masks became a standared piece of equipment from here on. In the end, the German army had suffered 35,000 casualties in the effort; the Canadian division, originally at a strength of about 18,000 men, suffered almost 6,000 casualties (over 1000 of which were fatal).
The Second Battle of Ypres was significant for several reasons. It marked the first time chemical weapons were extensively used in warfare. The battle also marked the first time a colonial force repelled a major European force on European soil. Of the Canadians, the 16 Battalion (or the Canadian Scottish Regiment) were decorated for their part during the Battle of St. Juliaan-Kitchener's Wood. After this battle, Canadian troops were quickly gaining a reputation as being strong, fierce, and dependable, and the Canadians were often turned to as front line shock troops throughout the final three years of the war. This battle led on to other battles like Vimy Ridge, and solidified a colonial army into what would later become its own dominion and then nation.
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