Second Ypres 1915: The Great Gas Attack

Synopsis

The Second Battle of Ypres was fought from 21 April–25 May 1915 for control of the strategic Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium, following the First Battle of Ypres the previous autumn. It marked the first mass use by Germany of poison gas on the Western Front. For the first time a former colonial force (the 1st Canadian Division defeated a European power (the German Empire) on European soil, in the Battles of St. Julien and Kitcheners' Wood. In the now established BHTV style, the BHTV Team join a selection of historians on the ground to explore the actions of Second Ypres and analyse the significance of what was the first former colonial victory on European soil, the first major use of a terror weapon and the knock on effects of the virtual destruction of the BEF. The team explain the bravery shown by the troops on the ground and the horrors they faced from the advancing German gas clouds.