It was April 22, 1915, when the calm of the Belgian countryside was shattered by an ominous cloud drifting towards the Allied trenches, forever changing the way the war was fought. It was not an ordinary cloud, but a green-yellow cloud of chlorine, which was toxic to humans. The first mass use of chemical weapons was a fact.
The so-called Second Battle of Ypres was fought in Ypres, Flanders, which resulted from a strategic stalemate on the Western Front. By 1915, the initial euphoria of patriotic enthusiasm had given way to the grim reality of trench warfare. And the optimism of a quick victory had given way to the disappointing realization of a protracted conflict, with both sides locked in a bitter struggle for supremacy.
That spring, the Great War was still in limbo, having devolved into a grueling war of attrition, with neither side able to achieve a decisive victory. Seeking to end this stalemate, the German High Command devised a plan to unleash a new weapon against entrenched Allied forces.
On that fateful day, unsuspecting Allied troops were caught off guard as toxic gas flooded their positions, causing panic and confusion. With their lungs burning and their eyes watering, many succumbed to the suffocating action of the chlorine, while others fled in terror, leaving gaps in the defensive line.
The idea of using chemical weapons was mainly attributed to the German military leadership, specifically the German Chief of the General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, and his subordinate, General Fritz Haber. A well-known chemist before the war, Haber focused on research that could contribute to his country’s war effort; he played an important role in the development of chemical weapons for military use. At Ypres, he advocated the use of chlorine as a weapon, believing it could break the stalemate on the Western Front and provide a strategic advantage to the German forces (Haber was to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his work in the synthesis of ammonia).
Despite any moral qualms, Falkenheim and other high-ranking German officials approved the plan to unleash chlorine gas on Allied troops at Ypres, marking the first large-scale use of chemical weapons in modern warfare. Before the Second Battle of Ypres, there had been limited instances of chemical warfare during World War I, but it did not compare to the scale of what happened at Ypres. The Germans had experimented with small-scale chemical attacks using tear gas and irritants in previous battles, but these were not as effective or as deadly as chlorine gas. The use of poison gas at Ypres marked the beginning of a dark and unprecedented chapter in the annals of war. It made previously unimaginable atrocities a reality, breaking the rules of civilized conflict.
However, despite the initial chaos that prevailed in the Allied ranks, the Germans did not achieve what they had hoped for – that is, to completely bend the opposing troops. On the one hand, the Germans had a relatively small supply of chlorine gas for the attack, limiting its duration and scope. Once the initial gas cloud dissipated, the advantage it provided began to fade, allowing the Allied forces to recover and adjust their defenses. For their part, the Allies quickly adapted to the threat posed by chlorine gas. They implemented rudimentary countermeasures, such as placing wet cloths over their faces and using makeshift respirators made of urine-soaked cloth, which helped to mitigate the effects of the gas to some extent.
On the other hand, the battle took place in the muddy and swampy terrain of Flanders, which hindered the mobility of both sides and limited the effectiveness of offensive maneuvers. Additionally, changing winds could have unpredictable effects on the dispersion of the gases, potentially hampering German efforts.
The Allies, under the command of General Sir Herbert Plummer and Lieutenant General Sir Julian Byng, were able to quickly reinforce their positions with fresh troops and artillery support, strengthening their defensive capabilities and preventing the Germans from breaching the defensive line. This allowed them to maintain their foothold on the crucial Ypres Salient, as it was called, despite constant German attacks.
In the aftermath of the battle, Ypres was in ruins, its streets littered with war debris and the fallen. For the Allied forces, the Second Battle of Ypres acted as a rallying cry, mobilizing public opinion and spurring renewed determination against the odds of the war effort. It reinforced the imperative of unity and persistence in the pursuit of victory, no matter the cost. For the Central Powers, again, it underlined the dangers of overconfidence and the unpredictability of war…
Column editor: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poimenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
