The date is April 22nd, 1915 - the time is 5:00pm. A heavy greenish yellow haze rises from the German trenches on the opposite side of the Belgian village of Langemarck. Released from metal canisters, liquid chlorine gas slowly drifted southwestward on the gentle breeze of that sunny afternoon as an artillery bombardment began. French troops were seen staggering back through a barrage of high-explosive shells, falling back behind the Canadian batteries and reserve infantry battalions. A British soldier describes the phenomenon:
"{I watched} figures running wildly in confusion over the fields. Greenish-gray clouds swept down upon them, turning yellow as they travelled over the country blasting everything they touched and shrivelling up the vegetation. . .. Then there staggered into our midst French soldiers, blinded, coughing, chests heaving, faces an ugly purple colour, lips speechless with agony, and behind them in the gas-soaked trenches, we learned that they had left hundreds of dead and dying comrades."
The line on the left was broken by the dangerous cloud of poison, and neither the Allies nor German forces were prepared for the amount of damage the toxic breeze would do. The effect of the gas on the French was greater than the German infantry had anticipated. By nightfall, the Germans had crossed the Yser Canal. By around 8:00pm there were no coherent bodies of French troops east of the canal, batteries in the area had been captured, and the entire left flank of the 1st Canadian Division lay exposed to attack. Although the Belgian and Canadian hinges held firm, Ypres was open for the taking. The gas attack was far more effective than the other German attempt earlier in the year at the Russian town of Bolimów - read about that here.
The Poison Prince Campaign Continues
At the time of writing, the Central Powers have suffered around 22,000 more casualties than the Entente, which would be a significant loss compared to previous campaigns, where the differences were often less than 10,000.
The campaign will end on April 30, this Friday.