Part 2 (1/2)

Another period of calm set in, and this Second Battle of Ypres--the second serious check of the Germans before the town--ended in a successful operation by the British, who, on June 2, captured the Chateau of Hooge on the Menin Road, two miles from Ypres.

=Long period of comparative calm. Isolated actions. Artillery activity on both sides= (June, 1915--June, 1917.)

These weeks of fierce, b.l.o.o.d.y fighting were followed by a long period of comparative calm, the operations having been transferred to other parts of the front (Argonne, Artois, Champagne). Nevertheless, local actions took place from time to time without any appreciable result. From July 22 to 26 the British, after successful mining operations, advanced their line along the Ypres-Menin Road, in the neighbourhood of Hooge Chateau.

After being driven from the outskirts of the chateau by a gas attack on August 7, they retook the lost ground on the 8th and advanced beyond it.

Towards the middle of September there was a rather severe bombardment near Steenstraat and Ramscappelle, while Ypres received 300 more sh.e.l.ls.

During the latter half of August an Order of the Day to the German Armies in Flanders stated: ”_Our work is practically finished in the East, and we are on the point of beginning in the West; peace in October is certain._”

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FRONT LINE FROM JUNE 1915 TO JUNE 1917]

In December, a new offensive by the Germans failed, despite the use of gas. There was unusual artillery activity, all the heavy guns, both German and British, being brought into action.

On December 30, Field-Marshal French received the t.i.tle of ”Viscount of Ypres,” in commemoration of the vigorous British defence of that city.

On February 12, 1916, the Germans launched fresh attacks in the west, near Steenstraat and Het Sas, and attempted to cross the Yser. After being smartly checked, they furiously attacked the British trenches between the Ypres-Comines Ca.n.a.l and the railway, and succeeded in capturing one of them for a length of 600 yards. This trench, on account of its frequently changing hands, came to be known as the ”International Trench.” A few days later (March 2) the British retook it.

The struggle now became limited to a continuous artillery duel, with occasional surprise infantry attacks. The hamlet of St. Eloi to the south was the scene of constant fighting for the possession of the sh.e.l.l-craters.

On April 19, the fighting a.s.sumed a more serious character. An unimportant German attack near St. Eloi and along the Ypres-Langemarck Road was the prelude to operations by considerable enemy forces, having for their objective the great undulating slopes between Hill 60 and Armentieres.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BRITISH DEFENCE WORKS IN FRONT OF YPRES]

The first of these attacks took place on April 25, 1916, but failed. Two days later a night attack with gas was repulsed with hand grenades.

A third attempt was made in May, 1916, more to the south towards Armentieres, on the sides of the road connecting that town with Ypres.

The British, entrenched in a wood near Ploegsteert Village, were a.s.sailed by three German columns, and were only able to repulse two of them. The third took the position, but Scottish troops counter-attacked and drove the Germans back.

The most important of the enemy attacks during this period took place on June 1. The preparations included a concentration of troops between Tournai and Baisieux, from May 21 to 27, supported by guns of all calibres. The attack was carried out in considerable strength between Hooge and the Ypres-Comines Railway.

The artillery preparation began at 9.15 a.m. on June 1, and at noon the first a.s.saulting wave entered the front-line trenches. The battle died down for a few minutes in the evening, only to break out again during the night. The Germans succeeded in crus.h.i.+ng in the front to a depth of some 700 yards in the direction of Zillebeke, but the next day a portion of the lost ground was retaken by the Canadians.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FLANDERS BATTLEFIELD IN WINTER]

On June 6, a fresh a.s.sault began, preceded by the usual bombardment, and further a.s.sisted by mine explosions. The front line trenches to the north of Hooge were lost; but on the 13th the valiant Canadians, who had previously recaptured the original positions abandoned on June 1, resumed the offensive, and re-established the lines from the southern part of Sanctuary Wood to a point 1,000 yards north of Hill 60.

Throughout the days of June 26 and 28 there was an extremely violent bombardment, to which the British guns replied effectively. The Germans, whose losses from the attacks and this artillery fire were very heavy, declared: ”_Belgium will be our grave._”

These were the last operations in which the enemy took the offensive.

All their efforts had failed, whether their object had been to turn the left flank of the Allies, to break the lines around Ypres, or merely to take the town.

=THE ALLIED OFFENSIVE OF 1917=

_Series of powerful attacks with limited objectives. From June to October, the stages of the offensive were punctuated by breathing s.p.a.ces, during which the conquered ground was consolidated, in view of counter-attacks, and the artillery brought up, to prepare the following attack._