Ypres, Belgium- Yesterday, on April 24, the First Canadian Division won recognition by holding their ground at Salient Ypres, against German 's new weapon of modern warfare, chlorine gas for 2 days. On April 22, the Germans released 160 tons of chlorine gas towards the French accompanied by the Canadians and British, which caused many to asphyxiate by drowning in their own bodily fluids. (Ypres 1915) "The French defences crumbled as many died or fled, leaving a gaping 6 kilometre hole in the Allied line."(Foot) 6,000 French colonial troops were killed or wounded within ten minutes of the gas being released. (Duffy) Two days after the first attack, the Germans released another attack of gas and artillery towards the Canadians at St. Juliens. …show more content…
They were aiding their allies who were against the Germans. Canadians had two British divisions on their right, and two French army divisions on their left. One British officer remembered, "The Germans held the higher ground and were able to fire into our Allied trenches."(Ypres 1915) Salient was a dangerous place to defend as it was surrounded on three sides by enemy soldiers and artillery. (Foot) The Canadians and their allies wanted to protect Ypres partly because it offered rail and road links to ports on the coast. During the battle, the German army took advantage of a favourable wind to release the cloud of chlorine gas from cylinders in front of their trenches. Soldiers watched a yellow-green cloud creep over the ground toward nearby French colonial troops. 2 days after their first attack, Germans attacked in an attempt to obliterate the Salient once and for all. A violent bombardment followed by another gas attack, but the Canadians maintained their grounds. The Canadians established a reputation as a formidable fighting force. Congratulatory messages were cabled to the Canadian Prime Minister. "The costs were high, 6,035 Canadians, became casualties and more than 2,000 died." (Ypres 1915) These were heavy losses in four days for Canada 's little force whose men were civilians months before. This displays the grim forerunner of what was still to