This Day April 15th 1915 Second Battle of Ypres

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The Second Battle of Ypres could be considered as a resumption of the first battle, since weather conditions and the coming of winter had curtailed the continuation of fighting. Although sporadic fighting continued throughout the winter, neither side launched a major offensive.
The German Army was planning a major attack when the weather improved in April. This would be the only major German offensive on the Western Front in 1915. Some historians believe that the primary reason for this offensive was to distract the Allied army’s attention away from the Eastern Front.
Perhaps the Second Battle of Ypres is best remembered for the introduction of the German Army’s newest weapon, chlorine gas, than for any strategic achievements. Chlorine gas is heavier than air, so it flows along the ground following the contour of the land. Upon reaching a low area, such as a trench, it descends into the trench filling it with gas.
The gas was first used on the Eastern Front during the winter of
1915. It proved to be of limited success because the sub-zero temperatures impacted the dissipation of the gas.This problem didn’t exist with the warm April temperatures of the Western Front, making the results strikingly different.
Since the Hague Treaty of 1899 prohibited the use of projectiles containing poisonous gas, the Germans calculated that they were not in violation if they delivered the gas via cylinders. On April 22, 1915, the enemy soldiers strategically staged, then opened, the valves on fifty-seven hundred canisters of gas.The canisters were positioned so that the wind would carry the gas towards the Allied lines.
The enemy initiated the attack by launching a massive bombardment of the Allied trenches. During the shelling, the gas was released with the wind carrying it towards its intended target. Since it was common for an attack to be preceded by heavy shelling, the Allied forces were in their trenches waiting to repel the anticipated attack.The bombardment produced dark, heavy clouds of smoke that prevented the Allies from spotting the approaching gas until it was too late.
The Allied troops were expecting to see waves of enemy soldiers crossing the battlefield. Instead they saw a low, greenish-yellow mist rolling towards them. The gas cloud permeated four miles of trenches, affecting some ten thousand soldiers. It took only about ten minutes for half of the exposed troops to die.
The German Army hadn’t gauged the potential effectiveness of the gas.As a result, they neglected to have sufficient reserve troops in place. Without the additional troop strength, they were unable to take full advantage of the wide opening in the Allied line. Although the German troops captured a significant amount of ground, without sufficient re- serves to hold it, much of it was lost when the Allied army launched a counterattack.
Attempting to capitalize on the successful, introductory release of the gas, the Germans repeated the process two days later. On April 24, chlorine gas was used against the unsuspecting Canadian troops. Fortunately, the quick-thinking Canadians used urine-soaked handkerchiefs to cover their mouths and noses, lessening the impact of the gas.
The Germans visualized the annihilation of extensive numbers of Allied troops, instead they encountered a defiant Canadian force standing its ground. Fierce fighting ensued, causing heavy losses on both sides.
By the end of May the relentless German Army had gained additional high ground.This forced the Allies’ to consolidate their positions closer to the city of Ypres. After many attempts to capture the city failed, the enemy retaliated by shelling it. By the end of the war the entire city of Ypres was reduced to piles of rubble.
The Second Battle of Ypres cost the lives of sixty-nine thousand Allied soldiers and thirty-five thousand German troops. The significant contrast in the number of Allied deaths can be directly attributed to the Germans’ use of chlorine gas.



Journal Entry - April 5th–23rd
We remained at our position and continued firing on the enemy’s trenches and guns. Enemy aircraft were very active and often we had to stop firing so that we wouldn’t be spotted.
Our observation station located in the brewery was a veritable death trap. It was continually shelled, but in spite of this, we stuck it out for four days.That is until one shell hit directly on the little cellar.The shell wounded Grogan and Smith (the two telephonists on duty), while Lieutenant Richie marvelously escaped injury. Later poor Grogan died, causing Smith to be so shook up that he was sent away.
We are now using the remains of a house, which we called the “Green House”, for the observation post. It also was shelled repeatedly, but we had no further casualties. As far as action, nothing out of the ordinary happened, just the usual give and take between armies.
The batteries at our rear were shelled occasionally but nothing within harming distance of our guns. I can hear sounds of continual heavy fighting far away to our left towards Ypres and to our right towards La Bassee. By the sounds of it, there must be hard scrapping in progress on the French front.

New Review

The Great Promise is a quick and entertaining read, based on the real life exploits of the author's grandfather Frederick George Coxen during WWI. The book is divided between a general third person omniscient war narrative and Fred's personal diary entries, enriched with the occasional suppositions of the author.

The main action of the book begins, in medias res, on the 23rd of August 1914, on which date Fred peruses his earlier diary entries. This gives the reader an understanding of the prior events leading up to this date.

In the opening chapter, we share in the excitement Fred felt before the realities of war set in. We read of his enthusiasm to join the front lines and we see the joy and excitement of the French citizenry. However, reality sets in quickly and the glamour and glitz soon fades, as it should.

As the Germans snap at their heels, Fred and his comrades are forced to retreat for an extended, hellish march. Uniforms are soiled, food and water are hard to come by, the heat is oppressive and time drags by with painful slowness. There is constant shelling and constant danger.

The author gives us the `big picture' by revealing select dispatches from Commander-In-Chief Sir John French. However, it is Fred's matter-of-fact journal entries that are the most riveting. His tales range from getting lost between enemy lines to having to repair communication wires in exposed, dangerous conditions. Chapters four though seven were the most exciting for me and contained the majority of Fred's entries. Soldiers died from friendly fire. Rotting corpses lay unattended, and buried ones were exhumed by shell blasts. Fred had to constantly fix communication wires, a very dangerous task. When he takes comfort in sleeping on a wet mattress, we see the full extent of his misery.

The epilogue came as a pleasant relief, to see that after so many hardships, Fred managed to survive and prosper. The Great Promise is a testament to the human spirit, and shows how a brave soul can persevere through the harshest of conditions.

It is stated in the book that Fred felt guilty over not contacting his deceased comrades' families. I found this aspect of the book the least convincing. A man who had been through so much should not have felt a shred of guilt. I think that in the end Fred should have felt not guilt but solace and pride, for having sacrificed so much for his country.

Kudos to his grandson for preserving this noble tale for posterity.

Peter Payne

Historical Novel or Historical Story?

Sorry for not keeping everyone up to date. I've been busy trying to update my book. I received book reviews from both a historian and a book reviewer (that reviews books from a reader's perspective). The historian gave the book three stars because I didn't list my sources and mixed fiction with non-fiction. From a reader's perspective she thought that the book was well worth reading.

The book reviewer gave the book five stars and praised my fiction sections for helping the reader understand the flow of the story. He never mentioned the historical short comings but focused on the story. You can check out his review on Amazon as well as that of the historian.

However, I understood the comments the historian made and could see her point. I've been in contact with her through email and she believes that with a few changes the book could find its place next to other respected World War I historical books - something that caught my attention. I've been thinking of up-dating different chapters because I've gathered more information that would be of value. One change would be to change the "Introduction" section from a story format to one that will offer the reader background information about my grandfather. Several readers suggested that they would've appreciated more information about the man who wrote the journal - I agree and use more photographs - which I now have.

I'm also adding a "Forward" section that will give the reader background information on the Royal Field Artillery to help them understand references made in some of the journal entries.

A chapter will be added that will detail my grandfather's military career after the journal entries end -

I might wait until after I donate my grandfather's military documents to the Imperial War Museum in London so I can add that chapter to the book as a conclusion to the story. Sort of a circle of life - my grandfather was born and raised in London - lived through the war, immigrated to the US and now his papers will be returned to his home country.

I'll be making so many changes to the existing book that I believe that I'll bring it out as a new book and sell it in e-book format - less expensive than printing out books. It seems like more and more people are switching to this format - its a shame because I like the feel and smell of real books but they are expensive to publish and my current book is not selling like I believe it would - if half of my blog followers purchased a book I would be a happy camper - get with it people and help preserve history.

Historical Story - Document

Sorry for not keeping everyone up to date. I've been busy trying to update my book. I received book reviews from both a historian and a book reviewer (that reviews books from a reader's perspective). The historian gave the book three stars because I didn't list my sources and mixed fiction with non-fiction. From a reader's perspective she thought that the book was well worth reading.

The book reviewer gave the book five stars and praised my fiction sections for helping the reader understand the flow of the story. He never mentioned the historical short comings but focused on the story. You can check out his review on Amazon as well as that of the historian.

However, I understood the comments the historian made and could see her point. I've been in contact with her through email and she believes that with a few changes the book could find its place next to other respected World War I historical books - something that caught my attention. I've been thinking of up-dating different chapters because I've gathered more information that would be of value. One change would be to change the "Introduction" section from a story format to one that will offer the reader background information about my grandfather. Several readers suggested that they would've appreciated more information about the man who wrote the journal - I agree and use more photographs - which I now have.

I'm also adding a "Forward" section that will give the reader background information on the Royal Field Artillery to help them understand references made in some of the journal entries.

A chapter will be added that will detail my grandfather's military career after the journal entries end -

I might wait until after I donate my grandfather's military documents to the Imperial War Museum in London so I can add that chapter to the book as a conclusion to the story. Sort of a circle of life - my grandfather was born and raised in London - lived through the war, immigrated to the US and now his papers will be returned to his home country.

I'll be making so many changes to the existing book that I believe that I'll bring it out as a new book and sell it in e-book format - less expensive than printing out books. It seems like more and more people are switching to this format - its a shame because I like the feel and smell of real books but they are expensive to publish and my current book is not selling like I believe it would - if half of my blog followers purchased a book I would be a happy camper - get with it people and help preserve history.

Last Day!!

Today is the last day to download THE GREAT PROMISE for free at Amazon Kindle.

I want to thank those that took advantage and downloaded my book. I hope you enjoy it and recommend it to your friends. As a self-published author it is very difficult to enter the market and access the distribution channels that are available to traditional publishers. Therefore independent writers must use social media to get their message out that their book is worth reading. If enough readers like the book and recommend it to friends, as well as publish their rating of the book on Amazon, it helps move sales.

Again, thanks to those that support me in my efforts to tell my grandfather's story.

It starts today

The free download of The Great Promise (kindle version) is available on Amazon Kindle starting today. This will be the last opportunity to get a free copy of the book that people will be talking about.

If you're new to my blog, look through the archives to get a feeling of the compelling journal entries that are included in the book. The Great Promise

Book trailer:

About Photo

I discovered that the photo of my grandfather, that I posted yesterday, he was wearing a captain's uniform. Which I found interesting because he must have been promoted to the temporary rank of captain since he wasn't given the permanent rank until near the end of the war.

I have the answer: in this communication he was given the temporary rank of Captain in June 1916 when he was acting Adjutant of the AA batteries. His permanent rank was Lieutenant until he received his permanent Captain's rand in 1919.