At 5 o'clock in
the afternoon a plan, carefully prepared, was put into execution against
our French allies on the left. Asphyxiating gas of great intensity was
projected into their trenches, probably by means of force pumps and
pipes laid out under the parapets. The fumes, aided by a favorable wind,
floated backward, poisoning and disabling over an extended area those
who fell under their effect.
The result was that the French were compelled to give ground for a
considerable distance. The glory which the French Army has won in this
war would make it impertinent to labor the compelling nature of the
poisonous discharges under which the trenches were lost. The French did,
as every one knew they would do, all that stout soldiers could do, and
the Canadian Division, officers and men, look forward to many occasions
in the future in which they will stand side by side with the brave
armies of France.
[Illustration: POSITION BEFORE DISCHARGE OF GAS
Contrast this with:
POSITION AFTER DISCHARGE OF GAS]
The immediate consequences of this enforced withdrawal were, of course,
extremely grave. The Third Brigade of the Canadian Division was without
any left, or, in other words, its left was in the air.
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