2nd Battle of Ypres

[Guest Steve Dalton]

Hi all,

I was wondering if thier is any info on this battle, with referance to the 1st Yorks and Lancs? Anything would be appreciated as I'm just starting out trying to learn about my grandfathers history,

Thanks,

Steve

[Robert Dunlop]

See my post in response to this question elsewhere.

Robert

[Max]

Steve

I have transcribed both the 83rd Bde and 28th Div war diaries for May 1915 and these can be accessed here

http://samriding.ergobiz.co.uk/docs/28may.PDF

http://samriding.ergobiz.co.uk/docs/83may.PDF

Andy

[kevin ley]

Magnificent, but not War by Winston Groom , the story of the Second Battle of the Ypres. An excellent read.

Rgds,

Kevin.

[Max]

Magnificent, but not War by Winston Groom ,

Its actually by John Dixon. Although very thorough in its content I found it to be just a bit of a rehash of the official history.

Andy

[CROONAERT]

I found it to be just a bit of a rehash of the official history.

...but cheaper and more accessable!

Dave.

[Max]

...but cheaper and more accessable!

True...... but not when you already have the official history.

Andy

[Ste]

Magnificent, but not War  by Winston Groom ,

Its actually by John Dixon. Although very thorough in its content I found it to be just a bit of a rehash of the official history.

Andy

I have just read this book. It is certainly similar to Military Operations in detail (and to some extent style). However, it does go into greater depth and colour about some of the actions and the men who fought in them. For example, Dixon's account of the Canadian counter attack on Kitchener's Wood is much more illuminating for the modern visitor than that in the official tome.

As Dave says, it is certainly more accessible for the non specialist reader who might not necessarily appreciate constant bracketed references to units and their commanders in the Offical History. The appendices are also interesting. On the other hand, the footnotes and end of chapter notes in the Edmonds volume add that extra layer of sub-detail (about the German context expecially) that some of us like.

Cheers,

Ste

[Guest Benoit Douville]

When I think about the second Battle of Ypres, I immediately think about the first use of the gas on the Western Front, that was terrible and inhuman by the part of the Germans.

Regards

[Robert Dunlop]

The decision to use gas did backfire to some extent. See below for the picture of 'wind roses'. These illustrate the direction of the prevailing wind throughout the year on the Western Front, which favoured the British use of cloud gas attacks. The direction of a spike illustrates the direction from which the wind blew; the length illustrates the number of days. From Foulkes' book.

Robert