CANADA HISTORY - War-WWI

Battle of St Julien

The Battle of St. Julien, fought from April 22 to May 5, 1915, was one of the most significant and harrowing episodes of the Second Battle of Ypres during the First World War. For Canada, this battle would mark the first time its soldiers would face a large-scale attack and, tragically, the first use of poison gas on the Western Front. The events at St. Julien not only demonstrated the bravery and resilience of the Canadian soldiers but also exposed them to the brutal realities of modern, industrialized warfare. This battle became a defining moment in Canada’s military history, laying the foundation for the country’s growing reputation as a capable and formidable fighting force.

In the early months of 1915, the war on the Western Front had settled into the grim pattern of trench warfare. The rapid movements of the opening campaigns had given way to a bloody stalemate, with both the Allies and the Central Powers entrenched in vast networks of fortified positions that stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The Second Battle of Ypres, of which St. Julien was a part, occurred in this context of stagnation. Ypres itself, a small Belgian town, was strategically important because it sat in a salient—a bulge in the front lines that jutted into the German positions. Whoever controlled Ypres could threaten the flanks of the enemy and maintain a vital foothold in northern Belgium. For the Germans, capturing Ypres would allow them to break through the Allied lines and potentially seize control of the Channel ports, cutting off vital supply lines for the British.

The Allies were determined to hold Ypres at all costs, even as the Germans prepared to launch a new offensive aimed at breaking the deadlock. For the German Army, which was looking for ways to break through the Allied defenses, Ypres presented an opportunity to test a new weapon that they hoped would turn the tide of the war: poison gas. The use of chemical weapons had been banned by the Hague Convention of 1907, but by 1915, both sides were willing to resort to whatever means necessary to break the stalemate. The Germans saw gas as a potentially decisive tool that could sow panic, disrupt enemy defenses, and open gaps in the lines that could be exploited by infantry.

The Canadian 1st Division, newly arrived on the Western Front, found itself occupying part of the Allied line just to the northeast of Ypres, near the village of St. Julien. This division, composed of volunteers who had answered the call to serve in the defense of the British Empire, was still relatively inexperienced. While the Canadians had undergone rigorous training, they had yet to face the full horrors of modern trench warfare. Their introduction to the realities of the First World War would come in the form of an unprecedented and terrifying attack.

On the afternoon of April 22, 1915, the Germans launched their assault on the Ypres Salient, targeting the French colonial troops holding the line just to the west of the Canadian positions. At around 5:00 PM, German artillery opened up, followed by a greenish-yellow cloud of chlorine gas that swept across the battlefield. The French troops, most of whom were Algerian and Moroccan, had no protection against the gas. As the toxic fumes rolled over their trenches, panic set in. Soldiers gasped for breath, blinded and suffocating from the effects of the chlorine. Unable to hold their positions, many fled, leaving a gaping hole in the Allied line. The Germans, following close behind the gas cloud, moved in to exploit the breach.

The Canadians, positioned just to the east of where the gas was released, were spared the worst of the initial attack, but they soon found themselves exposed to the full force of the German assault. With the French in retreat, the Germans were poised to overrun the entire Ypres Salient, and the Canadian division was now the only major force standing between the Germans and a catastrophic breakthrough. Despite the overwhelming odds and the unprecedented use of chemical weapons, the Canadians stood their ground.

Over the next two days, the Canadians would fight to contain the German advance. They faced wave after wave of enemy troops, enduring heavy shelling and repeated attacks, all while struggling with the lingering effects of the gas. Without gas masks or adequate protection, many Canadian soldiers improvised by soaking cloths in water or urine and holding them over their faces to minimize the effects of the chlorine. The conditions were horrific, but the Canadians held firm.

The most critical moment of the battle came on April 24, when the Germans launched a second gas attack, this time directly against the Canadian lines at St. Julien. The Canadians, already exhausted and battered from the previous two days of fighting, now faced the full brunt of the German gas assault. The gas cloud, carried by the wind, once again caused chaos in the ranks. Yet, despite the panic and confusion, the Canadians refused to give ground. At one point, a counterattack was launched by the Canadian soldiers, who charged through the gas and smoke in an attempt to retake lost ground. Though the counterattack ultimately failed, it demonstrated the extraordinary courage of the Canadian troops, who fought on even as many of their comrades were choking to death around them.

Opposing the Canadians were some of the most battle-hardened units of the German Army. The Germans had committed around 17,500 troops to the offensive, backed by artillery and machine guns. The Canadians, though heavily outnumbered, fought with remarkable determination. The 1st Canadian Division, consisting of about 18,000 men, suffered horrific casualties over the course of the battle. By the time the fighting subsided, more than 2,000 Canadians lay dead, with another 5,000 wounded or missing. The losses were staggering, yet the Canadians had achieved something remarkable—they had stopped the German advance in its tracks.

The German plan to break through the Allied lines at Ypres had been foiled, in large part due to the tenacity of the Canadian forces at St. Julien. The Germans had hoped that the use of poison gas would panic the Allies into retreat, allowing their infantry to sweep forward and capture Ypres. Instead, the Canadians' dogged defense and refusal to surrender key positions blunted the German offensive. Though the line had bent under the weight of the assault, it did not break. Ypres remained in Allied hands.

The Battle of St. Julien, while a tactical victory in the sense that the Germans failed to achieve their objective, came at a terrible cost. For the Canadians, it was a baptism by fire, a brutal introduction to the scale of sacrifice that the war would demand. The use of poison gas added a new and terrifying dimension to the conflict, and the Canadians, along with the rest of the Allies, would have to adapt quickly to this new form of warfare. In the months that followed, gas masks would become standard issue, but at St. Julien, the Canadians had faced this unprecedented threat with little more than cloths and courage.

The results of the battle had a profound impact on the Canadian forces and the war as a whole. The heroism of the Canadian soldiers at St. Julien became a source of national pride, and their performance under such dire circumstances earned them widespread recognition within the British Empire. The battle also underscored the brutality of the conflict and the lengths to which both sides were willing to go to break the stalemate. The use of poison gas, though initially shocking, would soon become a regular feature of the war, as both sides resorted to chemical warfare in the desperate struggle for dominance.

For the Germans, the failure to break through at Ypres was a strategic setback. Though they had introduced a new and deadly weapon, the inability to exploit the breach in the Allied lines meant that the war would drag on. The Ypres Salient, despite its vulnerability, remained in Allied hands, and the front lines would continue to shift only incrementally in the months that followed.

In the broader context of the war, the Battle of St. Julien marked the beginning of a long and bloody period of attrition. Neither side would gain a decisive advantage in the coming years, as trench warfare and industrialized killing ground down armies on both sides. But for Canada, the battle had a lasting significance. It was here, in the gas-choked trenches of St. Julien, that Canadian soldiers proved their mettle, earning a reputation as fierce and reliable fighters. The events of April 1915 would be remembered as a turning point, both for Canada’s military and for the war itself, as the true horror of modern warfare revealed itself on the battlefields of Ypres.