The Second Battle of Ypres was a First World War battle fought for control of the strategic Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium in the spring of 1915, following the First Battle of Ypres the previous autumn. It marked the first time that Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front. Additionally, the battle was the first time that a former colonial force (the 1st Canadian Division) defeated a major European power (the German Empire) on European soil, in the Battle of St. Julien-Kitcheners' Wood.
Read more about Second Battle Of Ypres: Overview, Battle of Gravenstafel (22–23 April 1915), Battle of St Julien (24 April – 5 May), Battle of Frezenberg (8–13 May), Battle of Bellewaarde (24–25 May), Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words battle and/or ypres:
“Any coward can fight a battle when he’s sure of winning, but give me the man who has pluck to fight when he’s sure of losing. That’s my way, sir; and there are many victories worse than a defeat.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)
“A good wif was ther ofbiside bathe,
But she was somde, deef, and that was scathe.
Of clooth makyng the hadde swich an haunt,
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)