page_title: Gas attacks at Wulverghem
section_title: Medical narrative
hierarchical_section_title: Gas attacks at Wulverghem / Aftermath / Medical narrative
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram of German cloud gas attack at Wulverghem with locations of aid posts and advanced dressing stations
context_page_description: The Gas attacks at Wulverghem were German cloud gas releases during the First World War on British troops in the municipality of Heuvelland, near Ypres in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The gas attacks were part of the sporadic fighting between battles in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. The British Second Army held the ground from Messines Ridge northwards to Steenstraat and the divisions opposite the German XXIII Reserve Corps had received warnings of a gas attack. From 21 to 23 April, British artillery-fire exploded several gas cylinders in the German lines around Spanbroekmolen, which released greenish-yellow clouds. A gas alert was given on 25 April when the wind began to blow from the north-east and routine work was suspended; on 29 April, two German soldiers deserted and warned that an attack was imminent. Just after midnight on 30 April, the German attack began and over no man's land, a gas cloud drifted on the wind into the British defences, then south-west towards Bailleul.
  The gas used at Wulverghem was a mixture of chlorine and phosgene, which had been used against British troops on 19 December 1915 in the phosgene attack at Wieltje, north-east of Ypres.
context_section_description: From north to south, the units mainly affected were in the 76th Brigade, 3rd Division, were the 10th Royal Welch Fusiliers (10th RWF) and in the 72nd Brigade, 24th Division, the 1st North Staffs, 8th Queen's and the 2nd Leinster and the 13th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment of the 73rd Brigade. The gas release began at 12:35 a.m. on a front of 3,500 yd (2.0 mi; 3.2 km), from Spanbroekmolen to La Petite Douvre Farm, except for two small sectors. In the north, the flow of gas was continuous for about ten minutes and farther south the gas came in two waves, over 30 to 40 minutes. As soon as the gas cloud drifted, German attacks began, mainly at points where no gas had been released. Shell or trench mortar bombs with chloromethyl chloroformate were used against the front line and some lacrymatory "T" shells were fired on the British support lines, with no effect. The gas moved east-north-east at 9–12 mph (14–19 km/h) over Wulverghem, Neuve Eglise and Bailleul. Gas concentration on the flanks of the cloud declined rapidly but at Bailleul, 11,000 yd (6.3 mi; 10 km) back from the front line, coughing and vomiting occurred in some cases where people were caught the open. Closing windows and doors kept most of the gas out of buildings. On high ground near Neuve Eglise, the concentration was low but was high on Ravelsberg Ridge to the west.
  Vegetation was turned yellow as far back as 1,200 yd (1,100 m) from the front line. Many rats in the trenches were killed and eleven cows, 23 calves, a horse, one pig and 15 hens were killed in fields; other cattle and pigs showed signs of gas poisoning. A potentially lethal concentration for an unmasked person extended for 9,000–10,000 yd (5.1–5.7 mi; 8.2–9.1 km) from the discharge point and about 14,000 troops donned gas helmets during the attack, including many on the outskirts of the cloud, who wore helmets as a precaution. Troops in the front line received little warning before the gas arrived. In places the cloud was seen to rise from the German trenches as a white mist and hissing was audible at some points but was drowned by rifle and machine-gun fire elsewhere. In the north, the opposing trenches were 40 yd (37 m) apart and the gas cloud arrived in seconds, highly concentrated. The standard anti-gas equipment of PH helmets and "box respirators" for machine-gunners, signallers and some artillery personnel had been issued. The box respirator was a great success, because the face piece could be fitted quicker than the PH helmet.
  In the 72nd Brigade, helmets were carried in protective satchels but in the 76th Brigade they were removed before the attack and worn on the head, as recently advised. A large number of gas casualties occurred despite warnings and the troops having been alerted for the attack; some groups received late warnings or underestimated the danger and a small number were caught asleep. The speed and concentration of the cloud meant that hesitation or fumbling with the mask resulted in poisoning. Most casualties occurred in the front line in trenches close to the German lines. Gas may have been strong enough to penetrate helmets in trenches nearest to the gas discharge, yet the 10th RWF had only 41 gas casualties, five casualties among engineers and five among trench mortar crews, compared with 112 casualties in the 1st North Staffordshire and 122 among the 8th Queen's in the 72nd Brigade. The 10th RWF had followed advice to keep the helmet ready and the gas blew sideways, missing the area further back. Casualty returns from battalions, field ambulances and casualty clearing stations, gave total gas casualties as 512, including casualties in infantry battalions on the flanks and in reserve and among divisional and corps troops. The five battalions in the line (excluding machine-gun, R.E., tunnelling companies and trench mortar crews) had 371 gas casualties, 73 percent of the total.
  The regimental aid post of the 10th RWF was about 600 yd (550 m) back from the front line and No. 7 Field Ambulance of the 3rd Division was at Locre Hospice. An advanced dressing station was at Lin
caption: German cloud gas attack at Wulverghem, with locations of aid posts and advanced dressing stations
exif: {}