Second Battle of Ypres in World War I

The Second Battle Ypres was fought April 22 to May 25, 1915, during World War I (1914-1918) and saw the Germans conduct a limited offensive around the strategic town of Ypres in Flanders. During the course of the battle, the Germans debuted the use of poison gas on the Western Front. This new technology provided an initial advantage, but the Germans were ultimately stopped after heavy fighting. Though the Germans had not achieved a breakthrough, they succeeded in bringing Ypres within range of their artillery. Background With the German defeat at the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914 and the unraveling of the Schlieffen Plan, both sides commenced a series of flanking maneuvers in northern France and Flanders. As the two sides sought an advantage, they clashed in Picardy, Albert, and Artois. Finally reaching the coast, the Western Front became a continuous line stretching to the Swiss frontier. In October, the Germans attempted to breakthrough at the town of Ypres in Flanders. This resulted in the First Battle of Ypres which saw the Allies hold a salient around Ypres after brutal fighting. Conflicting Strategies As trench warfare continued, both sides began assessing their options for bringing the war to a successful conclusion. Overseeing German operations, Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn preferred to focus on winning the war on the Western Front as he believed that a separate peace could be obtained with Russia. This approach clashed with General Paul von Hindenburg who wished to deliver a decisive blow in the East. Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn. Public Domain The hero of Tannenberg, he was able to use his fame and political intrigue to influence the German leadership. As a result, the decision was made to focus on the Eastern Front in 1915.  This focus ultimately resulted in the stunningly successful Gorlice-Tarnà ³w Offensive in May. An Offensive in the West Though Germany had elected to follow an east-first approach, Falkenhayn started planning for an operation against Ypres to begin in April. Intended as a limited offensive, he sought to divert Allied attention from troop movements east, secure a more commanding position in Flanders, as well as to test a new weapon, poison gas. Though tear gas had been used against the Russians in January at Bolimov, the Second Battle of Ypres would mark the debut of lethal chlorine gas. In preparation for the assault, German troops moved 5,730 90 lb. canisters of chlorine gas to the front opposite Gravenstafel Ridge which was occupied by French 45th and 87th Divisions. These units were comprised of territorial and colonial troops from Algeria and Morocco. Armies Commanders Allies General Sir Horace Smith-DorrienGeneral Herbert PlumerGeneral Henri PutzMajor General Armand de CeuninckMajor General Theophile Figeys8 divisions Germany Albrecht, Duke of Wà ¼rttemberg7 divisions The Germans Strike Around 5:00 PM on April 22, 1915, troops from Albrecht, Duke of Wà ¼rttembergs German 4th Army began releasing the gas towards the French troops at Gravenstafel. This was done by opening the gas cylinders by hand and relying on the prevailing winds to carry the gas towards the enemy.  A dangerous method of dispersal, it resulted in numerous casualties among the German forces. Drifting across the lines, the grey-green cloud struck the French 45th and 87th Divisions. Albrecht, Duke of Wà ¼rttemberg. Public Domain Unprepared for such an attack, the French troops began retreating as their comrades were blinded or collapsed from asphyxiation and damage to lung tissue. As the gas was denser than air it quickly filled low-lying areas, such as trenches, forcing the surviving French defenders into the open where they were susceptible to German fire. In short order, a gap of around 8,000 yards opened in the Allied lines as around 6,000 French soldiers died from gas-related causes. Moving forward, the Germans entered the Allied lines but their exploitation of the gap was slowed by darkness and a lack of reserves. Closing the Breach To seal the breach, the 1st Canadian Division of General Sir Horace Smith-Dorriens Second British Army was shifted to the area after dark. Forming up, elements of the division, led by the 10th Battalion, 2nd Canadian Brigade, counterattacked at Kitcheners Wood around 11:00 PM. In a brutal battle, they succeeded in reclaiming the area from the Germans but sustained high casualties in the process. Continuing pressure on the northern part of the Ypres Salient, the Germans released a second gas attack on the morning of the 24th as part of an effort to take St. Julien. The Allies Fight to Hold On Though the Canadian troops attempted to improvise protective measures such as covering their mouths and noses with water or urine-soaked handkerchiefs, they were ultimately forced to fall back though they exacted a high price from the Germans. Subsequent British counterattacks over the next two days failed to retake St. Julien and the units engaged sustained heavy losses. As fighting spread down the salient as far as Hill 60, Smith-Dorrien came to believe that only a major counter-offensive would be able to push the Germans back to their original positions.   Field Marshal Herbert Plumer. Library of Congress As such, he recommended withdrawing two miles to a new line in front of Ypres where his men could consolidate and re-form. This plan was rejected by the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force, Field Marshal Sir John French, who elected to sack Smith-Dorrien and replace him with the commander of V Corps, General Herbert Plumer. Assessing the situation, Plumer also recommended falling back. Following the defeat of a small counter-offensive led by General Ferdinand Foch, French directed Plumer to begin the planned retreat. New German Attacks As the withdrawal began on May 1, the Germans again attacked with gas near Hill 60. Assaulting the Allied lines, they were met by fierce resistance from the British survivors, including many from the 1st Battalion of the Dorset Regiment, and were turned back. Having consolidated their position, the Allies were again attacked by the Germans on May 8. Opening with a heavy artillery bombardment, the Germans moved against the British 27th and 28th Divisions southeast of Ypres on Frezenberg Ridge. Meeting heavy resistance, they released a gas cloud on May 10. Having endured earlier gas attacks, the British had developed new tactics such as shelling behind the cloud to strike at the advancing German infantry. In six days of bloody fighting, the Germans were only able to advance around 2,000 yards. After a pause of eleven days, the Germans resumed the battle by releasing their largest gas attack to date across a 4.5-mile section of the front. Beginning before dawn on May 24, the German assault sought to capture Bellewaarde Ridge. In two days of fighting, the British bloodied the Germans but were still forced to concede another 1,000 yards of territory. Aftermath After the effort against Bellewaarde Ridge, the Germans brought the battle to a close due to a lack of supplies and manpower. In the fighting at Second Ypres, the British suffered around 59,275 casualties, while the Germans endured 34,933. In addition, the French incurred around 10,000. Though the Germans had failed to break through the Allied lines, they reduced the Ypres Salient to around three miles which allowed for the shelling of the city. In addition, they had secured much of the high ground in the area. The gas attack on the first day of the battle became one of the conflicts great missed opportunities.  Had the assault been backed with sufficient reserves, it may have broken through the Allied lines. The use of poison gas had come as a tactical surprise to the Allies who roundly condemned its use as barbaric and reprehensible. Though many neutral nations agreed with this assessment, it did not stop the Allies from developing their own gas weapons which debuted at Loos that September. The Second Battle of Ypres is also notable for being the engagement during which Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD composed the famed poem In Flanders Fields.

Legal And Ethical Issues Of The National Career...

Legal and Ethical Issues Naomi’s case presents various relevant ethical dilemmas that must be addressed immediately, multiculturally, and in accordance to ethical codes. The National Career Development Association (NCDA) Code of Ethics (2015) section A.1.b. identifies the distinction of counseling services provided between career planning and career counseling. Being a biracial single mother with major health issues as well as a full time job are Naomi’s leading environmental factors that may prove to be her biggest challenge in assessing her overall ability to make a career change as she not only has to find the time to attend these sessions but also secure childcare as well. Therefore, it is my primary obligation to question Naomi†¦show more content†¦3); therefore, Naomi, along with her counselor, must develop as well as regularly maintain a pertinent career development plan that targets Naomi’s presenting issues. Assessment Tools While career counselors have a wide range of assessment instruments they can utilize; choosing an instrument that is effective, reliable, economical, and cross-cultural can be challenging; however, when assessment instruments are chosen correctly, they can provide counselors with wealth of information regarding their client. Be that as it may, if career counselors neglect to consider all aspects of their client’s lives such as their worldview, cultural background, and ethnicity etc. assessments can yield invalid results and thus ineffective career counseling. Utilizing the O*Net Online as part of Naomi’s career assessment is recommended as it provides current trends within the workforce. An assessment that would benefit Naomi to prioritize what is important in her life would be occupational card sorts, which are created on a case by case basis by counselors to specifically address the needs of each client. According to Brott (2004), â€Å"personalized card sorts can be used to verify the counselor s understanding of the client story and to validate the client s preferred ways of being† (p. 194). Additionally, specific intruments such as Interest Inventories, Assessment of Aptitude tests, and Personality Assessments would also be benefical for Naomi’s

A Lesson Before Dying Essay Thesis Example For Students

A Lesson Before Dying Essay Thesis A Lesson Before Dying The novel, A Land Remembered, is the epic saga of three generations of MacIveys.The novel begins with a flash back, from the last generation MacIvey, Sol.Sol was a real estate tycoon in Miami and the surrounding areas.He has chosen to give up his life in Miami to live his last hours in thecabin in Punta Rassa , Florida; the cabin his grandfather had built.Thus, the three generations of MacIveys in Florida ends. The first generation of MacIveys consisted of the father and husband, Tobias, the mother and wife, Emma, and their young son, Zech.The family had decided to escape the pressures of the Civil War in their native Georgia, and move to the scrub of Northern Florida.The MacIveys experience many troubles and learn many new things during their stay in the scrub, such as meeting Indians, that will turn out to influence their life greatly.Other experiences included Tobias being recruited by Marshall Adler to drive cattle to the confederate troops and also being recruited to chop trees to build walls of defense for the confederate forces.During the excursion to chop down trees, confederate deserters raided Emma and Zech and burned down their house.Tobias and Emma made the decision that the war was getting to close to the scrub, and that moving South would be a good idea.The MacIvey clan packed up their wagon and headed south along the St. Johns and Kissimmee rivers and settled in a hammock alo ng the Kissimmee river. In Kissimmee is where Tobias begins his empire that turns the family into one of the wealthiest families in Florida.In the swamps of Florida, wild cows live and Tobias tries his best to capture these cows and make a drive, but without horses and dogs, Tobias makes little headway in his project.In the woods one day, Skillet, a freed slave, was found.Skillet agreed to stay on with the MacIveys and help them start their empire.Dogs and a marshtackie were given to the MacIveys by their Indian friends they helped in the scrub.The MacIveys now popped cows out of the swamp and their first drive to Punta Rassa ended in a disaster with all the cows being lost to a great flood.The determined MacIveys never looked back and gathered another heard and the whole clan drove the cows to Punta Rassa.In Punta Rassa, the cows were sold for fifteen dollars a head and the MacIvey empire begins.Also on this first trip, Hendry, the cattle buyer, bets a 150 acres of land that Ishmael, Zechs marshtackie, can t beat his bay horse.Ishmael beats him and the MacIveys got the deed. The MacIveys begin to make drives often where many events take place, such as Tobias and Zech meeting the Indians in the Everglades, Zech meeting Glenda, his wife, and Tawanda, his Indian lover, and the beginning of Tobias citrus empire.The first generation MacIveys acquire land and prosper but eventually Emma dies, and Tobias soon follows.The second generation involves Zech, Glenda, and their son Sol, who concentrate on citrus and acquire valuable land in what is now Miami and Biscayne Bay.Glenda dies in a freak accident with a cow, and Zech dies crossing a flooded stream and drowning.Sol leaves Kissimmee to start a vegetable business in the everglades which prospers.Sol meets Bonnie, but never marries her because he saw his father and grandfather mourn over their wives, yet she lives with him.Bonnie dies in a hurricane and Sol retires to his mansion on Biscayne Bay where he lives his years in solitude, until he decides he needs to move back to the cabin in Punta Rassa. The character of Tobias, in my opinion, was the most influential character of the book.His personality was that of a strong-willed cracker trying to live and make it in the uncharted lands of Florida.A particular occurrence of Tobias being strong-willed was a scene where Tobias was driving cows over railroad tracks.A train came and ran over some of his cows.After a period of exchanging words, Tobias picked up his gun and blew a huge gash in the boiler of the train.Tobias was also quite loving, but he didnt get around to do much loving until the one he loved was gone.Tobias also lived