Cassar George H. Trial by Gas: The British Army at the Second Battle of Ypres

Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press, 2014. — 344 p. : illustrations, maps.In May 1915 the long and bloody Second Battle of Ypres gained notoriety for the participants’ use of poison gas, the first time the weapon had been used in battle. With both sides realizing the importance of victory in Ypres, moral considerations were set aside. Although other, more costly battles of World War I have often overshadowed the Second Battle of Ypres despite the unprecedented use of gas in the latter, that battle now receives an examination commensurate with its significance.The author of this book focuses on the conflict’s second half: the battles at Frezenberg Ridge and Bellewaarde Ridge, both of which were fought primarily by British units, taking the reader inside the trenches and behind the desks of those making the decisions. Cassar’s intimate account offers an accurate, clear, and complete chronicle of a battle with a remarkably enduring impact despite its indecisive outcome.George H. Cassar is a professor of history at Eastern Michigan University. He is the author of a dozen books, including Hell in Flanders Fields: Canadians at the Second Battle of Ypres and Lloyd George at War, 1916–1918.