1. Maisy Webb, Chloe Strandwold, Emily Chen, David Wong
Battles of Ypres
Maisy Webb, Chloe Strandwold, Emily Chen, David Wong

2. Thesis:
The Battle of Ypres was significant because it was the first time that chlorine gas was used in a war creating a turning point in World War I. After this point, warfare became even more lethal with the rapid and deadly effects of chlorine gas and other chemical weapons. It encouraged the concept of mass slaughtering in war, not just combat.
Maisy

3. Where Town of Ypres, Belgium
Ypres Salient, in the area of Flanders, Belgium
Strategic positioning on English Channel
Ports where reinforcements and goods arrived
chloe

4. 1st Battle - End of 1914- Race to Sea
During Battle of Marne, towards the end, the countries were racing/out flanking each other North to Ypres
The race stopped when the battle began
the Germans were stopped on their march to the sea, but the Allied forces were then surrounded on three sides.
Many of the German soldiers were untrained college students
German forces destroyed partially by Belgians and partially by French reinforcements
Known as “Slaughter of the Innocents” when the young German forces were decimated.
Ended at the start of winter in November 1914
Both sides lost major numbers of men
German losses totaled 130,000, British Expeditionary Force lost 58,000 men
Battlefront now jutted 6 miles into the German side
Maisy

5. 2nd Battle - Gas! Began in April, concluded in May
Goal was to divert the attention away from the Eastern Front
The city of Ypres was reduced to rubble after this battle
First use of gas on Western Front by Germans

6. Use of Gas
On April 22nd the Germans released 168 tons of chlorine gas onto the French
“the gas affected some 10,000 troops, half of whom died within ten minutes of the gas reaching the front line” (The Second Battle of Ypres).
“Those who lived were temporarily blinded and stumbled in confusion, coughing heavily” (The Second Battle of Ypres).
Fritz Haber was the one who pushed for the use of gas, and even he was surprised by the lethal effects of the gas.
They continued to use gas on the Allied team multiple times
The Allies thought of the use of gas as barbaric, but eventually throughout war they created their own form of gas.
“Losses during the Second Battle of Ypres are estimated at 69,000 Allied troops (59,000 British, 10,000 French), against 35,000 German” (Second Battle of Ypres).
The difference in numbers is due to the German use of gas

7. 3rd Battles (and on) Also known as the Battle of Passchendaele
The longest battle of the three
British commander Gen. Douglas Haig wanted to liberate occupied ports on the English Channel Coast, because these served as German submarine bases
Allied victory
British- 275,000 casualties; Germans- 220,000 killed or wounded
chloe

8. Significance Multiple battles in the same location
1st battle: stabilization of the Western Front, trench warfare
2nd battle: First use of lethal gasses
3rd+ battle: The longest and most pointless
Total Allied and German casualties exceeded 850,000, including the deaths of 325,000 British soldiers.
Led to the weapons of mass destruction that were used in World War II.
Changed the use of chemical warfare, and led to the scientific discovery of other chemicals that can be used for warfare.
The genocide, during World War I, caused by these kinds of weapons influenced world leaders to ban chemical weapons.
NOTE: Even though many countries around the world are banned the use of chemical warfare after WWI, many countries still used them in the second world war.

9. Works Cited
Schneider, Barry R. "Chemical Weapon." Britannica Library Reference Center. Encyclopædia Britannica, n.d. Web. 31 Jan
Watts, Tim. "Battle of Ypres." World History: The Modern Era, ABC-CLIO, 2017, worldhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/ Accessed 31 Jan
"Battles of Ypres." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 24 Mar library.eb.com.ezproxy.kcls.org/levels/referencecenter/article/ Accessed 31 Jan
O'Brien, Patrick K. “Battles of Ypres.” Encyclopedia of World History (George Philips), Facts On File, 2000, History Research Center, online.infobase.com/Article/Details/255816?q=battle of ypres.
“First Battle of Ypres.” History.com, A&E Television Networks,
“Firstworldwar.com.” The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915,
"Battle of Passchendaele." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 Jun \ library.eb.com.ezproxy.kcls.org/levels/referencecenter/article/ Accessed 31 Jan