When did the Gas attacks at Wulverghem take place?
Gas attacks at Wulverghem
During the night of 16/17 June, another German gas cloud was released against the 72nd and 73rd brigades, from the curtain, a re-entrant west of Messines, where no man's land was 400–600yd (370–550m) wide. The British gave the gas alert at 3:30 p.m. on 16 June, when the wind was favourable for a German gas release. Just after midnight, sentries of the 8th Battalion, Queen's West Surrey and the 1st Battalion, North Staffordshire of the 72nd Brigade, which had experienced the April attack and the 9th Battalion, Royal Sussex and 7th Battalion, Northamptonshire of the 73rd Brigade, saw gas rise from the German trenches and gave the warning. The cloud was dense but moved slowly in a light wind, which gave the British plenty of time to put on their anti-gas hoods. The gas was emitted for 50 to 60 minutes and was blown to the south-east, towards the 17th Brigade on the right flank of the divisional area. Near the end of the discharge, the gas began to blow back and the British artillery bombarded the German front line. A few Germans climbed out of the front line trench, immediately to be forced back. All but ration parties and a few people moving along communication trenches received the alert but gas casualties were similar to those in the April attack, which led to the conclusion that the PH helmets were inadequate against concentrated gas.[14]