On March 20, 1915, Colonel Francis Farquhar, commanding officer of the battalion, was killed by a stray bullet. This fine officer had been military secretary to the Duke of Connaught and had done more for the battalion than it is possible to record here. Though a strict disciplinarian, Colonel Farquhar was greatly loved by the soldiers for his patience and good humor and his readiness to hear their complaints and improve their condition whenever possible. Lieutenant Colonel H. C. Buller succeeded to the command of the regiment.
After the death of Colonel Farquhar the battalion retired to rest, occupying a line on the Polygon Wood in the Ypres salient. Near by they constructed log cabins of such skillful workmanship as to excite the admiration of the French, British, and Belgian officers who visited the camp. The regiment was also busy improving and strengthening the trenches and in erecting breastworks before them under cover of the wood. When enemy guns were bombarding Ypres again the battalion, then in billets in the neighborhood of that stricken town, were ordered once more to the trenches.
The Second Battle of Ypres began on April 21, 1915, and during the first days of the struggle the Patricias occupied trenches some distance south and west of those held by the Canadian Division. Though doomed to inaction they were constantly shelled by the enemy. They were eager to join in the battle raging in the north and where their kinsmen were desperately engaged, but the order to move to the firing line never came. On May 3, 1915, the battalion was withdrawn to a subsidiary line a considerable distance to the rear.
In the meantime the Canadian Division won enduring fame at Ypres. Their achievements were all the more remarkable because the division was in the main made up of raw material, and until the outbreak of war untrained and undisciplined in warfare. The officers, too, had mostly learned military science from study rather than from experience; yet these former lawyers, professors, and business men, with rare exceptions, displayed valor and resource at the most trying moments in the battle.
It was on April 22, 1915, that the Germans brought into action a new form of "frightfulness," which was so far successful that a gap was created in the Allies' line, which might have led to disastrous results but for the dauntless courage displayed by the Canadians.
It was a calm, sunny, and peaceful day when the enemy sprang their surprise. The Canadian Division held a line of about five thousand yards extending in a northwesterly direction from the Ypres-Roulers railway to the Ypres-Poelcappelle road where at the terminus it joined the French. The division comprised three infantry brigades, the first in reserve, the second on the right, and the third in contact with the French, as previously noted. In addition to the infantry there were the artillery brigades.
About 5 o'clock in the afternoon of the 22d, the Germans projected asphyxiating gas of great intensity over the French line on the left. Aided by the favorable wind, the gas penetrated the trenches, poisoning and disabling great numbers of troops who were wholly unprepared to combat this new horror of warfare. The French troops, principally Turcos and Zouaves, became panic-stricken and fled back over the canal and through the village of Vlamertinghe just at twilight. The Canadian reserve battalions of the First Brigade were amazed as the French soldiers surged into the town, their faces contorted with pain, and gasping for breath. It was some time before order could be restored and the staff officers could learn from the fugitives that they had left thousands of their comrades dead, or dying, that a four-mile gap had been created in the French line through which the Germans were advancing in the wake of their gas attack.
The withdrawal of the French created a serious situation as the Canadian Third Brigade was now without any left. It was imperative under the circumstances that the Canadian lines should be at once greatly extended to the left rear. The first reserve could not be moved from reserve at short notice, and the line increased from 5,000 to 9,000 yards was not the same line which the Allies had held at the time of the gas attack. A gap still remained on the left.
Brigadier General Turner (now Major General), the commander of the Third Brigade, was forced to throw back his left flank southward to protect his rear. While these adjustments of the positions were under way, resulting at first in some confusion, the Germans, who had been pushing rapidly forward, captured four British 4.7 guns which had been lent to the French.
The Canadian Division stood fast against overwhelming odds. They were outnumbered four to one, while the enemy was also greatly superior in artillery. The gap in the line remained, though somewhat reduced in extent. The Canadians, aroused to the dangers of the situation, fought with dogged determination for two days and nights, losing heavily, especially in officers. The Germans made the most of the advantage gained by the breach in the Allies' line and launched a series of attacks against the new Canadian salient. At every point the troops of the Dominion were faced by superior numbers and the fighting was especially fierce and sanguinary on the apex of the new line which ran toward St.-Julien.