passed
on to the rear of the British line and spent itself, the only Germans
to be seen were in the piles of dead and wounded in front of the
British most advanced trenches. The first time this occurred did not
teach the Germans its lesson sufficiently well. A second time the
Germans did not follow their gas cloud so closely. The gas-filled
shells, however, the British found more difficult. They did not give
warning of their coming as did the appearance of the comparatively
slow-moving gas cloud. Thus in the first week of May, 1915, Hill 60
was taken by the Germans in a bombardment of asphyxiating shells. The
bombardment had been immediately followed by a charge of bomb throwers
who made an assault on the hill from three sides at once. That forced
the British to retreat to a trench line at the foot of the hill, and
gave the top of the hill to the Germans who immediately set up a
lookout post for their artillery back of the Zandvoord ridge.

This part of the British line was under the command of Sir Herbert
Plumer. His troops occupied themselves from the first week in May to
the middle of August, 1915, in fighting in the Hooge district. Most of
this fighting was important only because it kept the Germans busy on
that section of the line, and prevented them from being able to
reenforce the Crown Prince of Bavaria or adding men to the force that
was driving the Russians eastward.

The men, fresh from the training camps, fought alongside of hardened
veterans and learned much from them. From being what amounted to
auxiliaries in these actions the new troops became hardened to actual
fighting conditions. For this reason the personnel of the British
troops on this part of the line was changed frequently. This was
especially true at Hooge. Princess Patricia's Canadian Regiment
occupied the Chateau and village of Hooge on May 8, 1915. The
"Princess Pats," as they were known at home, turned over their
quarters to the Ninth Lancers who were followed by the Fifteenth
Hussars and the Second Camerons.

On May 24, 1915, the Germans made a great gas attack. They had placed
along the line from St. Julien to Hooge a great number of gas tanks.
They then started a bombardment with asphyxiating shells. When the
bombardment was well under way the tanks were opened. The ensuing
cloud was five miles long and forty feet high; and it floated over the
British trenches from 3 a. m. to 7 a. m. The cloud was followed by
three columns of infantr