mand has been heavily
engaged opposite both flanks of the line held by the British Forces.

1. In the North the town and district of Ypres has once more in this
campaign been successfully defended against vigorous and sustained
attacks made by large forces of the enemy and supported by a mass of
heavy and field artillery, which, not only in number, but also in
weight and caliber, is superior to any concentration of guns which has
previously assailed that part of the line.

In the South a vigorous offensive has again been taken by troops of
the First Army, in the course of which a large area of entrenched and
fortified ground has been captured from the enemy, whilst valuable
support has been afforded to the attack which our Allies have carried
on with such marked success against the enemy's positions to the east
of Arras and Lens.

2. I much regret that during the period under report the fighting has
been characterized on the enemy's side by a cynical and barbarous
disregard of the well-known usages of civilized war and a flagrant
defiance of The Hague Convention.[2]

[Footnote 2: In a long statement seeking to justify the use of
asphyxiating gases in warfare the semi-official Wolff Telegraph Bureau
asserted in German newspapers of June 25 that the Allies first used
such gases against the Germans, and it cites French documents as proof
that France in February, months before the German advance at Ypres,
made extensive preparations for the application of gases and for
counteracting their effects on the attacking troops.

After quoting the official German war report of April 16 that the
French were making increased use of asphyxiating bombs, the statement
says:

"For every one who has kept an unbiased judgment, these official
assertions of the strictly accurate and truthful German military
administration will be sufficient to prove the prior use of
asphyxiating gases by our opponents. But let whoever still doubts
consider the following instructions for the systematic preparation of
this means of warfare by the French, issued by the French War
Ministry, under date of Feb. 21, 1915:

Minister of War, Feb. 21, 1915.

Remarks concerning shells with stupefying gases:

The so-called shells with stupefying gases that are being
manufactured by our central factories contain a fluid which
streams forth after the explosion, in the form of vapors
that irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. There