Part 8 - The Second Battle of Ypres
Under fire from Howitzer Machine guns, high explosives, shrapnel and poison gas shells, the Jullundur Brigade in two lines and 200 yards apart, marched in a steady manner up a grassy ridge.
All the way up the slope they were enfiladed by every type of gun fire; the attack literally swept over the valley, with all units suffering heavily from the cross fire.
Over 1000 casualties were suffered by the leading battalions. The 1st Manchesters won a Victoria Cross in this action, but the cost for the 47th Sikhs was a terrible 348 out of 444 effectives.
The 59th Frontier Force suffered total casualties of 815 all ranks while serving in France and Flanders. The total casualties of the Indian Corps, excluding British Divisions temporarily attached numbered 34,252.
On 25 November 1915 the Indian Corps were inspected by HRH the Prince of Wales, thanking the Indian Army for their services in France before their transfer to a new theatre of war.
By the close of the second battle of Ypres, the total casualty figure for the Indian Corps stood at 18,573.