Taking it altogether we were not troubled nearly so much by this new type of gas as were the French, in the southern part of the line. In much the same way that the gas cloud was developed by the Germans against the English the gas shell were developed chiefly against the French, and very much larger numbers were employed against the French positions than we had to contend with during the first six months or so. Later on things were more equallised in this direction. Captured German documents and statements by prisoners showed us that the Germans were counting very considerably on the effect produced by the lachrymatory shell, and detailed instructions for their use in various circumstances were carefully laid down. The lachrymatory shell was known by the Germans as “T-Shell,” and the xylyl bromide as “T-Stoff,” and instructions were laid down for the use of this material. Another kind of shell was known as “K-Shell,” which up to that time had not been used against us, or at any rate had not been recognised. The T-Shell was particularly to be used against positions which it was not intended to occupy immediately, the reason for this being that T-Stoff hangs about for a long time. Some of the liquid is apt to be spread about the ground and gives off enough vapour to make the neighbourhood of the shell hole uninhabitable for many hours, and in favourable condition--for the enemy--for several days. The K-Shell, on the other hand, was intended to be used against infantry positions and strong-points which it was hoped to assault and capture within an hour or two of the bombardment or on areas which it was hoped to traverse during a big attack. The advent of the lachrymatory T-Shell incommoded us considerably, but, as it was quickly realised that the gas was not poisonous, the Tommies were not much taken back, and the “tear shell,” as they were quickly called, were not considered by the rank and file to have importance, which as a matter of fact they have; but at the same time we heard rather alarming stories of the effects of gas shell as used against the French. It was rumoured, for example, that in the Crown Prince’s big advance in the Argonne, in the late spring of 1915, that such enormous numbers of gas shell had been used against the French positions that the infantry occupying them were not only put out of action by the effect on their eyes but that the amount of gas used was so large that the French soldiers were actually anæsthetised and were taken prisoners by the Germans while in an unconscious condition. Whether this was true or whether it was exaggerated is not certain, though it is certainly true that the Crown Prince’s advance was prefaced by a hurricane bombardment of gas shell, the tactical effect of which was considerable.