British war crimes September 1915 and continued their usage for the remainder of the war. This was done in retaliation for the use of chlorine by Imperial German Army the preceding April. Following the Imperial German Army's use of poison gas at Ypres, the commander of II Corps, Lieutenant General Sir Charles Ferguson, had said of poison gas: Mustard gas was first used effectively in World War I by the German army against British and Canadian soldiers near Ypres, Belgium, in 1917 and later also against the French Second Army. The name "Yperite" comes from its usage by the German army near the
3rd Army (German Empire) May 1917. Einem's right wing units would also participate in Erich Ludendorff's Champagne-Marne offensive on 15–17 July 1918 supporting the east flank of the German 1st Army. After suffering severe casualties in battle with John J. Pershing's Allied Expeditionary Force from 26 September – 11 November in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the army was forced to retreat northward shortly before the war's end. At the end of the war it was serving as part of "Heeresgruppe Deutscher Kronprinz". By the end of the war, the 3rd Army was organised as: The 3rd Army had the following commanders during its existence: 3rd