officer, of his decision, he also did not tell Brigadier General Arthur Currie, commanding the 2nd Brigade on Turner's right, that Currie's flank was now completely unprotected. (Currie would be forced to withdraw his brigade the next day, albeit in an orderly fashion, in order to avoid having his flank rolled up.) Turner's orders were also very dangerous to the well-being of his men – companies in the front line were in close contact with the enemy; when they left the relative safety of their trenches to retreat across hundreds of yards of open fields in broad daylight, the companies of the 3rd Brigade were subject to accurate and devastating small arms and artillery fire, and suffered grievous losses. This was exacerbated by the uncoordinated nature of the withdrawal – the orders arrived at various companies at different times, leaving each to withdraw as best it could, without the benefit of covering fire from other units. Some never received the withdrawal order, or the order arrived too late; they were flanked, surrounded and either captured or killed. Most devastating to the Allies, the 3rd Brigade's sudden withdrawal opened a 4,000-yard hole in their front line. Only the relative reticence of the Germans prevented an immediate catastrophe; having encountered stiff resistance from the Canadians the previous day, the Germans were not expecting a withdrawal, and were not positioned to immediately exploit the gap in the Allied front line the same day. As the battle raged on, Turner travelled back to Corps headquarters to consult with his commanding officer, Edwin Alderson. The normally reserved Alderson exchanged sharp words with Turner about the unauthorized withdrawal of the 3rd Brigade, a withdrawal that now threatened the entire Ypres Salient. Historian George Cassar is of the opinion that, had Turner not been a popular Boer War hero and politically well-connected back in Canada, Alderson would have relieved him of command on the spot. Turner was replaced as brigade commander by R. G. E. Leckie on 12 August 1915. His subsequent promotion to divisional command was opposed by Alderson, who considered him to be incompetent. However the well-connected Turner had the support of Sam Hughes and other Canadian politicians, and Alderson was overruled. Alderson bitterly wrote, "I am sorry to say that I do not consider Turner really fit to command a Division and his name was not put forward by Sir John French, but Canadian