The mustard gas (unlike chlorine) had no immediate irritating effect except to cause sneezing. As with the first chlorine gas attacks in 1915, the Allies were caught by surprise. The German army used mustard gas for the first time in July 1917, shelling Allied forces in the Ypres area repeatedly from July 12th to August 1st. And within a few hours, it would produce incapacitating burns on any skin surface it touched, particularly the eyes and respiratory tract. German researchers broke the impasse that year with something new and different: dichloroethylsulfide, also called “mustard gas” (for its odor), “Yperite” (for the first place it was used), or “Yellow Cross” (for the marking on the shells.) It wasn’t actually a gas, but a volatilized oily liquid that could penetrate clothing and leather, and persist on buildings, equipment, and the ground for days. The chemical weapons race was at a stalemate by spring of 1917, because improved gas mask technology kept troops safe from the asphyxiating chlorine and phosgene gases casualties occurred only when they were caught off guard and exposed before they got masks on. Pages 20 and 21 of Defensive Measures Against Gas Attacks “King of the battle gases” With the shells, armies could target attacks with little regard for the weather, and use a wider range of toxic chemicals. “Cloud” attacks, in which the gas was released from canisters, were superseded by artillery shells loaded with gas, starting in 1916. A more potent gas, phosgene, made its debut in December 1915, and for the next 18 months, chlorine and phosgene, together with several different tear gases, were used extensively. 25.īy September 1915, the British were able to launch their first chlorine gas attack against German forces. XIV, Medical Aspects of Gas Warfare,1926, p. “The extensive use of poisonous gases was one of the most important developments of the World War no innovation since the introduction of gunpowder has revolutionized warfare to such an extent.” These experts worked intensively to discover new toxic gases and delivery systems, and to develop defensive equipment, procedures, and medical treatments. Both sides recruited hundreds of chemists, engineers, and physiologists to serve in special military gas warfare services. For the duration of the war the combatants would engage in a chemical arms race. The Allies quickly determined that the gas was chlorine and began developing gas masks to protect against it. Caught entirely by surprise, and with no protection from the asphyxiating gas, some 5,000 died, and over 10,000 were injured. On April 22, 1915, and again two days later, at Ypres, German forces introduced Allied troops to a terrible new weapon: chlorine gas, released from pressurized canisters into a wind that carried it into the Allied trenches and beyond. Germany, then the world leader in scientific research and in chemical production, pioneered the development of chemical warfare. But one of the more remarkable aspects of the Great War was the large-scale application of science to military operations, both offensive and defensive, particularly to produce poison gases. Unlike previous conflicts, it was carried out largely in trenches, and introduced motorized ground transport and aircraft to military operations it also employed scientific medicine that controlled infectious diseases so that, for the first time, more soldiers died in combat than from camp illnesses. World War I is notable for the size of the armies involved, the huge number of casualties, and the vast amount of national resources consumed. By Susan Speaker ~ Cover of Defensive Measures Against Gas Attacks, 1917
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