Chemical weapons in World War I
1914: Tear gas
The earliest military uses of chemicals were tear-inducing irritants rather than fatal or disabling poisons. During World War I, the French army was the first to employ gas, using 26 mm grenades filled with tear gas (ethyl bromoacetate) in August 1914. The small quantities of gas delivered, roughly 19 cm³ per cartridge, were not even detected by the Germans. The stocks were rapidly consumed and by November a new order was placed by the French military. As bromine was scarce among the Entente allies, the active ingredient was changed to chloroacetone.[7]In October 1914, German troops fired fragmentation shells filled with a chemical irritant against British positions at Neuve Chapelle, though the concentration achieved was so small that it too was barely noticed.[8] None of the combatants considered the use of tear gas to be in conflict with the Hague Treaty of 1899, which prohibited the launching of projectiles containing asphyxiating or poisonous gas.
1915: Large-scale use and lethal gases
The first instance of large-scale use of gas as a weapon was on 31 January 1915, when Germany fired 18,000 artillery shells containing liquid xylyl bromide tear gas on Russian positions on the Rawka River, west of Warsaw during the Battle of Bolimov. However, instead of vaporizing, the chemical froze and failed to have the desired effect.[8]The first killing agent used by the German military was chlorine. Chlorine is a powerful irritant that can inflict damage to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. At high concentrations and prolonged exposure it can cause death by asphyxiation.[10] German chemical companies BASF, Hoechst and Bayer (which formed the IG Farben conglomerate in 1925) had been producing chlorine as a by-product of their dye manufacturing.[11] In cooperation with Fritz Haber of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin, they began developing methods of discharging chlorine gas against enemy trenches.[12][13]According to the fieldpost letter of Major Karl von Zingler, the first chlorine gas attack by German forces took place before 2 January 1915: "In other war theaters it does not go better and it has been said that our Chlorine is very effective. [14]140 English officers have been killed. This is a horrible weapon ...".
By 22 April 1915, the German Army had 168 tons of chlorine deployed in 5,730 cylinders from Langemark–Poelkapelle, north of Ypres. At 17:30, in a slight easterly breeze, the gas was released, forming a gray-green cloud that drifted across positions held by French Colonial troops from Martinique who broke ranks, abandoning their trenches and creating an 8,000-yard (7 km) gap in the Allied line. However, the German infantry were also wary of the gas and, lacking reinforcements, failed to exploit the break before the 1st Canadian Division and assorted French troops reformed the line in scattered, hastily prepared positions 1,000–3,000 yards (910–2,740 m) apart.[8] The Entente governments quickly claimed the attack was a flagrant violation of international law but Germany argued that the Hague treaty had only banned chemical shells, rather than the use of gas projectors.[15]In what became the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans used gas on three more occasions; on 24 April against the 1st Canadian Division,[16] on 2 May near Mouse Trap Farm and on 5 May against the British at Hill 60.[17] The British Official History stated that at Hill 60, "90 men died from gas poisoning in the trenches or before they could be got to a dressing station; of the 207 brought to the nearest dressing stations, 46 died almost immediately and 12 after long suffering."[18]
1916: Austrian use[edit]
On 29 June 1916, Austrian forces attacked the Italian lines on Monte San Michele with a mix of phosgene and chlorine gas.[35] Thousands of Italian soldiers died in this first chemical weapons attack on the Italian Front.
1917: Mustard gas[edit]
The most widely reported and, perhaps, the most effective gas of the First World War was mustard gas. It was a vesicant that was introduced by Germany in July 1917 prior to the Third Battle of Ypres.[8] The Germans marked their shells yellow for mustard gas and green for chlorine and phosgene; hence they called the new gas Yellow Cross. It was known to the British as HS (Hun Stuff), while the French called it Yperite (named after Ypres).[36]
Mustard gas is not a particularly effective killing agent (though in high enough doses it is fatal) but can be used to harass and disable the enemy and pollute the battlefield. Delivered in artillery shells, mustard gas was heavier than air, and it settled to the ground as an oily liquid resembling sherry. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several days, weeks, or even months, depending on the weather conditions.[37]
The skin of victims of mustard gas blistered, their eyes became very sore and they began to vomit. Mustard gas caused internal and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucous membrane. This was extremely painful. Fatally injured victims sometimes took four or five weeks to die of mustard gas exposure.[38]
One nurse, Vera Brittain, wrote: "I wish those people who talk about going on with this war whatever it costs could see the soldiers suffering from mustard gas poisoning. Great mustard-coloured blisters, blind eyes, all sticky and stuck together, always fighting for breath, with voices a mere whisper, saying that their throats are closing and they know they will choke."[39]
The polluting nature of mustard gas meant that it was not always suitable for supporting an attack as the assaulting infantry would be exposed to the gas when they advanced. When Germany launched Operation Michael on 21 March 1918, they saturated the Flesquières salient with mustard gas instead of attacking it directly, believing that the harassing effect of the gas, coupled with threats to the salient's flanks, would make the British position untenable.[citation needed]
Gas never reproduced the dramatic success of 22 April 1915; however, it became a standard weapon which, combined with conventional artillery, was used to support most attacks in the later stages of the war. Gas was employed primarily on the Western Front—the static, confined trench system was ideal for achieving an effective concentration. Germany also made use of gas against Russia on the Eastern Front, where the lack of effective countermeasures resulted in deaths of over 56,000 Russians,[40] while Britain experimented with gas in Palestine during the Second Battle of Gaza.[41] Russia began manufacturing chlorine gas in 1916, with phosgene being produced later in the year. However, most of the manufactured gas was never used.[19]
The British Army believed that the use of gas was needed, but did not use mustard gas until November 1917 at Cambrai, after their armies had captured a stockpile of German mustard-gas shells. It took the British more than a year to develop their own mustard gas weapon, with production of the chemicals centred on Avonmouth Docks.[42][43] (The only option available to the British was the Despretz–Niemann–Guthrie process). This was used first in September 1918 during the breaking of the Hindenburg Line with the Hundred Days' Offensive.
The Allies mounted more gas attacks than the Germans in 1917 and 1918 because of a marked increase in production of gas from the Allied nations. Germany was unable to keep up with this pace despite creating various new gases for use in battle, mostly as a result of very costly methods of production. Entry into the war by the United States allowed the Allies to increase mustard gas production far more than Germany.[44][45] Also the prevailing wind on the Western Front was blowing from west to east,[46] which meant the British more frequently had favorable conditions for a gas release than did the Germans.
When the United States entered the war, it was already mobilizing resources from academic, industry and military sectors for research and development into poison gas. A Subcommittee on Noxious Gases was created by the National Research Committee, a major research center was established at Camp American University, and the 1st Gas Regiment was recruited.[45] The 1st Gas Regiment eventually served in France, where it used phosgene gas in a number of attacks.[47][45] The Artillery used Mustard gas with significant effect during the Meuse Argonne Offensive on at least three occasions.[48] The United States began large-scale production of an improved vesicant gas known as Lewisite, for use in an offensive planned for early 1919. By the time of the armistice on 11 November, a plant near Willoughby, Ohio was producing 10 tons per day of the substance, for a total of about 150 tons. It is uncertain what effect this new chemical would have had on the battlefield, however, as it degrades in moist conditions.[49][50]
| Nation | Fatal | Total (Fatal & Non-fatal) |
|---|---|---|
| Russia | 56,000 | 419,340 |
| Germany | 9,000 | 200,000 |
| France | 8,000 | 190,000 |
| British Empire (includes Canada) | 8,109 | 188,706 |
| Austria-Hungary | 3,000 | 100,000 |
| United States | 1,462 | 72,807 |
| Italy | 4,627 | 60,000 |
| Total | 90,198 | 1,230,853 |
| Date | Agent | Casualties (official) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fatal | Non-fatal | ||
| April – May 1915 | Chlorine | 350 | 7,000 |
| May 1915 – June 1916 | Lachrymants | 0 | 0 |
| December 1915 – August 1916 | Chlorine | 1,013 | 4,207 |
| July 1916 – July 1917 | Various | 532 | 8,806 |
| July 1917 – November 1918 | Mustard gas | 4,086 | 160,526 |
| April 1915 – November 1918 | Total | 5,981 | 180,539 |
| Name | First use | Type | Used by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xylyl bromide[77] | 1914 | Lachrymatory, toxic | Both |
| Chlorine[78] | 1915 | Corrosive. Lung Irritant | Both |
| Phosgene[78] | 1915 | Irritant - Skin and mucous membranes. Corrosive, toxic | Both |
| Benzyl bromide[77] | 1915 | Lachrymatory | Central Powers |
| Chloromethyl chloroformate[77] | 1915 | Irritant - Eyes, skin, lungs | Both |
| Trichloromethyl chloroformate[77] | 1916 | Severe irritant, causes burns | Both |
| Chloropicrin[78] | 1916 | Irritant, lachrymatory, toxic | Both |
| Stannic chloride[77] | 1916 | Severe irritant, causes asphyxiating | Allies |
| Ethyl iodoacetate[77] | 1916 | Lachrymatory, toxic | Allies |
| Bromoacetone[77] | 1916 | Lachrymatory, irritant | Both |
| Monobromomethyl ethyl ketone[77] | 1916 | Lachrymatory, irritant | Central Powers |
| Acrolein[77] | 1916 | Lachrymatory, toxic | Central Powers |
| Hydrogen cyanide[77] (Prussic acid) | 1916 | Toxic, Chemical Asphyxiant | Allies |
| Hydrogen sulfide[77] (Sulphuretted hydrogen) | 1916 | Irritant, toxic | Allies |
| Diphenylchloroarsine[78] (Diphenyl chlorasine) | 1917 | Irritant/Sternutatory (causes sneezing) | Central Powers |
| α-chlorotoluene (Benzyl chloride) | 1917 | Irritant, lachrymatory | Central Powers |
| Mustard gas[78] (Bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide) | 1917 | Vesicant (blistering agent), lung irritant | Both |
| Bis(chloromethyl) ether (Dichloromethyl ether) | 1918 | Irritant, can blur vision | Central Powers |
| Ethyldichloroarsine[78] | 1918 | Vesicant | Central Powers |
| N-Ethylcarbazole 679 | 1918 | Irritant | Central Powers |
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