With the use of trench warfare, successful battle tactics had become difficult. In order to solve this issue, new weapons had to be developed. Thus, poison gas was introduced to the field of warfare.
HISTORY Gas was first used by the French in 1914. In August, they employed tear-gas filled grenades. With the use of these grenades, the Germans became interested in the use of gas. Not long after, they had begun to experiment with different types of gases that they could use against their enemies while not violating the Hague Treaty of 1899. Finally in April of 1915, they debut with a new poisonous gas: chlorine. At the Second Battle of Ypres, they deployed this gas against unsuspecting French troops and succeeded in inflicting damage against them. With this, chemical warfare began. HOW IT WORKED AND SAFETY MEASURES Poison gas was stored in cylindrical canisters which were positioned along the front lines of canisters. They were released by simply removing the lid and leaving it open. However, this was always very risky because the direction the gas went was at the mercy of the wind. With wind blowing towards themselves, deploying the gas would backfire and damage themselves instead. Using poison gas was effective when it came to infiltrating trenches because of how it spread through the air. However as time went by, measures to protect against the gas developed. Soldiers found that rags covered in bicarbonate soda worked against it and eventually gas masks were invented in 1918. They used a filtration system using charcoal and/or antidote chemicals, but were also tiring and difficult to wear. As more and improved ways were created to protect against gas attacks, it lowered their effectiveness over time. Informational posters on mustard gas and phosgene
IMPACT AND CONSEQUENCES OF POISONOUS GAS By the end of the war, the public and leaders of countries were disgusted at inhumanity of using poisonous gas and what it did to soldiers. Thus, leaders banned it from being used in warfare ever again in 1925. This ban is still widely in effect today. It was a huge impact on the war because of how it introduced a new type of warfare altogether as well caused incredible debate over the consequences it causes for those affected by it. However, since it was only ever deployed in the trenches, it only affected anybody who were present in the trenches when it was being deployed. No civilians who weren't present by the trenches were not affected. Still, the amount of negative consequences it had is still huge because of how cruel it was for anybody to endure. Map of Syria with red dots indicating known attacks
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Map showing Ypres, Germany
Second Battle of Ypres
TYPES OF GAS Chlorine was the first poison gas used in WWI. It severely damaged respiratory organs and choking attacks once it's inhaled. Yet it wasn't the only gas used. Phosgene was developed by French scientists led by Victor Grignard in 1915. It was colorless and was said to smell like musty old hay. The gas caused fluid to build up in a person's lungs and essentially drown them. It is more deadly than chlorine but has the drawback of having a delayed reaction time. Of the 100,000 casualties caused by chemical warfare, phosgene was responsible for 85% of those casualties. But the most notorious was mustard gas. Mustard gas was introduced by Germany in 1915 at the Third Battle of Ypres. Although it wasn't effective for killing, it disabled soldiers because of the side effects it causes. These included external as well as internal blistering and bleeding as well as damage to bronchial tubes. It also made any infected trenches dangerous to infiltrate because it would stay in the soil for weeks on end. There were other chemicals used, but chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas were the most widely used. By the end of the war, it was said that Germany used 68,000 tons of gas, France used 36,000, and Great Britain used 25,000. Victims of poisonous gas in WWI
CONNECTIONS TO TODAY In the 1970's, Syria began a chemical weapons program. According to sources in 2013, it was said they had built a stockpile of over 1,000 tons of gas, including chlorine, mustard gas, and VX. Civil war in Syria broke out on March 15, 2011 and these chemicals began to play a huge part in the conflict. Certain parts of the government has been responsible for for the mass killings of civilians using chemicals. The worst of these attacks included the Ghouta chemical attack in August of 2013, which ended in 1,729 fatalities and 3,600 injured, and the Khan al-Assal chemical attack in March of 2013, which ended in 26 deaths and over 86 injuries. Syria's use of chemical warfare has caused global controversy and has even caused it to escalated to the point where the U.S. was considering to go to war with them to stop the attacks. Since then, the last attack was on August 28, 2014. Recently, the Syrian government has agreed to the destruction of it's chemical factories, although it is unknown if all of them have been destroyed. Syria's use of chemical warfare has been huge in the news and the world of politics and also goes against its ban, making it a huge basis of debate and controversy as well as public outcry, reminiscent of WWI. |
Page by Josie Robinson