Chemical Warfare

Used by soldiers in trenches for chemical warfare.

“Considered uncivilised prior to World War One, the development and use of poison gas was necessitated by the requirement of wartime to find new ways of overcoming the stalemate of unexpected trench warfare.” (Weapons of War) 

     Chemical warfare was first used by the French. In the first months of World War I (WWI), in August 1914, the French fired tear-gas grenades against the Germans. The German army, however, was the first to give serious thought and development of chemical weapons, and the first nation to use it on a larger scale.

 

German soldiers running through the gas.

     Poison gas, however, was not used until April 22, 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres. The Germans unleashed chlorine gas, which the French mistook for an advancing German attack. They prepared for German forces, but were met with a deadly gas. This would be the first time a deadly chemical was used. As soon as it was inhaled, the vapors destroyed the lungs, practically burning the respiratory organs from the inside out. The people who would breathe in these vapors would cough and choke, dying in five minutes, a slow, agonizing, painful death. 

 

Army troop attempting to make their way through unleashed mustard gas.

     The Allies began mass producing Chlorine Gas to stay ahead of the Germans in chemical warfare. Not to be outdone, however, Germany created an even more deadly toxin, mustard gas. They would fill artillery shells with this gas, shoot it over the trenches, and not only would the artillery shells kill people, but the mustard gas would be released. Mustard gas in an almost odourless chemical and cause blisters, both internally and externally, and the effects would be almost immediate, with full effects taking several hours to show. Protection against mustard gas proved to be very difficult, but unforseen consequences arose when the Germans used mustard gas. The gas would stay in the soil for weeks, and when the German troops would advance to take over the Allies trenches, they would themselves be poisoned.  

Casualties From Gas – The Numbers

Country Total Casualties Deaths
Austria-Hungary 100,000 3,000
British Empire 188,706 8,109
France 190,000 8,000
Germany 200,000 9,000
Italy 60,000 4,627
Russia 419,340 56,000
USA 72,807 1,462
Others 10,000 1,000

 http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm

     Chemical Warfare would open up a new style of fighting. It was quick and would keep the attackers safe. They could attack their enemy from a distance without putting themselves at risk of getting shot at. With both sides using chemical warfare, the deaths rose into the thousands.

     Was chemical warfare a necessary evil, or should it have never been used?