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WWI-Gases

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Updated Oct. 1, 2018

Transcript

The Gases Used

in WWI

Background Information

Chemical Warfare in WWI

Since the beginning of time, people have used chemicals to kill each other, but this really escalated during World War 1. During this time, over 1.3 million soldiers were affected, and over 90,000 died.

Chlorine Gas

Chlorine gas
Used on the 2nd battle of Ypres
Makes a greenish-yellow cloud
Smells like bleach
Irritates eyes, nose, lungs, and throat
Kills by deprivation of oxygen

Chlorine Gas

Mustard Gas

“King of Battle Gases”
Effects are not immediate
Smells like “garlic, gasoline, rubber, or dead horses”
Just hours after exposure, victim’s have bloodshot, painful, and watery eyes. Some people experience temporary blindness
Skin begins to blister mainly in moist areas. When they pop, they often get infected
It can also contaminate land
That exposure sensitized some people, where lower exposure produced severe symptoms.

MustardGas

Phosgene Gas

PhosgeneGas

Phosgene

Smells like moldy hay
Six times more deadly than chlorine gas
Much stealthier-
Colorless
Soldiers do not know they had a fatal dose at first
After a couple days, the victim’s lungs will full with fluid, then they will suffocate until they die an awful death :)
Primary chemical weapon of the Allies, even though the Germans used it first
Responsible for 85% of chemical weapon fatalities in WW1

Gases

Different Types of Gases Gases Used

During the war, there were three main types of gases were used:

Phosgene gas
Chlorine Gas
Mustard Gas

A story from a U.S. soldier Stull Holt. Unknown which gas was used

He was a driver with the American Ambulance Field Service, who later joined the Air Service, and shortly received his pilot commission as a first lieutenant.
He wrote the letter while he was in Paris on leave
He described the warzone as ruined. He says”Besides the desolation visible to the eye there was the desolation visible to the nose. You could often see old bones, boots, clothing and things besides lots of recent ones.”

Gas experience:

Hit him on his head, luckily he was wearing a helmet
Gas mask got knocked off
Many breaths of the gas.
Couldn’t see, eyes were running, choking
Full of terror
Another guy grabbed him and ran with him 100 yards to the post where a doctor gave him some ‘medicine.’
Forever scarred

P.O.V

Diary entry of a German soldier who participated in the first chlorine gas attack
They opened gas valves
Started towards French
As the cloud was forming, heard French yelling.
They started with incredible gun fire
They had so much gunfire
The wind kept the gas going towards the French
Cows and horses were “screaming”
After 15 minutes, gunfire started to cease. After 30, occasional shots
When the gas cleared they went over to see what happened.
Nobody was alive
All of the animals came out of their holes to die
The trenches of the French were empty, but full of dead bodies. You could see where some clawed at their faces and throats trying to breathe.
Some shot themselves
All of the animals, including insects, were dead
Diary of a Canadian who witnessed the first chlorine gas attack
There was absolutely no warning of any kind about the attack
They were very curious about the cloud coming at them
Some died on the spot, some fled through the villages and farms.
It was described as” a burning sensation in the head, red-hot needles in the lungs, the throat seized as by a strangler. “

The Evolution of Gas

From 650 BC to current day, Gas has been used

600 BC

The first ever use of chemicals in war was in 600 BC, when the Athenian forces poison the enemy water supply.

479 BC

The use of sulfur fumes was introduced by the Peloponnesian army. Although not fatal, it was one of the first uses of chemicals in war.

1679

1675

An international ban on chemical weapons, the first one of its kind, called the Strasbourg Agreement, is signed by France and Germany (particulary referring to poisoned bullets)

1863 (1861-1865)

1863

The use of chemical weaponary was considered on both sides during the Civil War. There were various ideas from both sides, such as dropping gas-filled canisters from balloons, or firing projectiles with gas in them.

1874

In 1874, the Western nations start to try to outlaw the use of chemicals in war.

International Agreements Regarding Chemical Warfare

In history, there have been two big agreements with chemical warfare. They were the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the Chemical Weapons Convention

Geneva Protocol Chemical Weapons Convention

International Agreements

The 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibits chemical and biological warfare between all nations. It was drafted and singed at a conference in Geneva with the League of Nations.

The Chemical Weapons Convention is a treaty between many countries that bans chemical weapons and required them to be destroyed within a certain period time. It is basically a more comprehensive version of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. It is open to every nation and currently has 193. Israel signed it, but has not ratified it. Egypt, South Sudan, and North Korea.

It prohibits:

“Developing, producing, acquiring, stockpiling, or retaining chemical weapons.
The direct or indirect transfer of chemical weapons.
Chemical weapons use or military preparation for use.
Assisting, encouraging, or inducing other states to engage in CWC-prohibited activity.
The use of riot control agents “as a method of warfare.” “
All of the nations have to give up the information of their chemical weapons, which are in 3 different categories:
“Category 1: chemical weapons based on Schedule 1 chemicals, including VX and sarin. (See below for an explanation of “scheduled” chemicals.)
Category 2: chemical weapons based on non-Schedule 1 chemicals, such as phosgene.
Category 3: chemical weapons including unfilled munitions, devices and equipment designed specifically to employ chemical weapons."

Chemical Weapons Convention Continued

Continued

All nations must say:

“Chemical weapons production facilities on their territories since January 1, 1946.
Facilities (such as laboratories and test sites) designed, constructed, or used primarily for chemical weapons development since January 1, 1946.
“Old” chemical weapons on their territories (chemical weapons manufactured before 1925 or those produced between 1925 and 1946 that have deteriorated to such an extent that they are no longer useable).
“Abandoned” chemical weapons (abandoned by another state without consent on or after January 1, 1925).
Plans for destroying weapons and facilities.
All transfers or receipts of chemical weapons or chemical weapons-production equipment since January 1, 1946.
All riot control agents in their possession.”

WWI

The Timeline of the Use of Gas in WWI

1914-1918

WWI-1914

August:

Tear-gas grenades are first used at the beginning of World War One, introduced by France

October: Shells full of a lung irritant (dianisidine chlorosulfate) are fired by the Germans, aimed at the British army.

WWI-1915

January:

German troops continue to fire shells with irritant, but this time targeting the Russian troops. However, the Russian army is unharmed because the cold temperatures do not allow the liquid to vaporize.

April:

Germany launches the largest gas attack ever in the battle of Ypres. Roughly 5700 cylinders are buried (containing about 170 metric tons of gas) along the front line of battle.

WWI-1915 (c0nt.)

September:

British forces use Chlorine gas for the first time, releasing the gas from buried canisters.

December:

The prime developer of new gases, Germany, makes and uses a new gas called phosgene (gas). This attack kills over 100 British troops and injures 1000 more.

WWI-1917

July:

The German troops create a new gas called mustard gas. Using this gas, they wound and kill about 2100 troops of the Allied power. Shockingly, the total of gas-related casualties in 1917 already matches the previous year's gas-related casualties; after only three weeks of using mustard gas.

WWI-1918

May:

America continues to study mustard gas, but in a new site called Edgewood Arsenal. This program is led by the Chemical Warfare Service.

June:

Germany is attacked by the Allies who now have access to mustard gas.

November:

In the ending of WWI, the number of gas-related casualties totals up to about 1.3 million, and the number of gas-related deaths totals up to about 95,000.

Video

Victims of the Gas

Personal Narratives or Diary Entries from Soldiers or Victims of Gas

Bibliography

Chemical Weapons Then and Now. cen.acs.org/content/dam/cen/93/8/09308-cover3timeline.pdf.

Everts, Sarah "A Brief History of Chemical Warfare" https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine

/a-brief-history-of-chemical-war

“First-Hand Accounts of the First Chlorine Gas Attack.” 100 Years of Chemical Weapons, 22 Feb. 2015,

chemicalweapons.cenmag.org/first-hand-accounts-of-the-first-chlorine-gas-attack/.

“Soldier Recounts Brush with Poison Gas.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, www.history.com/this-day-

in-history/soldier-recounts-brush-with-poison-gas.

Bibliography

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