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An early, semi-functional
British gas mask.
There would be one or two small, relatively contained used of
non-lethal gas (the French tried tear gas again, and the Germans used a
gas that caused sneezing fits), but it wouldn't be until 1915, during
the height of Trench Warfare, that gas would be looked at seriously
again as a way to break the stalemate.
In April of 1915, the Germans were firmly entrenched against the
French, and German officials were looking for a way to break through
the stalemate. Their solution was Chlorine Gas.
"Poison gas (chlorine) was used
for the first time at the Second Battle of Ypres in
April 1915. At around 17.00 hours on the 22nd April, French sentries in Ypres
noticed a yellow-green cloud moving towards them - a gas delivered by artillery
shells. They thought that it was a smokescreen to disguise the movement forwards
of German troops. As such, all troops in the area were ordered to the firing
line of their trench - right in the path of the chlorine. Its impact was
immediate and devastating. The French and their Algerian comrades fled in
terror. Their understandable reaction created an opportunity for the Germans to
advance unhindered into the strategically important Ypres salient. But even the
Germans were unprepared and surprised by the impact of chlorine and they failed
to follow up the success of the chlorine attack."
(Text from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/poison_gas_and_world_war_one.htm)
Chlorine gas causes death by asphyxiation. It attacks the mucus
membranes in the body, and death results from violent laughing,spasms,
and difficulty breathing. Gas masks such as the one pictured
above were early attempts at keeping soldiers protected from gas
attacks. These early masks did a little, but had some major
flaws. The material that shielded the eyes broke easily, and the
mask offerers no filtration to keep supply of clean air for the soldier
to breathe.
As gas warfare continued, better gas masks were
developed such as this one, a standard issue British mask from 1916.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/gas_masks_in_world_war_one.htm
The use of gas in war would become more frequent in 1915 and 1916.
Soldiers gained some better protection from masks such as these,
that offerer full facial and skin protection, along with a filtration
system to allow soldiers to breathe contaminated air that got cleansed
by the mask.
The use of gas in war would also yield different types of gases used
as weapons, namely phosgene and Mustard gas. Phosgene was an
odorless gas that embedded itself in the body, but had delayed side
effects. Often, the effects didn't show up for almost two days,
and by that time it would be too late. Mustard gas caused severe
internal and external blistering.
Here is a link for the effects of mustard gas.
(Ed. Note : Includes Photos)
More About the gas itself
(No Photos)
The use of poison gas opened a new front of war. For the first
time, a weapon didn't involve a gun, or a soldier, or any type of
direct contact. Poison gas opened a new moral front, because it
wasn't a direct attack, and some argued that it caused unneeded
deaths, and unneeded injuries. The effectiveness of gas as a
weapon had a crushing effect on morale, especially having to live with
the dying, as a constraint reminded of the effects of the gas.
By the numbers, only 1,250,00 casualties due to gas, and only 91,000
fatalities, almost half of which were Russian. As a weapon, gas
had mixed results. A well-equipped army (Russia was not,
accounting for 50% of gas casualties) could outfit its troops with gas
masks, and the only remaining danger would be for those without the
masks. Gas was a deadly weapon, but relatively easy to defeat, as
long as you were prepared.
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