CHEMICAL

CHEMICAL WARFARE
WARFARE
 INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The Germans were leaders in industrial chemistry at
the beginning of the 20th century, and so when the
First World War broke out, they logically used their
chemical expertise to develop weapons. The
consequences of their actions would be far-reaching
and unforeseen. Chemical warfare involves the use of
chemical compounds to kill or seriously injure an
enemy. Several countries began eliminating their
chemical weapons stockpiles in the 1990s, but the
threat of their use still exists.
 HISTORY
HISTORY
Chemical Warfare A Reality (1915)
By the middle of the 1910's, chemicals had been developed to
be used by the military as weapons. Agents such as Chlorine,
Chloropicrin, Phosgene and Mustard gas were all used in
chemical warfare. Humans and dogs were fitted with gas
masks.
 First
First Use
Use by
by the
the French
French
Although it is popularly believed that the German
army was the first to use gas it was in fact initially
deployed by the French.  In the first month of the
war, August 1914, they fired tear-gas grenades (xylyl
bromide) against the Germans.  Nevertheless the
German army was the first to give serious study to the
development of chemical weapons and the first to use
it on a large scale.
 Initial
Initial German
German Experiments
Experiments
• In the capture of Neuve Chapelle in October 1914 the German
army fired shells at the French which contained a chemical
irritant whose result was to induce a violent fit of sneezing. 
Three months later, on 31 January 1915, tear gas was
employed by the Germans for the first time on the Eastern
Front.
• Fired in liquid form contained in 15 cm howitzer shells against
the Russians at Bolimoy, the new experiment proved
unsuccessful, with the tear gas liquid failing to vaporise in the
freezing temperatures prevalent at Bolimov.
• Not giving up, the Germans tried again with an improved tear
gas concoction at Nieuport against the French in March 1915.
 Introduction
Introduction of
of Poison
Poison Gas
Gas

• The debut of the first poison gas however in this instance,

chlorine came on 22 April 1915, at the start of the Second
Battle of Vypres
• At this stage of the war the famed Ypres Salient, held by the
British, Canadians and French, ran for some 10 miles and
bulged into German occupied territory for five miles.  A
combination of French territorial and Algerian troops held the
line to the left, with the British and Canadians tending the
centre and line to their right.
• During the morning of 22 April the Germans poured a heavy
bombardment around Ypres, but the line fell silent as the
afternoon grew.  Towards evening, at around 5 pm, the
bombardment began afresh - except that sentries posted among
the French and Algerian troops noticed a curious yellow-green
cloud drifting slowly towards their line.
• Puzzled but suspicious the French suspected that the cloud
masked an advance by German infantry and ordered their men
to 'stand to' - that is, to mount the trench fire step in readiness
for probable attack.
• The cloud did not mask an infantry attack however; at least,
not yet.  It signaled in fact the first use of chlorine gas on the
battlefield.  Ironically its use ought not to have been a surprise
to the Allied troops, for captured German soldiers had
revealed the imminent use of gas on the Western Front.  Their
warnings were not passed on however.
• The effects of chlorine gas were severe.  Within seconds of
inhaling its vapour it destroyed the victim's respiratory organs,
bringing on choking attacks. 
 A
A Missed
Missed German
German Opportunity
Opportunity
• Panic-stricken the French and Algerian troops fled in disorder,
creating a four-mile gap in the Allied line.  Had the Germans
been prepared for this eventuality they could potentially have
effected a decisive breakthrough.  However the results of their
experiment caused as much surprise to the German high
command as confusion among their opponents.
• German infantry did advance into the gap, but nervously and
with hesitance.  Outflanking the Canadian and British troops
to their right, the ensuing fighting was difficult.  Although the
Germans succeeded in seizing control of a significant portion
of the salient the Allies nevertheless managed to re-form a
continuous line, though in parts it remained dangerously weak.
 Condemnation
Condemnation---and
Condemnation and Escalation
andEscalation
Escalation
• The Germans' use of chlorine gas provoked immediate
widespread condemnation, and certainly damaged
German relations with the neutral powers, including the
U.S.  The gas attacks were placed to rapid propaganda use
by the British although they planned to respond in kind.
• The attack had one clear benefit at home however, for it
brought to an end German hesitancy (and disagreement)
over its use.  The cat was out of the bag; and the use of
poison gas continued to escalate for the remainder of the
war.
 Allied
Allied Retaliation
Retaliation
• Once the Allies had recovered from the initial shock of the Germans'
practical application of poison gas warfare, a determination existed to
exact retaliatory revenge at the earliest opportunity.  The British were
the first to respond.
• Raising Special Gas Companies in the wake of the Germans' April
attack (of approximately 1,400 men) operating under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Foulkes, instructions were given to prepare
for a gas attack at Loos in Sep 1915.
• Interestingly the men who comprised the British Special Gas
Companies were not allowed to refer to the word "gas" in their
operations, such was the stigma attached to its use.  Instead they
referred to their gas canisters as "accessories"; use of the word "gas"
brought with it a threatened punishment.
• On the evening of 24 September 1915, therefore, some 400 chlorine gas
emplacements were established among the British front line around
Loops. The gas was released by turning a cock on each cylinder.
 British
British Setback
Setback at
at Loos
Loos
• The retaliatory attack began the following morning at
5.20 am.  A mixture of smoke and chlorine gas was
released intermittently over a period of about 40 minutes
before the infantry assault began.
• However, releasing gas from cylinders in this manner
meant that the user had to be wary of wind conditions.  It
was desirable that a light wind exist in the direction of the
enemy trenches; if the wind were to turn however, the
biter would be bit.
• In parts of the British line that morning this is precisely
what transpired.
• The wind shifted and quantities of the smoke and gas
were blown back into the British trenches.  It has been
estimated that more British gas casualties were suffered
that morning than German.
• Although the numbers are arguable there is little doubt
but that the exercise proved a failure: and the resultant
infantry attack similarly failed.
 The
The Need
Need for
for aa New
New Delivery
Delivery Mechanism
Mechanism

• Although it was the British who chiefly suffered on 25

September 1915 all three chief armies - Britain, France
and Germany - suffered similar self-inflicted gas
reversals during 1915.  It became apparent that if gas
was to be used a more reliable delivery mechanism was
called for.
• In consequence experiments were undertaken to deliver
the gas payload in artillery shells.  This provided the
additional benefits of increasing the target range as well
as the variety of gases released.
 Phosgene
Phosgene
• Following on the heels of chlorine gas came the use of
phosgene.  Phosgene as a weapon was more potent than
chlorine in that while the latter was potentially deadly it
caused the victim to violently cough and choke.
• Phosgene caused much less coughing with the result that more
of it was inhaled; it was consequently adopted by both German
and Allied armies.  Phosgene often had a delayed effect;
apparently healthy soldiers were taken down with phosgene
gas poisoning up to 48 hours after inhalation.
• The so-called "white star" mixture of phosgene and chlorine
was commonly used on the Somme: the chlorine content
supplied the necessary vapour with which to carry the
phosgene.
 Mustard
Mustard Gas
Gas
• Remaining consistently ahead in terms of gas warfare
development, Germany unveiled an enhanced form of gas
weaponry against the Russians at Riga in September 1917:
mustard gas (or Yperite) contained in artillery shells.
• Mustard gas, an almost odourless chemical, was distinguished
by the serious blisters it caused both internally and externally,
brought on several hours after exposure.  Protection against
mustard gas proved more difficult than against either chlorine
or phosgene gas.
• The use of mustard gas - sometimes referred to as Yperite -
also proved to have mixed benefits.  While inflicting serious
injury upon the enemy the chemical remained potent in soil for
weeks after release: making capture of infected trenches a
dangerous undertaking.
 Ever
Ever Increasing
Increasing Production
Production

• As with chlorine and phosgene gas before it, the Allies promptly
reciprocated by copying the Germans' use of mustard gas.  By
1918 the use of use of poison gases had become widespread,
particularly on the Western Front.  If the war had continued into
1919 both sides had planned on inserting poison gases into 30%-
50% of manufactured shells. Other types of gases produced by the
belligerents included bromine and chloropicrin.  The French army
occasionally made use of a nerve gas obtained from prussic acid.
• However three forms of gas remained the most widely used:
chlorine, phosgene and mustard.
• The German army ended the war as the heaviest user of gas.  It is
suggested that German use reached 68,000 tons; the French
utilised 36,000 tons and the British 25,000.
 Diminishing
Diminishing Effectiveness
Effectiveness of
of Gas
Gas

• Although gas claimed a notable number of casualties during

its early use, once the crucial element of surprise had been lost
the overall number of casualties quickly diminished.  Indeed,
deaths from gas after about May 1915 were relatively rare.
• It has been estimated that among British forces the number of
gas casualties from May 1915 amounted to some 9 per cent of
the total - but that of this total only around 3% were fatal. 
Even so, gas victims often led highly debilitating lives
thereafter with many unable to seek employment once they
were discharged from the army.
• In large part this was because of the increasing
effectiveness of the methods used to protect against poison
gas.  Gas never turned out to be the weapon that turned
the tide of the war, as was often predicted.  Innovations in
its use were quickly combated and copied by opposing
armies in an ongoing cycle.
 Protection
Protection Against
Against Gas
Gas

• The types of protection initially handed out to the troops

around Ypres following the first use of chlorine in April 1915
were primitive in the extreme.  100,000 wads of cotton pads
were quickly manufactured and made available.  These were
dipped in a solution of bicarbonate of soda and held over the
face.
• Soldiers were also advised that holding a urine drenched cloth
over their face would serve in an emergency to protect against
the effects of chlorine.
• By 1918 soldiers on both sides were far better prepared to
meet the ever-present threat of a gas attack.  Filter respirators
(using charcoal or antidote chemicals) were the norm and
proved highly effective, although working in a trench while
wearing such respirators generally proved difficult and tiring.
• With the Armistice, such was the horror and disgust at the
wartime use of poison gases that its use was outlawed in 1925
- a ban that is, at least nominally, still in force today.
Casualties
Casualties From
From Gas
Gas -- The
The Numbers
Numbers
Country Total Casualties Death

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

End
End of
of Chemical
Chemical Warfare
Warfare

Made
Made by
by Junior
Junior Instructor,
Instructor,Vahaj
Vahaj
Designed
Designed by
by Ali
Ali Asad
Asad