GasWarfare.html

On June 21, 1915, Germany uses poison gas for the first time in the Argonne Forest. The Germans had already used poisonous gas in Ypres in April. From the article:

"The stalemate of WW1 left men caught in trenches for months and months. Gas usage had been considered uncivilized, but the French resorted to its usage in August, 1914 in an attempt to rout the Germans. Unfortunately, the Germans were the first to give gas warfare serious development and it became used extensively before the war was over.

The first use of gas warfare by the Germans was January 3, 1915 and was dispersed by an artillery shell. Tear gas was launched on Russian forces on the Rawka River, but the chemical froze instead of vaporizing and had little impact. The Germans tried again on the Western front near Ypres, France; a five mile wide cloud of chlorine gas settled onto the French and Algerian trenches causing panic, death and destroyed moral. It was primarily used as a disruptive tactic prior to an assault. Within seconds of inhaling the vapor the victim's respiratory system was destroyed and the French and Algerians fled in disorder. The Germans were surprised by the success of their attack, and unprepared to take advantage of the break in the lines, and allowed the British and Canadian troops to regroup and fill the gap.

World War Gas Poisoning
Soldiers blinded by gas poison, National Archives photo, courtesy of the Indiana War Memorial

The use of poison gas was widely condemned and hurt German relations with the remaining neutral nations. The British roundly criticized the Germans with an extensive propaganda campaign, but gas usage continued to escalate throughout the war. The British rebutted in September of the same year with a gas assault at the battle of Loos. The shifting winds caused their own troops to suffer, with more British affected than Germans. As a result they switched to the use of artillery shells to disperse the gas assault with more accuracy.

Three primary types of gas were used in WWI:
Lachrymator - tear gas. This caused temporary blindness and serious irritation to the nose and throat of the victims. It was used more for harassment of troops engaged in close fighting or operating machine guns. A gas mask offered good protection.

Sternutator gasses - poisonous gas, chlorine, phosgene and diphosgene. Chlorine gas mixes with moisture so it will attack the eyes and lungs. Phosgene was used in lieu of chlorine. It caused much less coughing in the initial assault and more of it was inhaled causing a delayed effect. Often a soldier could be taken down up to 48 hours after the attack. It was later mixed with chlorine to cause the vapor to be spread more widely and more deadly. It was usually delivered in high explosive shells leaving the troops unable to immediately recognize its presence.

Suffocating gasses - Caused severe edema of the lungs and death from asphyxiation could come within hours. No mask could protect a soldier from mustard gas. It penetrated all clothing and was remarkably persistent on the soil or on foliage over which it had been scattered. These factors tended to increase its effectiveness; in addition to the physical action of the gas on the men themselves, the morale of troops was impaired. It was almost odorless and caused serious blisters both internally and externally.

By 1918 the use of gas warfare was widespread but effective measures used to protect the troops caused it to lose some of its popularity. The element of surprise was gone. An estimated 9% of British troops were affected with 3% of their casualties being from gas poisoning. It caused a huge number to disabilities, leaving many unable to work and suffering long term. The Russian Army suffered 419,340 casualties from gas warfare with 56,000 deaths. The United States suffered 72,807 and 1,462 deaths. The death toll from gas warfare is not accurately reflected in these figures as many more men died in the prematurely after the war due to weakened lungs that left them susceptible to respiratory problems."