Who was the first to use Gas warfare?
The first use of gas warfare by the Germans was January 3, 1915 and was scattered 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.
Who were the First Allies to use Chemical Weapons?
The first sighting of poisonous gas on the battlefield was seen on the 22nd of April in 1915, at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres. At this point of the Battle of Ypres, the British, French, and Canadians charged 10 miles into German territory. The used Algerian troops to fight and to hold the front line to the left. The British and the Canadians pushed the center and the right side of the line. On the morning of April 22 the Germans bombarded Ypres, but the line slowed down towards afternoon.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 vapor it destroyed the victim's respiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks.
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 vapor it destroyed the victim's respiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks.
Who created chemical gas?
At the turn of the 20th century, humanity faced the prospect of incredible famine. One concerned chemist, William Crookes, predicted in 1898 that “millions will starve to death due to lack of nitrogen fertilizer for plant growth.” Nitrogen was abundant in the air, but it was out of reach for those who wanted it for industrial-scale fertilizer production. Fritz Haber, put his mind toward harnessing it to make fertilizer in a amount that could help feed Earth’s growing population. Because fertilizer gets incorporated into the agricultural products we eat, an estimated 40% of the needed nitrogen in every human’s body now originates from the Haber-Bosch process. Yet in a perfect example of how one discovery can benefit humanity just as easily as it can destroy it, the Haber-Bosch process was also vital to manufacturing nitrogen-based explosives for the German Army during World War I. Haber’s scientific genius was multifaceted. He made important developments in organic chemistry (his doctoral thesis was on derivatives of the fragrance molecule piperonal, found in pepper, dill, and vanilla), his work on molecular adsorption formed the basis of Irving Langmuir’s now-classic theory of adsorption, and he developed a whistle device for alerting miners of toxic fumes. He also put his mind to weaponizing toxic compounds during WWI, particularly chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas, which led to the first large-scale deployment of chemical weapons in history.
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How does it kill you?
Mustard gas, chemical compound used as a poison gas in World War I. The burning sensation it causes on contact with the skin is similar to that caused by oil from black mustard seeds. The compound is not a gas but a colorless, oily liquid with a somewhat sweet, agreeable odor; it boils at 217°C. A powerful vesicant, mustard gas causes severe blistering even in small quantities. Highly irritating to the eyes, it quickly causes conjunctivitis and blindness. If inhaled, it attacks the respiratory tract and lungs, causing pulmonary edema. Some effects of exposure to mustard gas are delayed up to 12 hr; death may result several days after exposure. Mustard gas was introduced by the Germans in warfare against the British at Ypres, Belgium, in July, 1917, and took a heavy toll of casualties.
When was this used?
Who is this gas was created on April 22, 1915. Germans through 150 tons of chemical gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. France soon became aware of this weapon and figured out how to create this. Great Britain, Canada, and France because the first alliance to use this weapon in was against Germany, at the second battle of Ypres. There is many variations of chemical weapons that have been made from the past and evolved into present chemical weapons.
Some present chemical weapons are grenades, mortars, nuclear chemicals, tear gas, smoke grenades, flash bangs, land mines, artillery, and missiles. |
Modern day Connections
Modern day poison gas has been improved in many ways but poison gas is not used much currently. It has been able to kill more quantities and kill people immediately rather than the slow death as in WWI. Currently poison gas is not used as often as it was used in the past during WWI but today if it is used, countries keep a stock of them for future wars. In 1925 efforts went to trying to control poison gasses being used. In 1990 the U.S. and soviet union agreed to not using lethal weapons. Although there has been many efforts to get rid of poison gas, in Iraq there has been uses of it for multiple reasons, for battle and by terrorists such as after the Persian Gulf War.
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Theres good news, and bad news.
Positively this weapon helped push out many countries during battle because of how much the opposing country feared the gas. It also helped weaken the soldiers on the opposing side because if they inhaled the gas they would either have painful suffering or they would die and if they had a gas mask on it make it harder for the soldiers to fight so countries used this weapon the most.
Negatively if you were on the side getting attacked there was a much more painful death for the soldiers that came into contact with the gas. It was harder to fight and harder to defend yourself. Poison gas made much fear in the country. Both sides used the poison gas against each other . Once Germany used it the other countries made their own kind of poison gas for the same use.
Negatively if you were on the side getting attacked there was a much more painful death for the soldiers that came into contact with the gas. It was harder to fight and harder to defend yourself. Poison gas made much fear in the country. Both sides used the poison gas against each other . Once Germany used it the other countries made their own kind of poison gas for the same use.