The first actual use of a chemical weapon was in August 1914. The French utilized tear-gas grenades during an attack against the Germans. One of the more known use of a chemical weapon was at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. 160 tonnes of chlorine gas was released onto the French and Algerian troops. This could be considered the starting point in chemical warfare as it was the first large scale deployment of a chemical gas meant for harm. As more and more chemical weapons were developed, more and more countries followed the trend.
The use of chlorine gas in trench warfare was first developed by Fritz Haber in 1914 as of help to the German army. At the Second Battle of Ypres, about 6,000 cylinders filled with about 160 tonnes of chlorine gas were opened and the gas made its way over to the French and Algerian lines. At first, the French thought it was a smoke screen and that the Germans were advancing towards them, but they were wrong. It was chlorine gas which would damage their respiratory organs and cause violent choking attacks. Back on the German lines, barely anybody expected this assault to be so successful and were not prepared to advance onto the French and Algerian lines while their troops were amidst panic and fear caused by the chlorine gas. Despite their unpreparedness, the Germans still advanced, but with a lack of self-assurance and confidence. Before this attack, Fritz Haber was not supported very much, but seeing as how
The flamethrower was first used by German soldier in WW1, although this weapon was quickly adopted by the Allied after they discovered its destructive powers. Flamethrowers could set fire to objects by launching burning fuel, which enabled its user to cause widespread destruction. Despite its success as a weapon, the flamethrowers used during WWI tended to be dangerous to operate, as the fuel canisters were known to randomly explode, and expensive. However, flamethrowers were extremely effective in short-range and could sustain flames that reached 18 meters for up to 40 seconds. German soldiers launched a total of 650 flamethrower attacks during WW1, which is expected to be much larger than the number for the Allied forces. Beginning during
Frist of all, in the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans introduced the first use of poisonous gas. When poison gas first introduced it was a popular weapon choice and would be the weapon to change the outcome of the war. The Germans surprisingly attack the Allies, where the used lethal chloride gas against them. The gas was deadly and killed over one thousand soldiers. (1) It also allowed a significant advanced for the Germans in the war. The gas usage continued to grow throughout the war. In the end, many Allied countries started chemical weapons research. Gas warfare became common but effective actions were used to protect the troops. After World War 1, poison was use for a while but in today’s war it is no longer allowed. Instead of poisonous gas, chemical warfare is used. Chemical weapons come in a variety of forms and are used for several different techniques.
Poison gas was used to kill people in the trenches because it’s was very difficult to do. It was hard to kill people in the trenches because you can not get a exact aim so they used poison gas that would kill the person almost instantly. Releasing the gas also depended on with direction the wind was blowing because if it was suppose to going in the enemy's direction but went to your own it would kill the wrong people. The gases used were chlorine and phosgene and mustard gas being the worse because you could put on gas mask so the chlorine or phosgene wouldn’t effectful. However the mustard gas would affect the skin by causing the skin to burn, and leaving a soldier in unbearable pain. Poisonous gas killed millions and was an awful way to die, although it did
Poison Gas/Chemical Warfare usage, while not harming physical structures preventing the collateral damage of homes and buildings, causes a high casualty rate in all living things. It is indescriminate and robs life equally be they related or not to a target of military or strategic importance. Gas usage has been widely considered uncivilized, but the French resorted to its usage in August, 1914 during the first World War 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. On the battlefield it prooved effective in eliminating hostile threats in an inhumane way, but this does not make it morally acceptable. In more recent times ISIS has been reported to using Poison Gas in Syria against both military and civilians in an indescriminate manner. This sort of attack ignores international laws as well as inhumanely cause widespread harm. In this day and age, this sort of attack is unnecessary and is why it was outlawed in the first place even back during the first World War.
Fire has been used in battle as far back as the Greeks in 7th century A.D, but the most devastating use of fire warfare was when Napalm used by the United States in World War two against the Japanese and again in the Vietnam War. Flame throwers were used in World War One, but the problem was that it burned too quick because of the gasoline mixture that was used to produce the flame. In 1942 a team of Harvard researchers that was led by Dr. Louis Fieser discovered that a mixture of rubber with the gasoline made a flame that burned longer, but rubber was would have to be replaced by aluminum soap powder because of the scarcity of rubber (Rohn “Napalm in Vietnam War”). This mixture would later be known as napalm and it was a modernization of war with devastating results.
The nations of the Entente (Britain, France, and Russia) sought the new technology as well. A German press report found that the French used chemical weapons at Ypres (Document 5). The technology of poison gas, though ultimately ineffectual in swaying the war to one side’s favor, showed the changing landscape of military technology in the First World War. A fundamental part of modern warfare is the use of “armor” or vehicles protected from conventional small-arms and small-artillery fire, such as tanks. The first widespread and successful use of tanks was seen in WWI.
Having your skin burn and melt off the bones and then your throat could become so swollen and blistered from breathing in hot air and fumes that you would be unable to take in any more oxygen this is what being burned alive is like. The Flamethrower, metal cylinder tanks used to hold fuel and hose like tubes that would push the fluid through and out through the spought at the tip of the tube. The chemistry of my weapon is the fact that the cylinder tanks have utilized nitrogen inside used as fuel for the fire. Flamethrowers were intended to burn things down, and also to make enemy lines back down and to make it easier to invade territory. Used in WW1 from the years 1914 to 1918. It was tested in 1900 but not fully developed until 1911. The flamethrower played a big role in WWI, in favor for the germans. Used in the first line of soldiers to push enemy lines back and make easier to invade their land. The flamethrower was in the favor of the Germans in WWI, the Germans launched around 650 flamethrower attacks in WWI.
The poisonous gas used in the 1916 Battle of the Somme was the most inhuman weapon of World War One. Mustard gas was the most unsettling and weapon used in World War One. It is extremely disturbing than any cultured nation would use such a weapon. The use of poisonous gas in World War One was a weapon like no other. The Germans who used the poisonous gas were even surprised at the devastating effects it had on the ally troops. An attack could leave victims in agony for days to weeks before they recovered or if they did not die first. As a result, poisonous gas was one of the most dreaded weapons of World War One. One benefit with using poisonous gas was that the country using it had the element of surprise on their side. The gas was very effective
This battle happened in Ypres, Belgium on April 22 ,1915. The Canadian first division was assigned to the front line to hold 3.5 kilometers. It was a day with gentle breeze blowing in the direction of Allied lined and suddenly there was green cloud. The Germans unleashed the first gas attack in history using chlorine gas. This new method of warfare killed 5200 Canadians . The gases burned the eyes, throat, and lungs. Some soldiers survived the attack by using rags soaked in urine. This battle is very significant to Canadians because when the French- Algerian soldiers fled, Canadian troops stayed there for four days. Canadian troops gained the reputation of being courageous fighter. This battle
Chemical warfare, while horrible, proved to be unwieldy and unpredictable, and relatively easy to counter. After some limited successes against unprepared opponents, the use of chemical gas had very little tactical benefit; the recognition of this limited utility is that after widespread use in 1915 - except for the short-lived effects of the introduction of mustard gas in 1917 - gas was abandoned by both sides as an effective tactic.
The first World War has been reported to be one of the most brutal wars in the history of time for many reasons. One of those reasons was strategic usage of chemical warfare. Chemical gas was used on both sides of the line, which turned out to be fatal for many. World War I was mostly fought in the trenches, where soldiers lived in deep, v-shaped holes or underground bunkers. Both sides would occupy these trenches in order to escape from the constant stream of bullets. These battles often ended in a standoff, or tie, which helped the introduction of a different, brand new style of fighting that included the use of chemicals. These chemicals had a range of
The purpose of this essay is to deal with the fact that chemical warfare should be brought back to modern warfare strategies. As Warren Rudman said, “And they will tell you unequivocally that if we have a chemical or biological attack or a nuclear attack anywhere in this country, they are unprepared to deal with it today, and that is of high urgency.” Rudman’s words are true in what they say and that we should do everything to counter-act his statement. Biological weapons are a key to outstanding success in war and therefore, I strongly suggest that chemical warfare is an effective and producible weapon tactic that can be used on today’s battlefield.
The German Army was the first to use mustard gas effectively against the British soldiers in 1917, near Ypres in World War One. Mustard gas was dispersed as aerial bombs, mortar rounds, artillery shells, land mines, as an aerosol, and rockets. Mustard gas was only lethal in about one percent of cases. Soldiers wore gas masks, but this didn’t protect them from the gas, since the gas could be absorbed through their clothes. Mustard gas would stay the stay in the environment for days, and continue to cause
Chemical weapons originated in early World War I. They were simple grenades or mortars filled with common chemicals. These specialized grenades were popularized by the Germans and then were seen used by even the Allied Forces. They were popularized by their area of effect and useful in the trench warfare.
On April 1915, The first poison gas attack began when the German forces shocked the Allied forces along the Western Front by firing more than 150 tonnes of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium (History.com Staff, 2010). Poison gas was the most feared of all weapons in World War One. Poison gas was used in the trenches even when there was no attack going on. If a Soldiers got trapped with poison gas, it would mean that soldiers have to put a crude gas mask (Figure 1) on because it helped protect the soldiers from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. Poison gas can leave the victim in agony for days and weeks before they succumbed to their injuries.