World War 1
The War to end all wars
Gas Warfare:
Gas warfare was first used in World War 1. It was one of the new weapons. It was first used in 1915 by the Germans on an attack against French and Candadian soldiers. Many lives were lost that day. There were two different methods of using gas against the enemy. One, was the cloud attack. To make a gas cloud attack, 100 pound cylinders were carried to the front of the trench. When the wind blew at a good time toward the enemies, the gas cylinders would open. When the gas reached the enemy trenches, it would roll down into the bottom of it. The gas couldn't be cleared, unless it was removed by ventilation. The other method was the gas shell attack. A gas shell attack is when you take some explosive out of an artillary or mortar shell and replace it with liquid poison. The shells were fired at the enemy, and when it exploded, it turned the liquid into poison vapor.
Poison gas was used for the following reasons:
1.To force enemy soldiers out of action
2.To hamper enemy artillery
3.Prevent reinforcements from reaching the front line
4. To cause terror among the enemy troops
There were many different types of poison gas in WW1, lots were deadly.
Chlorine Gas- Seen as a greenish-yellow cloud. It affected the lungs and caused death by asphyxiation.
Phosgene Gas- Was colorless. It affected the heart and produced syntoms similar to heart failure.
Mustard Gas- Seen as a yellowish-brown color. It affected the skin and caused sores and ulcers.
Tear Gas- Caused enemy soldiers to tear and their eyes to hurt. It also temporarily blinded the soldiers.
Prussic Acid Gas -Affected the nervous system and it caused dizziness, headaches, pains in the chest, difficulties breathing, coma, and sometimes convulsions before death.
The only way to protect yourselft against the gas was the gas mask. A gas helmet was made of cloth, treated with chemicals. There are two glass eyes and a rubber covered tube that goes in the mouth. Each soldier carried two. They were kept in a waterproof canvas bag, they kept it over their shoulders at all times.
