Gas Masks During World War I

Asphyxiates are the poisonous gases which include chlorine, phosgene, and diphosgene. Chlorine inflicts damage by forming hydrochloric acid when it comes in contact with moisture such as what is found in the lungs and eyes. It is lethal at a ratio of 1:5000 (gas/air), whereas phosgene is deadly at 1:10,000 (gas/air) - twice as toxic! Diphosgene, first used by the Germans at Verdun on 22 June, 1916, was deadlier still and could not be effectively filtered by standard issue gas masks.

I just came back from a battle near the city of Ypres. The German forces launched 5700 canisters of chlorine gas at the Allied forces. You could see the yellow-green clouds of gas rolling towords our lines. It was devastating. The gas affected over 10,000 people, killing half of them. The cause of death was asphyxiation. The Algerian forces retreated, and the Germans moved forward to fill the gaps, albeit cautiously. They stopped after only 3.25 kilometres and dug in. That allowed us soldiers to recover. We fought all night to try and close the gap. Then came another gas attack. Their target was us, the Canadian line. We were suffocating, so we covered our faces with urine-covered handkerchiefs.

Gas gangrene was an easy target for many soldiers, the least of their problems were rats. They had to survive and live to continue the war, they couldn’t afford to inhale dangerous gases and die instantly. If the gas was ever inhaled, it would destroy the tissue inside the human body and the body will decay gradually and disintegrate. Gas masks were then produced.

One of the many advancements made during the duration of World War I was that of poisonous gasses. These gasses were considered “uncivilized” before the beginning of the first World War. However, they were deemed necessary to overcome the standoff between the Allied forces and the Central Powers. The French army was the first to use such a weapon in 1914, but the Germans were the first to use poisonous gasses on a large scale. The German’s first recorded use of

It is estimated that between 8.5 and 12 million people died while fighting in the trenches. The estimation, in fact, is difficult to prove after the collapse of several countries’ government such as Russia, Austria Hungary, or Germany. The lives in the trenches were absolutely horrific. Soldiers were not aware of the life threatening conditions of the trenches when deciding to fight for their country. Indeed, the life in the trenches were dangerous and horrible for the soldiers fighting in World War One. This played an important role on soldiers’ physical and mental condition during and after the war.

At the Battle of Ypres, the Germans released a cloud of chlorine gas that moved slowly toward the Allies trench (Simkin). The French were completely unprepared so many climbed out of the trench and ran away. German chemist Fritz Haber developed the gas for use in war. The Chlorine gas causes wheezing, coughing, and fluid build up in the lungs leading to a painful death of asphyxiation (White). Arthur Guy Empey said, “There's a sort of greenish, yellow cloud rolling along the ground out in front, it's coming ---” “German gas is heavier than air and soon fills the trenches and dugouts.” “Out of our crew of six, we lost two killed and two wounded.” (Empey) Other gasses like mustard gas and phosgene were used. Mustard gas was not used to kill people however it severely maimed them. Mustard gas caused large blisters on contact and blindness. Phosgene worked very similarly to chlorine gas, however, it was invisible allowing it to remain undetected (CDC). Chemical warfare has since been banned around the world. Barbed wire also changed the course of

First use of chemical gas as a weapon was in the Battle of Ypres, the British were incredibly unprepared. The country was militarily vulnerable and did not like it.

When hazardous gases accumulate and reach high concentrations, they can be dangerous for breathing and lead to a fire or explosion. Gas detection plays an important role in providing safety for people and property. Appropriate ventilation and monitoring measures must be in place to safeguard the public and facility personnel. Different facilities may require different types of monitoring, detection and ventilation systems.

Its use, however, despite its non-lethality, served to set a dangerous precedent for the war. German planners wasted no time in developing their own incapacitating agents to retaliate with, and before long something of a chemical weapons arms race was underway. The German chemical response finally came that October, when British forces at Neuve Chapelle were hit with a wave of xylyl bromide, and apparently the Germans like what they saw. In January, they decided to turn their new weapon against the Russian army, in what they hoped would send their opponents running beneath a thick cloud of tear gas. To create this cloud, nearly 20,000 shells were filled with teargas and unleashed on the Russian positions west of Warsaw. Unfortunately for the Germans, however, they did not take into account the frigid conditions that occur in Central Poland in July, and most of the gas froze, the shells harmlessly falling to earth amongst a bewildered Czarist force.

Chemical warfare was a major component of World War I. The use of poison gas was first used during this war. This new invention was easy to use with trench warfare because it could kill multiple numbers of soldiers at one time. The types of poison gas used were tear gas, chlorine gas, and mustard gas. Tear gas caused temporary blindness and serious irritation to the nose and throat of the victims (independent.co.uk). Chlorine gas causes a burning pain in the throat and eyes with a difficulty to breath (vlib.us). The symptoms of mustard gas are mustard colored blisters on your skin and inside of you if you inhale the gas (firstworldwar.com). These gases can be deadly. Poison gas changed warfare because it caused so many casualties. It stays

In the battle, his gas troops opened the valves on almost 6 thousand tanks containing 150 tons of chlorine gas. It was said that the gas was so toxic that birds began to fall out of the sky. Since the rival soldiers were positioned in trenches and the chlorine gas traveled one meter per second over the course of four miles, soldiers weren’t able to escape and about 10,000 troops were affected by it, half of whom died within the first ten minutes of its release. The gas, which irritates the lungs so bad that it causes them to fill up with fluids, made the soldiers cough, gag, and eventually drown in their own phlegm. While Fritz Habor’s intentions were only to benefit his country, he also seemed to take great pleasure in his immoral deeds,

The surprise use of chlorine gas allowed the Germans to rupture the French line along a 6-kilometer front, causing terror and forcing a panicked and chaotic retreat. This wall of gas killed more than 1000 French and Algerian soldiers, while wounding approximately 4000 more. The use of chemical gas was Germanys idea of a swift and decisive action that would prove victory over the AXIS powers. German soldiers would load shells with a super toxic chemical that could be dispersed along the battle field from miles away. Never in history had this weapon be used changing how soldiers and scientist fight the war on and off the battle field. A British soldier described the pandemonium that flowed from the front lines to the rear.

There were 15 different kinds of tear gas is introduced in the world wide ... But all of that CS Gas is most popular and most effectively out all these. CS Gas very depend on whether also due to presence of aerosol. CS Gas effects human body much due to presence of moisture on skin and eyes. That's why it causes irrational and uncontrollable burning sensation which forces human to close its eyes.

As Owen mentions in his poem, “As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. … He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”, Owen describes the traumatic experience of witnessing a soldier dying from chlorine gas and the pain experienced by the soldier as he wilted away. First used as an asphyxiation gas in the 22nd April of 1915, the Germans employed the chlorine gas on the Algerian and Zouave lines. Effective in the concentration of 1 in 10,000, chlorine proved to be highly effective in the trenches as the denser chlorine molecules lingers within the trenches to affect the soldiers. Easy to manufacture in huge quantities, chlorine gas became a go to choice for both the Central power and allied forces as they started to understand the new weapon. While designed by scientist and employed by strategic commanders, it was usually the grunt on the front lines that suffered from the use of chemical weapons. The chlorine gas when inhaled by the soldiers produced an active secretion by the lachrymal and salivary gland which serves to dilute the contaminant to the body. Concurrently, the introduction of chlorine to the respiratory system results in the spams of the bronchial muscles which blocks the air to the lungs. This results in the suffocation of the soldier which when seen from Owens view reflects the soldier drowning the in a “green sea”. This drowning was usually accompanied by the burning in the glands as the acidic gas mixes with a solution. Should a solider be lucky enough to be evacuated in time, they usually suffer from intense dyspnea which labored their breathing lasting about 36 hours which usually ends with death. If the soldier survives the ordeal, he usually develops acute bronchitis which would render him unfit for battle. This death, excruciating pain while perfectly conscious is

First, the U.K and its production of poison gas. The U.K now is still producing poison gas, and currently, they aren’t taking very proper care of the mines that they are creating. For example, in a village in the U.K, a group of divers found poison mines in the lake and got contaminated with some of the gas that had to be treated. This discovery of gas mines in a village lake is proof that the British are currently not handling their poison gas mines