World War 1 Chemical Weapons Research Paper

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.

The types of weapons employed in World War 1 included poison gas, that killed many. Chlorine gas was one of the gases first used by the Germans at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, killing hundreds of French troops. The British also deployed chlorine gas, and later developments in the war included the deadlier phosgene and mustard gas, which blinded those it came in contact with. By 1917, poison gas could be delivered with greater accuracy by chemical shells, and there were an estimated one million gas casualties on all sides throughout World War I.

However, they were cumbersome, the gases were hard to detect, and there were malfunctions so large scale casualties were still common. Phosgene for instance had no effects for hours after exposure and victims would not know they were exposed. One attack on February 21, 1916 against French and British soldiers with Phosgene resulted in 750,000 casualties (#Hutchinson, 2003). Additionally, certain chemicals could not be detected easily.

Chemical Warfare is defined as “Tactical warfare using incendiary mixtures, smokes, or irritant, burning or asphyxiating gases”. This is the usage of a chemical to harm the opposing side in order to get an advantage in the war at hand. Three of the main chemical weapons used during World War 1 were Lachrymator (tear), Chlorine and Phosgene, and Mustard gas. Chemical warfare was overall effective in World War 1 because it added to the weaponry needed to win the war.

Mustard gas caused severe burning of the eye and skin. Mustard gas was absorbed in the body through inhaling it, or by coming into contact with the skin or eyes. Mustard gas was even more dangerous because it is generally colorless so when it was used the armies’ enemies didn’t know it was really there or not. The danger of the use of mustard gas would go both ways because it there were any winds the mustard gas would go right back to the army that used it. Exposure to mustard gas didn’t really cause death and most of its victims could recover from their symptoms of the mustard gas within several weeks. Unfortunately, many remained permanently disfigured as a huge result of the chemical burns or their even permanently blind. Mustard gas was mainly used in trench warfare and the use of mustard gas was a living hell for those on the front line. Many armies tried using gas masks and putting on heavy clothing, but they were useless because mustard gas can be absorbed through the skin and many soldiers believed that dying by mustard gas was a terrible way to die. Mustard gas was used effectively in World War I by the German army that was against the British near Ypres, Belgium, in 1917 and later against the French Second Army. The Allies didn’t use mustard gas until November 1917 at Cambrai, France, after the army captured a large amount of German mustard gas

Haber’s talent in science led him to create weapons that were very destructive. He created chlorine gas that he believed would help Germany advance in WWI. “By the spring of 1915,

The Germans marked an epoch with chemical warfare during World War I. The horror that opposing countries experienced when being exposed to the merciless gas forced them to begin to concoct their own weapons, so they could compete with the Germans and their allies. David Cook, author of Chemical Warfare: World War I, explains the purpose of chemical weapons during the war was to cause enemy casualties, enfeeble the opposing troops’ ability to retaliate, briefly block the land that they are no longer able to defend in order to escape, and create chaos in the enemy’s lines. Chemical warfare allowed attackers using this weapon to have a major advantage over their enemies, resulting in the successful execution of missions and casualties with its toxicity. The strength and versatility was not the only cause of chaos during the introduction of chemical weapons by the Germans during World War I; twenty-six countries had made an agreement previous to the war to prohibit the use of asphyxiating or deleterious gases (“Hague Peace Conferences (1899 and

WW1 saw the first use of gas as a weapon because of the stalemate on the western front. The Germans used gas to try and break the stalemate and get a more mobile war happening, they were surprised at how effective the masks were. Some different types of gasses used included tear gas, poisonous gasses and possibly the most paiful of all, suffocation gasses such as mustard gas.

During the first month of World War 1 the French created the first ever tear gas grenades and it was used against the Germans. Tear gas works by irritating the eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs causing the person to have skin problems, trouble breathing, and having chest pain. Expectedly it was effective against the Germans but the they weren’t about to give up. After that attack, they took significant study to making chemical weapons and using it in the battlefield. After some time the Germans made their own tear gas and used it in the Eastern Front. Germans used it on the Russians and were unsuccessful but sadly they still did not give up. They still continued on making and improving their biological

Gas warfare was first introduced by the Germans on January 30, 1915 with an artillery shell. The Germans tried to tear gas the Russian armies in Bolimow, west of Warsaw, but due to extreme weather conditions it froze without having much effect. General Max Hoffman of Germany's Ninth Army said, "I had expected much greater results from the employment of this ammunition in - as we then imagined - such large quantities. That the chief effect of the gas was destroyed by great cold was not known at that time” (BBC). Yet, they tried again near Ypres, France; and it caused death, terror, and chaos. Inhaling this gas caused one to suffocate, and have their respiratory systems shut down. This gas changed the face of war for years to come. Sir John French

Fritz Haber, German-Jewish chemist, was the mastermind behind the creation of chemical warfare and its use against the enemies. 6000 metal tanks filled with his deadly creation opened their mouth for British forces in the battlefield. The release of 168 tons of chlorine gas into the world turned the grass into metal color and the greenish-yellow smog wave of 15ft covered the landscape leaving behind everything perished including humans, animals, and birds.

After World War I, no one, not even the Head of Chemical Warfare, suspected such a weapon would be dropped on civilians in the near future. Prior to the development of the atomic bomb in World War II, gas bombing and incendiary bombing were prevalent (Rotter 5). The race to create nuclear weapons and the excitement of succeeding technologically is thought to have distorted the morality of those who decided to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These atomic bombings are plausibly the first and last of their kind, as increasing nuclear programs in countries worldwide promise mutually assured destruction to countries associated in such an ordeal. In the future, all countries involved in a war will need to tread carefully, as

The use of trench warfare, primarily along the Western Front, protected the soldiers from small arms fire and moderately from artillery. It introduced one of the most important weapons of the war, the machine gun. Before WWI, one of the most advanced weapons was the gating gun. It was hand-cranked and could deliver hundreds of rounds per minute. However, not every soldier was gifted this gun; it needed to be rolled around and required multiple riflemen to operate it. By the beginning of the war in 1914, practical machine guns were already in production since their invention by Hiram Maxim in 1884. The “Maxim gun,” was self-powered, using the recoil power of the previously fired shot to reload rather than being hand-powered. This enabled a much higher rate of fire and made the battlefield much more deadly. The machine gun was most commonly used in conjunction with poison gas, most commonly, mustard gas. World War I was the first war that saw the use of large-scale chemical weapons. There were many, different gases that had different reactions onto he body. Chlorine would cause the lungs to break down and choke its victim to death; mustard gas would blind its victims. This left the enemy open for machine gunners; the guns would be strategically mounted and provided the first defense against the enemy. Another tool used with the machine gun was barbed wire. Originally created for herding cattle, barbed wire ran for miles along the front of the

There are thousands of injured and unknown dead at this time in Tokyo, Japan. This is a likely headline from the day Aum Shinrikyo launched a successful chemical weapon attack on the subway system in Tokyo. In this paper, it going to show the full extent of the threat they pose to the world. It will also talk about how CBRN agent used by them is still a threat to US by current terrorist groups in the world. The threat of CBRN weapons are never going way and in future will become worse with the advancement in technologies.

Chemical weapons are toxic gases, which use in the wars such as World War 1. Chemical weapons used in First World War and they killed a lot of people even children. In addition, chemical weapons are unless color, so people can’t see them. Also, most of people who died through the First World War were civilians. Therefore, who were responsible about them? In addition, people who survived had dangerous and permanent diseases such as cancer, asthma … etc. Even people’s genes effected by these toxic gases and they cause a lot of genetic problems that appeared in a second generation. Even soldiers who were pushed to this war. Then, they died or effected who were responsible about their families. In addition chemical weapons burned a lot of trees and they changed plant characteristics. Also, these gases can react with others to change air and weather characteristics. Therefore, chemical weapons effect on our