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Apr 16, 2015 · The Germans, in strong defensive positions, all had gas masks and the machine gunners had breathing apparatus. Over two and a half thousand British soldiers were hospitalised as gas cases, although two-thirds were more terrified than badly injured. Seven British soldiers, and no Germans, were reported killed by the gas.
- Tear gas. Tear gas, also known as lachrymatory agent, was one of the first chemical weapons used during World War One. It was developed by the French in 1914 and first used during the Battle of Mulhouse in August of that year.
- Mustard gas. Mustard gas, also known as sulfur mustard, was a highly toxic and blistering agent that was first used in 1917 by the German army during the Battle of Ypres.
- Chlorine gas. Chlorine gas was another chemical weapon used during World War One. It was first used by the Germans in April 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres.
- Phosgene gas. Phosgene gas was a highly toxic gas that was developed by the Germans in 1915 and was used extensively throughout the war. It was responsible for an estimated 85% of all chemical weapon-related deaths.
Chronic fatigue and memory loss were reported to last up to three years after exposure. In the years following World War One, there were many conferences held in attempts to abolish the use of chemical weapons altogether, such as the Washington Naval Conference (1921–22), Geneva Conference (1923–25) and the World Disarmament Conference (1933
The targets of these raids were industrial and port facilities and government buildings, but few of the bombs hit military targets, most falling on private property and killing civilians. Although the German strategic bombing campaign against Britain was the most extensive of the war, it was largely ineffective, in terms of actual damage done.
- British Outrage Turns to Retaliation
- The Deadly Toll of Phosgene and Mustard Gas
- Antiwar Movement Pushes For Arms Control Treaties
The British reaction to the German gas attack was “outrage,” says Marion Dorsey, a history professor at the University of New Hampshire and author of A Strange and Formidable Weapon: British Responses to WWI Poison Gas. “Did [the Germans] technically violate the Hague Convention,” which only specifically banned projectiles filled with poison gas? “...
While chlorine gas could kill in concentrated amounts, it was more or less neutralized with the widespread deployment of gas masks by 1917. By that point, however, both sides had discovered far more fatal and crueler chemicals: phosgene and mustard gas. Phosgene is an irritant that’s six times more deadly than chlorine. Instead of announcing its pr...
In the immediate aftermath of World War I, as nations mourned the deaths of tens of millions of soldiers and civilians, most military leaders accepted that chemical weapons would continue to be part of the new barbarity of warfare. But that sentiment was countered by a growing antiwar movement that pushed for arms control treaties and greater diplo...
- Dave Roos
- 3 min
Jun 12, 2020 · In order to prevent the use of Romanian oil by the Germans in the First World War, the refineries, wells, as well as the installations in the south-east of the country were destroyed in the autumn of 1916 by British engineers, with the consent of a relunctant Romanian government. In the ensuing fires, 800 million litres of crude oil were lost.
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May 12, 2015 · Three substances were responsible for most chemical-weapons injuries and deaths during World War I: chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas. Chlorine gas , used on the infamous day of April 22, 1915, produces a greenish-yellow cloud that smells of bleach and immediately irritates the eyes, nose, lungs, and throat of those exposed to it.
