Chemical Warfare |
chlorine gas
Chlorine gas was one of the first chemical weapons ever used in a major war. It was mainly used by the Germans in World War 1 against the French and British. Little was known about Chlorine gas but it killed and that's all that mattered in World War 1. The way it killed was it reacts with water in the mucosa of the lungs to form hydrochloric acid, an irritant that can be lethal. The damage done by chlorine gas can be prevented by the activated charcoal commonly found in gas masks. It was created by a German scientist, Fritz Haber of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Berlin, developed methods for discharging chlorine gas against an entrenched enemy. It is said that Haber's role in the use of chlorine as a deadly weapon drove his wife, Clara Immerwahr, to suicide.
When World War 1 erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States. Britain, however, was one of America's closest trading partners, and tension soon grew between the United States and Germany over the attempted quarantine of the British Isles. Several U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines, and, in February 1915, Germany announced unrestricted warfare against all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain. One month later, Germany announced that a German cruiser had sunk the William P. Frye, a private American vessel. And the United States then had joined World War 1 officially after this incident.
When World War 1 erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States. Britain, however, was one of America's closest trading partners, and tension soon grew between the United States and Germany over the attempted quarantine of the British Isles. Several U.S. ships traveling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines, and, in February 1915, Germany announced unrestricted warfare against all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain. One month later, Germany announced that a German cruiser had sunk the William P. Frye, a private American vessel. And the United States then had joined World War 1 officially after this incident.
This is a poster that was seen during World War 1 mainly to the British to give a understanding of if you don't get your gas mask on you will die. There was a estimated 5,000 deaths from chlorine gas in World War 1. John French, the commander of the British Expeditionary Force at Ypres later said: "The effect of the gas was so overwhelming that the whole of the positions occupied by the French divisions were rendered incapable of resistance. It was impossible at first to realise what had actually happened. Fumes and smoke were thrown into a stupor and after an hour the whole position had to be abandoned, together with 50 guns."