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Gas Warfare and WWI

            
             The first World War was infamous for two things; the number of deaths and poison gas.
             Poison gas was known about long before the First World War. Military officers often refused to use it because they considered it to be a uncivilized weapon. The French army was the first to use gas when they fired tear gas at the German troops. After the Germans were gassed attacked they realized that they had to retaliate in full force. In October of 1914 the German army began firing shrapnel shells in which the steel balls have been treated with a chemical agent. The Germans first used this attack at the battle of Ypres against the French. The gas that was in the balls destroyed the victims respiratory organs of its victims. .
             All of the gas compounds that came out of the war were originally one of the three types. A Lachrymator (tearing agent) this gas caused temporary blindness and greatly inflamed the nose and throat of the victim. An Asphyxiant these were the poisons that killed everyone. These gases destroyed the respiratory system so the victim would usually die within 48 hrs of inhalation. A Blistering Agent was the most dreaded by all soldiers. Unlike other gases the Blistering Agent doesn't attack your respiratory system but this gas acts on any exposed moist skin. The Blistering Agent would produce large burn-like blisters when it comes in contact with the skin. .
             LIST OF MAIN GASES USED IN WWI AND WHAT SIDE HAD THEM.
             BENZYL BROMIDE (GERMAN, TEARING AGENT).
             CHLORINE (BOTH SIDES, ASPHYXIANT).
             CYANIDE (ALLIES/AUSTRALIA, ASPHYXIANT).
             MUSTARD GAS (GERMAN, BLISTERING AGENT).
             DIPHENYLCHLOROARSINE (GERMAN, ASPHYXIANT).
             ETHYLDICHLOROARSINE (GERMAN, ASPHYXIANT).
             ETHYL IODOACETATE (BRITISH, TEARING).
             TRICHLOROMETHYLCHLOROFORMATE (GERMAN, ASPHYXIANT FIRST WITH DELAYED REACTIONS) .
             XYLYL BROMIDE (GERMAN, FIRST TEARING AGENT USED IN THE WAR) .
             As you can see the Germans were far ahead in the gas game than the allies. Germans had been working on gas warfare 20 years before WWI even happened.


Essays Related to Gas Warfare and WWI

1. WWI Vs WWII

WWI as Compared to WWII WWI and WWII can be compared in terms of causes, sides involved, main fronts or theatres of war, military operations, weapons/warfare, basis for peace, and global effects. 1. Causes Nationalism may be said to be n ∘1 cause of both WWI and WWII. ... Weapons/Warfare Whereas WWI was fought from trenches (which made the war long and static), the soldiers in WWII relied mostly on air warfare, i.e. air bombing was a massive strategy. In WWI, the types of weapons typically used were: poisonous gases, mines (at sea and on land), bullet proof tanks (still very pr...

  • Word Count: 937
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Poetry Analysis - Dulce et Decorum Est

This poem was written by Wilfred Owen during WWI. ... He was one of the leading poets of WWI. His realistic poetry about the horror of trenches and gas warfare was influenced by his friend and mentor Siegfried Sassoon. ... This poem is about a day in the battlefields of WWI. ... The first theme is Warfare. ...

  • Word Count: 710
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3. World Wars I and II

These were used in WWI as well as WWII. ... During WWI, fighting was usually done on land or at sea. ... In the first war with the Japanese their fighting tactic was by using a tactic called guerrilla warfare. ... The use of weapons such as the machine gun, poisonous gas, grenades, flamethrowers, and mortars were introduced in the WWI. ... The difference in how both World Wars were won though was threw new technology, better strategies and advanced warfare. ...

  • Word Count: 758
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4. America's Preparedness in Chemical or Biological Attack.

Chemical weapons were used during WWI that US citizens first saw for the first time, namely on those soldiers who fought in Europe. ... It was only after the agreements of post WWI, the Geneva War Conventions, that no country utilized these weapons to any great extent in war. ... Popularity of these, as an alternative to traditional warfare, waned. ... In 1995, in Japan, a doomsday cult released sarin, a nerve gas, in the Tokyo subway. "12 were killed and over a thousand injured"(Pate 1). Some of the most deadly chemical and biological weapons are Anthrax, Cholera, Smallpox, The Plague...

  • Word Count: 1408
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Has Bibliography
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5. The People's Century

Where as an immediate factor of WWI was the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in 1914. ... Overview of WWI - Two symbols One of the symbols of World War I was the machine gun. Being the most common weapon of the war, it was key to creating the stalemate type warfare that occurred. ... These two symbols are historically significant because they represented a modern style warfare that marked the changing times. ... Overview of WWI - The role of the United States The United States played a key role in World War I when they entered it in 1917. ...

  • Word Count: 2597
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: High School

6. All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Baumer and his classmates volunteer for WWI on the belief in patriotism and nationalism. ... Paul is then poisoned in a gas attack and is given leave. ... Nationalism and patriotism were at the heart of every soldier in WWI. ... Because WWI was a new type of war with new ideologies, Remarque bestows his own ideas of how war is perceived. ... Remarque embodies the whole aspect of trench warfare and makes the reader live the life of a soldier. ...

  • Word Count: 1086
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7. Cause of WWI

The First World War was the first war to use poison gas as a military weapon. ... The sinking of Lusitania is the famous example of sub-warfare during World War I. ... The actual war started when Germans used their first gas attack. Gassing was the start of total war, because it broke all limits of other wars. ...

  • Word Count: 380
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

8. WWI - Nationalism, Militarism, Imperialism

The First World War introduced a lot of new tactics in warfare. While the First World War was mainly fought as trench warfare, it also introduced new weapons and vehicles. ... Refined weapons like machine guns and new weapons like poison gas left horrific injuries and hazards (Danzer 591). Submarine warfare as well as mechanized warfare made it possible to attack the enemy from greater distances. Mechanized warfare consisted of both tanks and planes and both of those were most innovative weapons. ...

  • Word Count: 1297
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