Chlorine gas was a chemical weapon, the first lethal gas used by the German military. Prior to 1915, tear gasses based on bromine or chloroacetone were used in attacks on the Allied forces; however, these were neither lethal, nor did they permanently wound or incapacitate soldiers. Chlorine, however, was a deadly agent when at a concentration of 1,000 parts per million. It corrodes the eyes, lungs, nose, and throat at lower concentrations and causes death from long exposures.
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| Aftermath of phosgene gas |
By April 22, 1915, German forces had over 150 tons of chlorine just north of the Belgian town of Ypres. The chemical compound was deployed at 5:30 in the evening, creating a vast grey-green cloud that slowly moved over positions that were held by French troops. The gas unnerved the soldiers and they fell back, creating a gap in the line approximately 4 miles wide. German troops, however, were also nervous about advancing through the gas, and they did not take advantage of the French retreat.
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| Gas at the Second Battle of Ypres |
The Entente forces decided that it would be necessary to develop countermeasures. Initially, soldiers were told to urinate on strips of cloth and hold them over their mouths. It was believed that this would neutralize the chlorine gas; however, this was somewhat impractical. British scientific agencies developed a respirator to combat the effects of poison gas. The first prototype deployed was the "Black Veil Respirator," which consisted of a cotton pad soaked in an absorbent solution. This was fragile and ineffective, so Cluny MacPherson developed the British Smoke Hood, which proved more effective.
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| Black Veil Respirator |
3 comments:
I like your organization and lead in. I also like your pictures and the descriptions on them. Your descriptions of Black Veil Respirator were very clear. I was really surprised that "soldiers were told to urinate on strips of cloth and hold them over their mouths"
I am surprised at how effective the gas was at striking fear into the enemies troops. On top of that, even the German troops were fearful of advancing into their own gas. I am curious to see how many lives were lost due to this gas.
How dangerous was chlorine gas?? I like how you have organized your work because first you example what is is and then you go deeper into talking about this gas.
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