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German gas attacks were made at night or in the early morning, when the wind was favourable and darkness made it difficult for the defenders to see the gas cloud. [20] [b] Phosgene made the gas cloud more poisonous and the Germans tried to increase the concentration of the gas by discharging it quickly, though this reduced the duration of the ...
British emplacement after German gas attack (probably phosgene) It quickly became evident that the men who stayed in their places suffered less than those who ran away, as any movement worsened the effects of the gas, and that those who stood up on the fire step suffered less—indeed they often escaped any serious effects—than those who lay down or sat at the bottom of a trench.
Two days later there was another gas attack, which blew back over the German lines and caused a large number of German casualties, increased by British troops firing at German soldiers as they fled in the open. The gas was a mixture of chlorine and phosgene, which was of sufficient concentration to penetrate the British PH gas helmets. The 16th ...
Phosgene is extremely poisonous and was used as a chemical weapon during World War I, where it was responsible for 85,000 deaths. It is a highly potent pulmonary irritant and quickly filled enemy trenches due to it being a heavy gas.
It also has been speculated to have arisen from Adolf Hitler's experiences as a soldier in the German army during World War I, where he was injured by a British mustard gas attack in 1918. [85] After the Battle of Stalingrad , Joseph Goebbels , Robert Ley , and Martin Bormann urged Hitler to approve the use of tabun and other chemical weapons ...
The Livens Projector was a simple mortar-like weapon that could throw large drums filled with flammable or toxic chemicals. [6]In the First World War, the Livens Projector became the standard means of delivering gas attacks by the British Army and it remained in its arsenal until the early years of the Second World War.
Gases were frequently mixed. For example, white star was the name given to a mixture of equal volumes of chlorine and phosgene, the chlorine helping to spread the denser but more toxic phosgene. Despite the rapid technical developments that occurred in the production of specialised agents, chemical weapons suffered from diminishing ...
Chemical warfare (CW) involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. [1] [2] This type of warfare is distinct from nuclear warfare, biological warfare and radiological warfare, which together make up CBRN, the military acronym for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (warfare or weapons), all of which are considered "weapons of mass destruction" (WMDs), a ...