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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 ...
German phosgene came in the form of diphosgene, codenamed Grün Kreuz (Green cross). This was less effective than its allied counterpart, being less toxic and slower to evaporate, but was easier to handle in shell manufacture early in the war. [35] Phosgene was a potent killing agent, deadlier than chlorine.
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.
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.
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 ...
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 ...
In World War I, the U.S. established its own chemical weapons research facility and produced its own chemical munitions. [2] It produced 5,770 metric tons of these weapons, including 1,400 metric tons of phosgene and 175 metric tons of mustard gas. This was about 4% of the total chemical weapons produced for that war and only just over 1% of ...