Chemical Warfare in The Trenches (WW1 Documentary)
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On 22nd April 1915 outside the Belgian town of Ypres, German forces unleashed a new weapon of war on their unsuspecting enemy - gas. Over the next three years gas would play a major part in the fighting on the Western Front and cost thousands of lives. But just how deadly was gas in WW1? In this video we will explore the impact that chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas had on those soldiers in the trenches. Of course, many nations used, and suffered the effects of gas, but in this video we will focus on the story from a British perspective.
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Credits:
- Research: Michael Salmon
- Script & Narration: Dan Hill
- Editing: Shane Greer & Linus Klassen
- Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
- Image Colourisation: Doug Banks
- Music & Sound Effects: Epidemic Sounds
Written Sources:
- M.A. Salmon, Masters Dissertation: A Revolution in Medical Affairs? Countering the attrition of chemical warfare through the development of triage and treatment for gas casualties, 1915-1918. (2019)
- M.A. Salmon, Western Front Association Stand-To! Magazine No.126 Paper, Surviving to Fight, Britain’s success in countering Gas Warfare in 1915. (2022)
- S.J.M. Auld, Gas and Flame in Modern Warfare (1918)
- G.H. Cassar, Trial by Gas. (2014)
- T. Cook, No place to Run, the Canadian Corps and Gas Warfare in the First World War (1999)
- J.E. Edmunds, Official History of the Great War - Military Operations France and Belgium, (Various Editions)
- C.H. Foulkes, Gas! The Story of the Special Brigade. (1934)
- M. Freemantle, Gas! Gas! Quick, Boys! - How Chemistry changed the First World War (2015)
- L.F. Haber, The Poisonous Cloud: Chemical Warfare in the First World War (1986)
- C.G. Macpherson, History of the Great War - Medical Services General History, Volume I to III (1921 -1923)
- L. Macdonald, The Roses of No Man’s Land (1984)
- G.G. Naismith, On the Fringe of a Great Fight (1917)
- A.M. Prentiss, Chemicals in War: A Treatise on Chemical Warfare (1937)
- D. Richter, Chemical Soldiers: British Gas Warfare in World War One (2014)
- SS 111, Gas (1916)
- SS 134, Instructions on the Use of Lethal and Lachrymatory Shell (December 1916 and March 1918)
- SS 388, Defensive Measures Against Gas Attacks (Jan 1916)
- TNA, WO 142/266, History of the Organisation of Gas Defence in the British Army
- War Diaries, 10th Canadian Infantry Battalion
General Sources:
- Herts at War Archive (HAWA)
- Imperial War Museum Sound Archive (IWMSA)
- US National Archives (NARA)
- National Library of Scotland Image Collection (NLS)
- Australian War Memorial Image Archive (AWM)
- War Diaries of the Battalions (NMP)
- British Newspaper Archive (BNA)
- The National Archives, Kew (TNA)
- Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
- Memory Maps, Trench Maps of the First World War
- Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)
Image sources:
- L0027572 Portrait of Lt. Col. P.S. Lelean C.B., C.M.G. Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk wellcomeimages.org Portrait of Lt. Col. P.S. Lelean C.B., C.M.G.1919-1921 Portrait photographs of LT Col. Lelean CB CMG, 1919-1921
- Stephencdickson: A World War I British gas hood c.1915
- Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2004-0194 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
- Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S13651 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
- Bundesarchiv, B 285 Bild-04413 / Stanislaw Mucha / CC-BY-SA 3.0
- Alex Morley - Zyklon B in Auschwitz.JPG
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Being an HVAC TECHNICIAN I know all about phosgene gas .. I have been exposed to it more than a few times.. especially brazing compressors in on larger rooftop units .. you just can't get all the refrigerant out of old compressors because it tends to freeze in the oil ... soon as you see green flames its time to hold your breath... it's an instant pounding headache.. fortunately I have never taken a huge dose ...
My great grandfather was a mustard gas casualty at the battle of polygon wood. The rest of his life was defined by that moment as a 17 year old, he had huge health difficulties for the rest of his life. Thank you for making such a well presented and thought out video on the subject. It helps bring context to a part of my family history.
Thanks for the interesting and kind comment.
At 17 that doesn’t bare thinking about
Sadly going by those figures a lot of people will be able to say the same as my great grandfather was also gassed he claimed that it was his hight at 6’4 saved his life giving him enough time to save most of his lungs though he was never the same after. Thank you for giving me more of a understanding of the different gas’s and the different effects they have on the body. I do question how useful mustered gas was if it stayed in the soil for weeks or months because it could kill anyone who passed though it so lethal to both sides
he was a casualty and a pawn.
@@888ssss so was christ. Meaning he died for us and used well not really used but he was healing people and other things to continually prove who he was
The effects of poison gas on the human body and how it harmed some cells but not others gave doctors the ideas for chemotherapy and one of WW1’s poison gases is still today a chemotherapy treatment.
That’s amazing and sad. At least we got some good out of the bad. I remember hearing from ww1 we learned so much about head injuries from all the head shots since being in the trenches most times all you could shoot at was a head.
Never knew that Thank you
My Grandfather lost three uncles in WW1 ... One, of the three, came home after a bad Gassing event but died within a year due to complications.
Sorry to hear... gas was certainly an unforgiving weapon.
That’s so sad.
My grandfather was also gassed in early 1918 and was sent back to England blind. He had recovered enough to be sent back to France and was there until mid 1919 when he returned home. He lived until 1955 in very poor health constantly in hospitals with lung problems and fatigue issues. This had a traumatic effect on his whole family.
Phosgene gas was actually the deadliest choking agent ever made, it gave the smell of new mown hay. Mustard gas was actually somewhat deadly but yet it was actually incapacitation with a very slow death. Causing pneumonia, different types of cancer, internal/external blisters, and recurring infection.
From my very limited understanding is that mustard gas was the least deadly of the lethal gases used (at least on the battlefield so to speak), but was very effective in causing serious harm as well as exposed skin being affected, meaning a gas mask had a limited effect
Quite possibly the most psychologically horrifying weapon of war after flamethrowers and napalm. An infamous weapon among many that defined WW1 and a new experiment in human suffering. Excellent video
Thanks very much Jamie.
@@toadtheparakeet8541 They're all some of the worst ways to die, I guess burning would often be quicker but no less painful. Radiation scares the hell out of me after watching Chernobyl, dying of a lethal dose of gamma is the worst to me by far, you'd be best just shooting yourself. As for nukes it really depends on the distance from the blast, the further away the slower and more painful the death. I think I'd take my chances with gas since it can at least be countered by a gas mask. Your odds of survival are also fairly decent judging by this video but you'd left with long term health problems, though that applies to everything else I've mentioned too.
Incorrect. MUCH MORE painful!! Especially the phosgene survivors! Imagine "indigestion", in your lungs; The gas permanantly altering your body's autonomy, causing problems in all organs, attempting to compensate...
@@brentfarvors192 Worse, there are phosgene shells lying around in fairly shallow waters all around Europe. The Belgians still dig them up now and again. Who thought gas warfare was a good idea ever?
@@nospoon4799 The same type of people that thought experimental medical trials were good for the human body/immune system...Simply put; The generals offered a huge pile of cash for a way to kill people more efficiently, and the chemists claimed it...Same exact process now that is pushing AI singularity as weapons...
One highly underrated point about your videos is the quality of the voice acting when the personal accounts of the soldiers are read aloud. It really brings them to life! Superb as always
Agreed.... we really value our voice-over artists.. they bring the people alive!
@BattleGuideVT you're welcome
I agree 100% 😊
Death is not always the goal. In the grim and calculating world of warfare, sometimes severely injuring and disabling a soldier can be more useful than killing him. Dead soldiers only need burying. Badly injured ones need months of hospital care.
Very good point.
In fact this was the huge advantage of mustard gas over more lethal gases and why it became popular. The same calculation is also why, for example, antipersonnel mines are designed to blow off a foot rather than kill outright.
It also takes fit troops out of the battle line carrying the wounded out of the fight.
It was one of the reasons most armies started using intermediate cartridges (5.56/5.45) after WW2. While they are as capable of killing as a full rifle calibre (30.06/8mm mauser) they tend to give more incapacitating but survivable wounds meaning that every soldier hit during an engagement might take 2 or 3 others out of the fight while they extract and administer care to their wounded comrade. A battle might be won as the result of individual brilliance and bravery but the war is won by cold, hard numbers.
@DjDolHaus86 That's a myth. Intermediate calibers were adopted to make recoil manageable and increase the amount of ammunition carried since it was found that the long ranges that full size rifle cartridges were designed for almost never happened for infantry engagements.
I saw a documentary about an archaeological excavation of the trenches at Broodseinde. They found a phosgene shell, & had to call in the Belgian Army to collect the shell. The Belgian Army would put the shell into storage for 32 years before they could deal with it, as they had so many chemical shells to deal with.
Fascinating!
Name of the documentary? Very interested!
@@dirtedirte8771 BBC / Familyhistory Boesinghe: The Forgotten Battlefield
My Granddad was gassed with I believe Mustard Gas, he lived but had bad lungs after and died in 1959 of pneumonia age 62
My friends grandpa told me a story about how his dad was caught by a gas shell, but it was December, so supposedly, it was too cold for the mustard gas to vaporize fully, and when he got off his guard shift and returned to the dug out, when his clothes thawed it thawed the gas and ran back outside and threw off his coat, but he still caused hisself and part of his platoon to get blinded for a bit from it
My mother's father, Don Allen Lightner, was drafted to fight in WWI when he was 29. He was gassed with mustard gas and returned to a life of suffering. According to Mom, the mustard gas got into his jaw. Despite numerous operations he never recovered his health, and lived in constant pain. The Death Certificate lists his “usual occupation” as “Disabled Veteran.” On February 12, 1940 at age 51, he shot himself in the right temple with his service pistol. Mom said she had to clean up the mess. My Pappy was a veteran of WWII (Combat Engineers--The Bulge--Remagen); he stayed in the Army and was in the Allied occupation forces from 1952-1955. We-as dependents-were with him most of that time. Periodically, the news would report someone in France dying from mustard gas; nearly always a farmer plowing a field. Mustard gas is heavier than air, and in military terms is known as a persistent agent; that is, it lingers in the area where it was released. It stays in hollows & depressions, especially in features such as trenches and bunkers. As a Marine in the '60s I went through gas training twice. The first time was with tear gas only, the second time with both tear and chlorine. My gas mask leaked during the chlorine training, and so I left the training area immediately, as we were instructed to do. We were never exposed to phosgene or any other gasses.
I was in the Canadian Armed Forces, joined in the late 80's, we did gas training as well, tear gas with eyes watering, snot everywhere. We also had to train with saline auto injectors, when in combat you carried three atropine auto injectors, for nerve agents.
My maternal grandfather, a corporal in the 109th reg, 28th Div, was a mustard gas casualty. He was in and out of the hospital for the rest of his life. As a child, I can remember him taking many pills and some kind of inhalant each day. When I asked him about it, he just said it keeps him alive. My paternal grandfather served in the Imperial German Navy aboard the SMS Wittlesbach. They never got along.
I can see how they would have had their differences...
why?
@@rollinOnCodeaccording to some documents I saw, as well as personal account, many frontline soldiers resented the navy because for much of they war they did nothing but still were treated as heroes despite doing in the eyes of the frontline soldiers ‘sitting in the harbor’. Especially in Germany.
This was very interesting. My grandfather was in the US Army in World War I and probably faced the terrors of poison gas. Fortunately he was not injured and live a long and rewarding life. He didn't talk much about the dangers he went throughfor obvious reasons.
Just seen your comment my grandfather was a WW1 American vet. He was gassed Born in 1896 died in1972 it was lung cancer didn't really know if the gas had anything to do with it. Anyway he got a whole fifty five dollars a month for disability.
A terrible weapon to use against people. However it must be remembered that all armies still relied greatly on horses and mules for transport. I can only imagine that this was a huge problem for the logistics of an army. I did once read an account of horses being fitted with a kind of gas hood or respirator but this part of the sad story of gas warfare has been overlooked.
my maternal Grandfather (2nd london Regt) was gassed with Phosgene shortly after Loos. Hi lost a lung, and spent so long in hospital, that he learnt enough medical things, that he was patched up and returned to the regiment in 1917 intime for Paschendale, where he was an ambulance driver, and won the military medal at St. Julien. my Praternal Grandfather (Australian Army ) was gassed in late 1917. he spent long timein hospital. and for the rest of his life he was covered in chalk white mustard gas blister scars.
Had some relatives who were gassed in France. The after-effects killed them before they turned 30. Had a uncle who led gas training for the Australian army in ww2. He remembered quite a few of the bloke's that hated the gas training because they knew what it could do to people.
my father who joined the RAAF in 1944 was forced to do gas training, not given any option, and was really scared as he had be told all the stories by grandpop.@@matthewcharles5867
Funny that you mentioned that, I have a relative who fought in France who you guessed it French (ironic) he got gassed I can’t remember what gas it was (I’ll ask my dad I’ll edit this comment) before he went we met this Australian and made great friends with him (spoke fluently English loved us Aussies) He was my great great great uncle His brother like my great great great uncle got gassed survived only just His once said after the war (diary now lost due to time) “I breathed something that smelt like pineapple and…pepper ?? I peed on a sock and closed my eyes and used the sock around my face. The pain was feeling like being set on fire and my lungs felt like they were getting clogged up with water. The sound of choking around me sounded like…something I never wanted to hear again.” After the war he was in so much pain he used a pistol (I’ll leave it here but I’m sure you will get what I’m saying) but both were married had kids and only a year apart Rip you legends Edit: Iv got the answer it was mustard (Thanks dad)
My Grand-dad Bunce served in the 2nd London Regiment and also won a Military Medal. He got gassed too, though I do not know which battle it was but he was listed on the casualty list in November 1915, so maybe Ypres.
My paternal Grandfather was a regular in 1st DCLI from August 1914. He was finally invalided out of the front line after being gassed at 3rd Ypres Passendale. He survived minus the best pars of 2 lungs. He Married my French Grandmother from the Jura in 1919 and then relocated to Birmingham as a City Park’s Policeman. He continued to smoke tobacco and died in 1926 during the General Strike by which time my Granny had joined the Communist Party and my dad was 5 years old. She considered him a class traitor until the day she died in 1883. Tough days, tough people.
Well-said. You mean 1983 though, right?
"Weapons can never be unmade, and are always used." Great video as always, imho you have the best documentaries on KZhead!
Thank you for the kind comment!
My father in law's Father was gassed in 1918 but recovered enough to return to his civilian job and get married. His health slowly deteriorated and by the age of 30 could no longer work and he died of theafter effects of gas poisoning before he was 40.
Thanks for the comment... such a sad way to go. :(
My great Grandfather was with eh US Army and was hit with a Chlorine attack. He lived but had some health issues and scarred Lungs, for the rest of his life. God rest his Soul and that of all these Warriors. AATW
A heart breaking and fascinating video. I am most impressed by Dan Hill's narration. His actual voice and tone is so apt for this subject matter. Really good VO artist.... Huzzah Dan!! 😊
Glad you enjoyed it
My great grandfather was in the 225 PWE Company in 82nd Div. He was wounded at Meuse Argonne by gas after his mask was cut open by a German bayonet in hand to hand combat. He died 11 years later in 1929 from the damage done to his lungs.
Wow, thats quite something. Thanks for sharing
My grandfather suffered from the effects of mustard gas in the First World war, he suffered badly in his last years, he lived till 1972
Great video. Chemical weapons are so horrific and I cannot imagine the suffering endured by the soldiers. As you mentioned at the end, there are many who had to live with the health effects years or decades onwards. I cannot imagine the physical and psychological toll. Informative and well narrated video. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Alex!
@@BattleGuideVT Anytime! Your videos are superb and have helped me learn a lot. :]
Fun fact: The first to ever use gas were the french in august 1914. They used tear gas to attack the german front, but since the winner writes history, everybody learns that the germans first used gas in ypres 1915
yep they used a tear gas-like grenade. not the same scale as the later attacks yet it was the earliest use. never gets mentioned
Watching this video brings to mind the haunting poem by Wilfred Owen "Dulce et Decorum est".
Indeed, John... we were thinking of including it at the end but decided to leave it on the cutting room floor.
I can remember a work from my childhood "The great war" in five volumes which I looked in with great interest. Later, as an adult, I inherited this unique work and decided to read it cover to cover. I got to the first descriptions of the gas attacks and just couldn't continue because of tears and a fierce rage against the criminals who unleashed it. Gas is one of the three most cruel weapons in the world (atomic and biological) so cruel that it has only been used against tribal people without the possibility of retaliating: Italy against Ethiopia 1935. I am crying again. Thanks for a relevant lecture👍👍👍
Thank you for the comment.. gas truly is a horrific weapon.
Did you actually BOTHER watching the video? Gas was used REGULARLY against SOLDIERS (not poor tribal people) on most Fronts of WWI. It was not even a very dangerous weapon after the first uses except to poorly trained troops. To well trained troops gas was at worst an inconvenience. Your fatuous comment that it has only been used against tribal people without the ability to retaliate is literally proven incorrect by the actual archived records of pretty much every Army that fought in WWI, who ALL used Gas against front line positions. Was it used on Civilian populations as well post war? Yes, most recently in Iraq, and Syria, but it was not ONLY used against civilians and armies quickly worked out that proper training made Gas more or less ineffective at best, an inconvenience at worst. And thy did not work that out accidentally, they worked it out through EXPERIENCE of being GASSED.... So go cry....
@@alganhar1I hope you have vented your own additional knowledge. That you can't read what I write between the lines is your problem; but the fact that in all your perfection you do not mention the genocide of the Iraqi Kurds under Saddam Hussain disappoints me a little. It is also not without reason that A B C weapons are prohibited according to the Geneva Convention.
There is also evidence that the Japanese also used chemical weapons during their operations in China. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_crimes
The only thing this comment tells me is that you have difficulty regulating your emotions. How is being gassed any better or worse than being shot, stabbed or blown up?
God if i saw all that gas I'd be like Forrest Gump.
My Mom’s uncle was gassed during WWI while fighting the Germans with the Americans. Eventually he died a number of years later after coming home. I wish I knew more about his war experience. I know that he ended up sleeping outside when the weather was nice as it aided his impaired respiration.
I can tell you from experience, even minute exposure to chlorine gas will fuck you up for a few days.
Very interesting film. Thank you for taking the time to produce and upload it.
My grandad liked mustard and once had gas real bad around us. He didn't like to talk about it.
Another superb article! My Great Uncle Freddie Cox was a mustard gas casualty. In his case his legs and lower body were burnt after he went into cover in a water filled shell hole. Although he was evacuated to "Blighty" he returned to the front again only to be severely injured near Albert in 1918. Thank you for posting this interesting video.
Another great video, very well prepared and presented as always 👍🏻
Thank you Andrew!
Great production value! Will watch more. 😊
You have such a cool voice. reminds me a lot of Andy Serkis. Looking at the footage of a mustard gas shell, bursting and then spewing out that stuff was nasty. can only imagine how that would catch people off guard. One thing I'd love for someone to go over is the amount of Missing (neither found dead or alive) soldiers and civilians that haven't been found, most likely buried by artillery barrage, pulverized, or lost to the battlefields of WW1. I saw a figure from the U.S War department in 1920 that suspects 6-10 million are missing from both sides combined. Worth a look!
Thanks... yes that would be a great topic!
5:40 - wait, baking soda??!??! I'm Canadian and we were all told that they were soaked in PISS
Urine was an early alternative - though not a popular one!
Subbed great channel thanks for sharing, History is key to learning, and something All generations MUST take part in.
Crazy that Nobel prize winning Fritz haber thought it was more humane
He won the nobel price after the war
His wife felt differently. After failing to get him to stop researching those gases she committed suicide.
My great grandfather suffered from gas poisoning on the first wave of usage....thank you for this video spelling it all out!!
You are welcome!
Facinating post thank you.
That line of blind men was the inspiration for a mural by John Singer Sargent.
My paternal grandfather was gassed in the first world war. He survived but never got over it, dying at 36 and leaving his wife a widow with three children aged between 10 and 3.
My grandfather was gassed in the first world war and died in 1948 age 48 with breathing issues leaving a widow and three young children, no nhs or benefits or pensions
Strange that the algorithm didn't recommend this channel b4. Subb'd. Great work. Thank you for upping the quality of choices.
Welcome aboard!
Excellent vid - subscribed on that.
A fascinating documentary . Thank you .
Thanks for watching!
Sabaton has written several songs over chemical warfare of the Great War
So nobody knew? Some russians in the eastern front were gased but they still shooting while shouting, the germans think they were zombies. The germans then panic and went to a full retreat. This will be one of the most remarkable event during ww1
Attack of the dead men - Sabaton. :)
My great Uncle Bill received a wiff of mustard gas, on the U.S. front line. He was deathly ill but survived.
Even in WW2 my old man as part of his training had a spot of mustard gas on his arm to demonstrate the need to carry his mask. Tilbury riverside had fields of gas bombs ready to go. If the Germans started using gas ordnance the retaliation on the non gas mask supplied population would have been horrific
Thanks for this. My great-uncle was gassed on the Western Front in 1918, returned home to the US, married and had kids, then died from complications in the 1920s.
Great video. As a Canadian in school history we were taught Canadians peed on rags and wrap them around their faces it worked. Think the ammonia in pee had something to do with it can't remember that part long time ago.
It was not only the Canadian's. The Entante as a whole developed crude but effective anti gas measures within days of that first attack Not months, not weeks, DAYS. Gas was not, contrary to popular belief, a major killer *except* among poorly trained troops after the first couple of time it was used. What it WAS was an irritant, forcing the troops into uncomfortable gas masks, and in the case of Mustard Gas an area denial weapon.
Well done vid.
Thank you so much!
My Grandfather was gassed during the Battle of the Somme. He survived but caught TB in India after re-enlisting (1922). I wonder would he have succumbed if his lungs hadn't suffered the damage in 1916?
I clicked so fast because the thumbnail I voted for has won! Felt like emotionally invested in this, part of its creation effort :o
Habers wife protested his continual development of these poisons, he ignored her. She shot herself with HIS service revolver.
Thank you yet another quality video. I appreciate the parts of history that you cover. Is it any surprise that we still are horrified when gas, chlorine in Syria for example, is used.
As child three was an old man who lived alone way out in the country he was scarred and partially blind very bad cough and breathing dad said he was a veteran who's gassed during a battle in WW 1
That first eye witness account was a great description.
that was a great one. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
It was discovered after wwi that troops that had been gassed had less incidence of cancer then the general population. This was investigated and is the reason why we use chemotherapy.
Excellent video! My grandfather was gassed in WWI. He died young due the damage to his lungs. I'm glad it is outlawed.
Thanks for the kind comment.
Just found your channel today and subscribed. Can you mak your videos 15 to 20 minutes longer please.
My great grandmothers father was sadly gased during the last months of the war after service since the fifth day of the war. My great grandmother remembered him as being sick since he died early in 1927 so she didnt have many memories of him.
My great aunt’s fiancé was gassed at Passchendaele, so yes, it was deadly for him. She never married.
My grandfather was mustard gassed he had a weeping sore on his forehead about 50mm in diameter till the day he passed away in 1984
These do more for awareness then the meme-level public campaigns
Thank you.
An older woman I knew often told the story of her husband who had been gassed and wounded in WW1. He survived the war, but had frequent bouts of pneumonia all his life. He died of emphysema. His wife was convinced that he never really recovered from the mustard gas.
Very interesting and tragic. great video. Though god bless you. And god bless all those souls who must have been so terrified. My heart goes out to them. Even though they're all probably dead now
Having experienced the effects of CS gas and learning what monstrous substances were created to incapacitate or kill me as part of my Army training i can fully understand the fear and torture to an extent of what these men suffered!! Its not a very nice experience and the stuff we use for training was nasty stuff aimed at incapacitating your ability to fight and is not intended to kill you!!! None the less it left a marked experience in life you seldom forget!! Well done for high lighting a subject that often gets very little coverage or light shined on it!!
wow I'm surprised I've not seen this channel before
And the Germans called the Shotgun inhuman?!
The painting near the very end was my computer background for years. I did not know that the soldiers were gas victims due to the eye bandages. It gives a whole new grim perspective to it that I realize now I was too naive to understand. God rest the souls of all those unlucky enough to perish at the hands of such an immoral weapon.
My Grandfather was gassed in the trenches but survived. However he was never the same again. He died fairly young, never reaching 60.
I mean gas wasn’t first used on the western front but that’s being pedantic
It is beyond horrific
Another great and informative video. I took a class with the famed Jonathan F. Vance and his conclusion is that by the end of the war, gas was more of nuisance than anything else. Most research I've done on it seems to align with this conclusion.
Thanks very much Brad - yes, agreed - though one big nuisance!
@@BattleGuideVT Definitely a big one but one that could be dealt with. Tim Cook argued the same thing.
I have taken more than a few doses of phosgene gas from being a HVAC Technician for 30 years.. burning refrigerant in lines from bigger roof top units... you just cant get 100% out because it freezes in the oil in the compressors... soon as you see green flames its time to hold your breath... its a instant headache.. and makes your lungs burn too.. luckily I never took a huge dose .. but i have taken quite a few ...
My great uncle Bert was gassed in WW1 and he was still dressing his wounds in the 1970s as they never healed
“… so as to endure *Fumigation…”* In fiction, the above term was used to refer to gas warfare. This was inspired largely by *this* topic.
While I agree we will never know the number of men that died post war as a result of Gassing, we also do not know the number of men who died post war from other wounds received. Its certainly something worth noting and pointing out, but its also wort keeping in mind that many men died post war due to complications from gunshot wounds and wounds caused by artillery as well. Or in some unfortunate cases a combination of two or perhaps all three.....
A good weather man would have been vital! Imagine the lives gambled on a prediction of wind direction. I would love to see a video about the meteorologist of world war1 please.
good video
Thanks Joey
My great granduncle was gassed. I suffered permanent damage and pain, and eventually ended his own life.
Having completed the NBC instructor course in 1988, chemical warfare is a hateful crime.
I imagine the prevailing wind had a lot to say about who could use gas and when.
At 16:40 minutes is Sargent's mural.
Absolutely horrific.
We agree Mark!
@BattleGuideVT the quality of your docos is incredible. Hats off team. Love the polling for the title and thumbnail, too. Great idea 💡
Phosgene is used for a pesticide called "Sevin"
In 1920 the 5000m run world record was broken by a Frenchman who only had 1 lung as he lost one due to a gas attack in the war, Joseph Guillemot
There a song by Sabaton Called “Father” its about Fritz Haber and the beginning of chemical warfare
Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that chemical warfare started before this? I think back to when they were salting the fields and poisoning wells and stuff like that.
A good summary and brief account of the role played by chemical warfare during World War One. One point strikes me, however; if this is narrated from a British perspective, why is there no mention of the establishment of Porton Down in 1915 in the immediate aftermath of the German gas attack at Ypres - and its ongoing role in the research and development of chemical weapons (and counter-measures taken against them) ?
The first use of poison gas was at the battle of Bolimov in January 1915 in Russian Poland. The Germans used xylyl bromide gas and it caused around 1000 Russian deaths, it didn’t work as well as planned due to freezing temperatures. So I’m surprised by April 1915 the allies hadn’t already been developing some form of respirators at that point.
Both a grandfather and a great-grandfather were gassed in WWI. Both suffered permanent lung damage.
A relative of my mother was a gas casualty. She joked that he never worked again, but did father six children
It makes my lungs hurt just from watchjng this
My Normandy Veteran friends dad died in 1923, after having been gassed in WW1 - FIVE YEARS after the war ended....
My grandfather died at the age of 32 as a result of mustard gas, his entire respiratory system became cancerous. My other grandfather died at 56 though his early death was a result of shrapnel that they could not remove from inside his skull. I guess he did go through a couple of gas attacks, but had his mask on.