The Ypres Times.
151
our supposed inability to make it, they had tried to encourage their troops by drawing
lurid pictures of the effects of the gas.
The longer the War lasted, the larger was the proportion of gas ammunition used by
all the combatants and the more varied were the tasks for which it proved effective.
In 1918, 28 per cent, of the German shells contained gas. The British were making great
efforts to increase their production of gas to the same figure, while the American pro
gramme provided for an even larger percentage of gas shells.
The experience of the War certainly established the value of gas as a powerful auxiliary
to existing weapons. In addition, gas added many complications to war, perhaps one of
the least of these being the necessity for every man to carry a respirator. Its effects as a
casualty producer may be seen from the fact that we had 180,000 gas casualties.
To ascertain the relation of gas casualties to other casualties, perhaps the best country
to take is America, because America came into the War when the use of gas was in full
swing. America's total casualties were roughly 274,000, of which about 28 per cent,
were due to gas. Surely this indicates the value of gas as a weapon of war.
As regards quantities of gas used, it is understood that Germany fired nearly 31 million
rounds of gas shell, while Great Britain used roughly 7 million and the French over
17 million. America made large quantities of gas, but was not able to fire any of her own
gas shell prior to the Armistice.
So far nothing has been said about the development of the respirator. After the
first gas attack we always anticipated the enemy's intentions, and our respirator was never
found wanting. The defence against mustard gas for the body generally was not, how
ever, solved. The German respirator was inferior to ours in regard to gas protection,
though perhaps more serviceable from the point of view of long continued wearing. It
had, however, certain serious defects which were becoming more apparent as the intensity
of the gas struggle developed.
On the offensive side, Germany had a great advantage in that she started the study of
gas first and thus was always several months ahead of the Allies. She had another great
advantage owing to her highly organised and developed dye and fine chemical industry,
which enabled her speedily to produce the desired products in existing plants. This
branch of British chemical industry was very weak and we suffered accordingly.
On at least two occasions, as far as gas is concerned, during the War of 1914-1918,
the Allies had very lucky escapes from situations which might have lost them the War.
The first was the occasion of the first chlorine gas attack. The German General Staff
did not believe the prognostications of the scientists they therefore did not use the gas
on a sufficient scale, nor were they ready to follow up and exploit such successes as they
attained. The same sort of mistake was made in connection with the first use of mustard
gas which, if employed in large quantities over the British front, might have produced
enormous casualties at a very critical period. The mistake there was partly due to the
General Staff and partly due to their technicians, who preferred to adopt a long and
cumbrous method of making mustard gas to get a high standard of purity rather than a
simpler method which did not give such a good product. Had they adopted the method
used in this country, they could have bathed" the Allies in mustard gas.
Such, in brief outline, is the history of the use of gas in the Great War it contains
some lessons that we should do well to ponder over. Everyone who studies history must
surely realise that in the stress of war conventions may go by the board. Chemical
warfare is a weapon of enormous potentialities, particularly against an unprotected enemy
and can be prepared in secret. History has shown that a weapon of value in war cannot
be ruled out by agreement, nor can its development be arrested. Therefore, if a country
values her safety, the only sound motto and course of action as far as chemical warfare
is concerned is Be Prepared."
