The massive use of such shells will not be seen until almost 1917. With the drifting cloud of toxic gas depending on too many random factors such as climatic conditions, a second system for using gas is developed: chemical shells. the transport of thousands of tanks and the necessary works, the enemy's intelligence services may well anticipate this attack, and provide the soldiers with protection means. During this significant lapse of time and faced with so much agitation, i.e. Approximately two weeks are needed to deliver thousands of tanks near the enemy line, and to bury them. in full daylight… Also, preparing the operation takes a certain amount of time. Given the colour of chlorine gas (greenish yellow), it must be released at the moment when it is least visible, i.e. As such, the time of day must be chosen with meticulous care. The most important point is the element of surprise. Many problems surround the repetition of this operation. The wind is blowing from west to east (from the German lines to the Allied lines), the sun isn't too hot (which would have evaporated the gas), and there's no rain (which would have pushed the gas into the ground). As such, the date of 22 April is not randomly chosen. The wind must not be too strong, and it must not be blowing in the wrong direction. Given that these clouds are carried only by the wind, the Germans will wait for appropriate meteorological conditions. The relatively flat relief of the Flemish plains will be the ideal terrain for the spread of toxic clouds. As previously explained, chlorine must be able to spread easily, without losing its density. If Belgium is sadly chosen for the first combat use of gas, one of the reasons for this is that it meets the requirements for the use of chlorine gas. It serves to stem the panic, and constitutes the best protection against this chemical weapon. And one month after the first attack, the Allies begin to use an exceptional invention: the gas mask. As such, Canadian troops use respiration pads in order to counter the effects of the chlorine. However, the Allies improvise means for protecting against this gas. Their throats are burned, they spit up blood, they struggle to find a bit of oxygen.īuilding on this initial success, the German general staff asks Fritz Haber to produce additional chlorine for new attacks. Without protection when faced with this new enemy, the few survivors flee. With the soldiers caught totally off guard, the French units panic. Though article 23 of the Hague Convention prohibits the use of poisonous weapons, on 22 April 1915 at Langemarck (city located north of Ypres), the Germans are trying at all costs to dislodge the Allies from the trenches, and therefore position tanks containing chlorine gas they use the wind to direct this gas toward the French lines of the 87th territorial division and the 45th Algerian division. As such, the Germans opt for chlorine gas, which meets all of the aforesaid characteristics. It must be dense enough to remain compact once released, but it must also infiltrate every cavity by staying close to the ground. The usage of gas as a weapon results in many technical complications. Other tests had been undertaken before the Yser front, but only with relative efficiency and never in such proportions. The designer of this fatal invention is the German chemist Fritz Haber, director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Germany. April 1915 will see the recourse to the first weapon of mass destruction in violation of the Hague Convention of 1907 (agreement between belligerent countries regarding the "rules" to be followed in wartime). But the Allied countries were no less shocked by this.īelgium will be the setting for an unfortunate worldwide innovation. However surprising it may be, Fritz Haber will later receive the Nobel Prize for chemistry, more for his contribution to agricultural fertilizers than for his involvement in chemical warfare. Gas will make life impossible in the trenches, and its inventor, for his part, will be crowned with laurels. Would it be possible to introduce a new weapon? A terrifying weapon that could cause the enemy to quickly abandon its positions? A weapon that, beyond its immediate effect, would cause a long-term psychological effect?Indeed, if it seems that the war won't be won by physically affecting the opposing soldiers, it may be possible to attack the last thing remaining to them: their morale. The Germans are looking for an efficient means of clearing the Allies from their trenches, given that classical artillery is having little impact. Barely a few months after hostilities began, the conflict begins to bog down: the movement war gives way to the trench war.
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