Chemical Welfare in War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chemical Welfare in War - Essay Example A study on the wind patterns in the surrounding area had earlier on been undertaken by the German meteorologists to ascertain the most effective location to place the gas cylinders. The opponents of war-the French soldiers were never prepared to face this particular lethal weapon deployed by the German soldiers what immensely resulted in fatal deaths and casualties (Fitzgerald, 2008, p. 611-625). The main objective of the use of the chemical weapons by the German soldiers was to certainly weaken their opponents. There are particularly a number of gases deployed by the different opponents in World Wars depending on the harm these allies wished to inflict on their opponents. Teargas was the first chemical weapon to be used in the World War 1 (Fitzgerald, 2008, p. 611-625). Teargas a 26mm grenade full of the ethyl bromoacetate gas was first used by the French soldiers in 1911. The chemical weapon was later on adopted by the German soldiers who used it against the British soldiers. Mustard gas was popularly used by the German soldiers and perceived to be one of the most effective chemical weapons to have been used in the First World War (Fitzgerald, 2008, p. 611-625). Phosgene gas and the chlorine gas were also deployed by the different allies in World wars. The Phosgene gas and the chlorine gas are perceived to be more deadly for they resulted in more fatal consequences than the Mustard gas even when administered in small amounts. However, through the warring years, the mustard gas was declared the ‘king of Battle Gasses† following its ability to cause eye injuries, lung injuries and result into blisters that were very hard to treat(Fitzgerald, 2008, p. 624). This made the soldiers exposed to the gas keep off the battlefield for quite a long time.