254:
249:
down the road. two or three men on a horse, I saw, while over the fields streamed mobs of infantry, the dusky warriors of French Africa; away went their rifles, equipment, even their tunics that they might run the faster. One man came stumbling through our lines. An officer of ours held him up with levelled revolver, "What's the matter, you bloody lot of cowards?" says he. The Zouave was frothing at the mouth, his eyes started from their sockets, and he fell writhing at the officer's feet.
117:
167:" phase of the western front as it had been one of two spots where the Allies and Central Powers had battled in an unsuccessful attempt to outflank the other. As the two sides prepared to initiate another round of combat for control of the town the Imperial German Army, which had already opened the door for introduction of chemical warfare on this front by firing
43:
314:
296:. The ongoing use of chlorine gas and other chemical agents in the field has caused problems for armed forces exposed to such agents, and has created serious problems for non-combatants caught up in these attacks, a grim reminder of the toll these weapons took on the men in the trench lines of 1915-18.
262:
As noted in a previous Op-Ed, the success of any new weapon or tactic may be measured not only in its effective use by the side employing it but in the reactions to the new weapon or tactic by the side receiving the attack. For their part, the
Germans had badly underestimated how effective their use
206:
Those French troops unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of the gas cloud had a choice between two equally unattractive options: stand their ground and risk death or serious injury due to the oncoming gas cloud, or abandon their positions and run for their lives, which could be interpreted by
257:
Indian troops wearing Hypo helmets in a posed photograph, August 1915. Although a primitive design by modern standards, the use of cloth, wet pads, helmets, and other air filtering devices such as the masks pictured here greatly improved the survivability of forces stationed on the
Western Front of
248:
Plainly something terrible was happening. What was it? Officers, and Staff officers too, stood gazing at the scene, awestruck and dumbfounded; for in the northerly breeze there came a pungent nauseating smell that tickled the throat and made our eyes smart. The horses and men were still pouring
267:
High
Command had transferred all available troops to Russia, leaving few reserves in the west, the understrength German forces stationed on the front could not exploit the sudden scattering of the French forces from the trenchlines. The Allies were able to hold the chlorine exposed section of the
239:
Given their choice between the aforementioned options, many French troops ran for their lives, while others stood their ground and waited for the cloud to pass by. Eyewitnesses to the attack shared their opinions on the conduct of the French forces so suddenly caught in the path of the chlorine
232:, a bi-product of the chlorine gas formed when it is combined with water, which destroys moist tissue in the lungs and eyes, leaving the survivors scarred, some undoubtedly for life. Worse still was the fact that chlorine gas is denser than air and was used on the front most identified with
268:
trench lines with assistance of
Canadian troops, who were able to defend the flank of the break-in by urinating into cloths and putting them to their faces, to counter the effects of the gas. Casualties during this military action were especially heavy for the
124:
in World War I. Unlike the tear gas fired by the
Germans during the Battle of Bolimów, the chlorine pictured here was far more lethal, and in its initial debut, far more effective for use against the entrenched enemy forces on the lines around
287:
employed by the
British, which appeared in June of 1915. The effectiveness of the chlorine gas as a weapon against enemy forces would result in its ongoing use well after the end of World War I. Most recently, it has allegedly been used by
86:
219:
in the face of the enemy. Reports from the front suggest that approximately 6,000 of the French troops were killed in action as a direct or indirect result of exposure to the gas. Many of those died within ten minutes, primarily from
283:, and marked a dangerous escalation of military operations on the Western Front of World War I. Within months troops bound for the Western Front were issued various gas masks to defend against chemical agents, one example being the
78:
70:
388:
74:
198:
troops of the French 45th and 87th divisions. The German forces involved in the Ypres operation relied on the prevailing winds to carry the gas towards enemy lines, but this method of dispersal caused many
342:
470:
66:
25:
359:
293:
269:
57:
42:
21:
253:
190:
cylinders - each weighing 90 pounds (41 kg) - to the front by hand. The cylinders were opened by hand, releasing approximately 168 long tons (171 t) of
335:
51:
17:
276:(CEF), which was enveloped on three sides and over-extended by the demands of securing its left flank once the Algerian Division had broken.
263:
of the chlorine gas would be. In the aftermath of the chemical attack, a 4-mile (6.4 km) gap was left in the front line, but because the
439:
446:
420:
279:
The unexpected introduction and extraordinary efficiency of the chlorine gas attack resulted in an urgent need to develop
273:
236:, and as a result the chlorine gas quickly filled the trenches, forcing the troops to climb out into heavy enemy fire.
382:
241:
163:
town in
Belgium. Ypres had previously been the scene of a major combat operation at the end of the so-called "
416:
349:
195:
426:
172:
148:
176:
140:
208:
412:
229:
434:
264:
164:
331:
is the monthly newsletter of the
English Knowledge (XXG)'s Military history WikiProject.
233:
144:
132:
464:
200:
194:
over a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) front, on the part of the line held by French
Territorial and
221:
191:
284:
116:
186:
In order to effect a timely release of the chlorine gas, German troops carried
280:
216:
244:
described the chaos as the French
Colonial Corps troops fled from the gas:
180:
168:
121:
98:
430:
212:
160:
152:
179:, raised the chemical warfare stakes by introducing much more lethal
289:
252:
225:
156:
115:
312:
41:
401:
394:
371:
399:. If your comment has not appeared here, you can try
294:
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
224:
and tissue damage in their lungs, while others were
139:At around 5:00 PM on Thursday, 22 April 1915, the
471:WikiProject Military history newsletter articles
246:
8:
433:(a dab page). An interesting article still.
143:made preparations to face the forces of the
18:Knowledge (XXG):WikiProject Military history
183:to the front for use against enemy forces.
425:I think "necessary action" should link to
292:forces in 2014, according to report by
201:German soldiers to be injured or killed
7:
240:attack. Anthony R. Hossack, of the
32:
381:These comments are automatically
53:Your military history newsletter
396:add the page to your watchlist
196:colonial Moroccan and Algerian
1:
304:
274:Canadian Expeditionary Force
159:, a strategically important
228:as a result of exposure to
487:
421:06:39, 26 April 2015 (UTC)
327:First published in 2006,
447:13:56, 19 May 2015 (UTC)
106:The End of the Innocence
242:Queen Victoria's Rifles
393:. To follow comments,
317:
259:
251:
126:
46:
427:withdrawal (military)
316:
256:
173:Imperial Russian Army
149:Third French Republic
119:
59:Issue CIX, April 2015
45:
387:from this article's
141:Imperial German Army
87:World War I timeline
361:Browse the Archives
211:as anything from a
209:commanding officers
411:Great op-ed, Tom!
376:Discuss this story
344:Visit the Newsroom
318:
260:
127:
47:
459:
458:
455:
454:
443:
403:purging the cache
337:About the project
230:hypochlorous acid
177:Battle of Bolimów
171:canisters at the
114:
113:
97:
96:
93:
92:
478:
441:
406:
404:
397:
391:
385:
377:
374:
362:
355:
345:
338:
324:
315:
306:
305:
302:
301:
213:necessary action
189:
99:
60:
54:
38:
37:
34:
33:
486:
485:
481:
480:
479:
477:
476:
475:
461:
460:
451:
408:
402:
400:
395:
389:
383:
379:
378:
375:
372:+ Add a comment
370:
366:
365:
364:
360:
350:
343:
336:
325:
319:
313:
187:
165:Race to the Sea
110:
89:
62:
58:
52:
30:
29:
28:
12:
11:
5:
484:
482:
474:
473:
463:
462:
457:
456:
453:
452:
450:
449:
423:
417:crack... thump
380:
369:
368:
367:
357:
347:
340:
333:
332:
326:
311:
310:
309:
299:
270:13th Battalion
145:British Empire
137:
136:
120:Dispersion of
112:
111:
109:
102:
95:
94:
91:
90:
65:
64:
63:
50:
49:
48:
31:
15:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
483:
472:
469:
468:
466:
448:
445:
444:
438:
437:
432:
428:
424:
422:
418:
414:
410:
409:
405:
398:
392:
386:
373:
363:
356:
354:
351:Subscribe to
346:
339:
330:
323:
308:
307:
303:
300:
297:
295:
291:
286:
282:
277:
275:
271:
266:
255:
250:
245:
243:
237:
235:
231:
227:
223:
218:
214:
210:
204:
202:
197:
193:
184:
182:
178:
174:
170:
166:
162:
158:
154:
150:
146:
142:
135:
134:
129:
128:
123:
118:
108:
107:
103:
101:
100:
88:
84:
80:
76:
72:
68:
61:
55:
44:
40:
39:
36:
35:
27:
23:
19:
440:
435:
413:Peacemaker67
352:
328:
321:
298:
278:
261:
258:World War I.
247:
238:
234:trench lines
222:asphyxiation
205:
192:chlorine gas
185:
181:chlorine gas
138:
130:
105:
104:
82:
79:Book reviews
75:Article news
71:Project news
384:transcluded
285:Hypo helmet
175:during the
67:Front page
26:April 2015
390:talk page
353:the Bugle
329:the Bugle
322:The Bugle
281:gas masks
217:desertion
188:5,730 gas
133:TomStar81
465:Category
169:tear gas
122:chlorine
24: |
20: |
431:retreat
272:of the
226:blinded
161:Flemish
153:Belgium
320:About
290:Syrian
265:German
207:their
151:, and
147:, the
125:Ypres.
157:Ypres
83:Op-ed
16:<
429:not
22:News
436:220
215:to
155:at
131:By
467::
442:of
419:)
358:»
348:»
341:»
334:»
203:.
85:•
81:•
77:•
73:•
69:•
56:–
415:(
407:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
