In April 1915, the Germans used weapons of mass destruction for the first time. Rambler has found out what kind of weapon it is.
On the evening of April 22, 1915, opposing German and French troops were under the Belgian city of Ypres. The confrontation dragged on, so the Germans decided to test the poison gas. The soldiers brought the cylinders, turned on the taps, and the wind carried the gas cloud towards the enemy line.
The French soldiers were blind, coughing and gasping for breath. Many died of suffocation, and seven thousand were burned. The method was developed by the German chemist Fritz Haber. He is called the first scientist to subordinate scientific knowledge to military needs.
Fritz Haber found that chlorine, due to its high density, concentrates low above the ground and causes severe swelling of the mucous membranes.
However, the successful experience was quickly adopted by other countries as well. Simultaneously with the war of states, the “war of chemists” began. The use of phosgene and mustard gas became widespread in the war. But the weapon did not become popular, since this weapon could be used only in favorable weather.
Nevertheless, in the First World War, a terrible mechanism was launched, and Germany became its engine. In total, more than 90 thousand soldiers died from the use of poisonous gases on the fronts of the First World War. Many died of complications a few years after the end of the war.
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