The first use of chemical weapons in the First World War

Early April morning in 1915 from the sideGerman positions opposed to the line of defense of the Entente troops twenty kilometers from the city of Ypres (Belgium), blew a light breeze. Together with him, suddenly appeared dense yellowish-green cloud in the direction of the allies' trenches. At that moment, very few people knew that it was the breath of death, and in the mean language of front-line reports - the first use of chemical weapons on the Western Front.

Tears that preceded death

To be absolutely accurate, the applicationchemical weapons in the First World War began back in 1914, and the French acted with this pernicious initiative. But then a tear gas, ethyl bromoacetate, was used, which belongs to the group of chemicals of irritating action, and not lethal. They were filled with 26-millimeter grenades, which fired German trenches. When the supply of this gas came to an end, it was replaced by a similar chloroacetone.

In response, the Germans, who also did not consider themselvesobliged to observe the generally accepted legal norms enshrined in the Hague Convention, in the Battle of Nev-Chapelle, held in October of the same year, shelled the British with shells stuffed with a chemical stimulus. However, then they failed to reach its dangerous concentration.

Thus, in April 1915 was not the firstThe case of the use of chemical weapons, but, unlike the previous ones, fatal chlorine gas was used to destroy the enemy's manpower. The result of the attack was stunning. One hundred and eighty tons of atomized poisonous substance killed five thousand soldiers of the Allied forces and another ten thousand became invalids as a result of poisoning. By the way, the Germans themselves suffered. Carrying death in itself cloud clouded their edge their positions, the defenders of which were not fully provided with gas masks. In the history of the war, this episode was designated "a black day at Ypres."

Further use of chemical weapons in the First World War

Wishing to develop success, the Germans in a week inthe Warsaw area repeated a chemical attack, this time against the Russian army. And here the death was a plentiful harvest - more than a thousand two hundred dead and several thousand left crippled. Naturally, the Entente countries tried to protest against such a gross violation of the principles of international law, but Berlin cynically stated that the Hague Convention of 1896 mentions only poisonous shells, and not gases in themselves. They, they admit, did not try to object - the war always overthrows the works of diplomats.

Specificity of that terrible war

As repeatedly stressed by the militaryhistorians, during the First World War, the tactic of positional actions, in which the solid lines of the front were clearly marked, characterized by stability, density of concentration of troops and high engineering support, was widely used.

This in many ways reduced efficiencyoffensive operations, as both sides met resistance to the enemy's powerful defense. The only way out of the impasse was an unconventional tactical solution, which was the first use of chemical weapons.

A new page of war crimes

The use of chemical weapons in the First World Warwar has become a major innovation. The range of his influence on man was very wide. As can be seen from the above episodes of the First World War, it stretched from the harmful that caused chloroacetone, ethyl bromoacetate and a number of others, which had an irritating effect, to the deadly - phosgene, chlorine and mustard gas.

Despite the fact that the statistics indicatethe relative limitations of the gas's mortal potential (of the total number of affected - only 5% of deaths), the number of dead and maimed was enormous. This gives the right to assert that the first use of chemical weapons opened a new page of war crimes in the history of mankind.

At later stages of the war, both sides manageddevelop and put into use sufficiently effective means of protection against enemy chemical attacks. This made the use of toxic agents less effective, and gradually led to the rejection of their use. However, it was the period from 1914 to 1918 that went down in history as a "war of chemists", as the first use of chemical weapons in the world occurred on the margins of its battles.

The tragedy of the defenders of the fortress Osovets

However, let us return to the chronicle of military operationsperiod. In early May 1915, the Germans committed a chemical attack directed against the Russian units defending Osovets fortress, located fifty kilometers from Bialystok (present-day territory of Poland). According to eyewitnesses, after a long shelling of shells, stuffed with deadly substances, among which several of their species were used at once, all living things at a considerable distance were poisoned.

Gibli not only people and animals caught in the zonebut all vegetation was destroyed. The leaves of the trees gleamed yellow and crumbled, and the grass blackened and fell to the ground. The picture was truly apocalyptic and did not fit into the mind of a normal person.

But most of all suffered, of course, defenderscitadel. Even those who escaped death, in the majority received the strongest chemical burns and were terribly mutilated. It is no coincidence that their appearance inspired such a horror on the enemy that in the history of the war the counterattack of the Russians, who eventually threw the enemy away from the fortress, entered under the name "attack of the dead".

Development and use of phosgene

The first use of chemical weapons has revealeda significant number of its technical deficiencies, which were eliminated in 1915 by a group of French chemists led by Victor Grignard. The result of their research was a new generation of fatal gas - phosgene.

Absolutely colorless, in contrast togreenish-yellow chlorine, he betrayed his presence only with a palpable smell of moldy hay, which made it difficult to detect it. In comparison with its predecessor, the novelty had more toxicity, but at the same time had certain drawbacks.

Symptoms of poisoning, and even death itselfinjured, did not come immediately, but a day after gas hit the respiratory tract. This allowed the poisoned and often doomed to death soldiers for a long time to participate in the fighting. In addition, phosgene was very difficult, and to increase its mobility it was necessary to mix everything with the same chlorine. This infernal mixture was given to the Allies as the "White Star", since it was this sign that the cylinders containing it were labeled.

Devil's novelty

On the night of July 13, 1917 in the area of ​​the Belgianthe city of Ypres, which had already won sad glory, the Germans made the first use of chemical weapons of blast action. At the place of its debut, it became known as yperite. Its carriers were mines, sprayed with an explosion of yellow oily liquid.

The use of mustard gas, as well as general applicationchemical weapons in World War I, was another devilish innovation. This “civilization achievement” was created to damage the skin, as well as the respiratory and digestive organs. Neither soldiers' uniforms nor any types of civilian clothes saved him from his influence. He penetrated through any fabric.

In those years, not yet released anyreliable means of protection against its contact with the body, which made the use of mustard gas quite effective until the end of the war. Already the first use of this substance, knocked out two and a half thousand soldiers and officers of the enemy, of which a significant number died.

Gas, not spreading on the ground

German chemists were not engaged in the development of mustard gas.by chance. The first use of chemical weapons on the Western Front showed that the substances used — chlorine and phosgene — had a common and very significant drawback. They were heavier than air, and therefore, in sprayed form, they went down, filling the trenches and all kinds of cavities. The people who were in them were poisoned, but those who were on high ground at the time of the attack often remained unharmed.

It was necessary to invent a poison gas with lessspecific gravity and capable of striking their victims at any level. It was the mustard gas that appeared in July 1917. It should be noted that the British chemists quickly established its formula, and in 1918 launched a deadly weapon in production, but the truce, which followed two months later, prevented large-scale use. Europe sighed with relief - the First World War ended for four years. The use of chemical weapons has become irrelevant, and their development has temporarily ceased.

The beginning of the use of toxic substances by the Russian army

The first case of the use of chemical weaponsThe Russian army refers to 1915, when, under the leadership of Lieutenant-General V. N. Ipatiev, the program for the production of this type of weapon in Russia was successfully implemented. However, its use had the character of technical tests and did not pursue tactical goals. Only a year later, as a result of work on the introduction into production of developments created in this area, it became possible to use them on the fronts.

Full use of military developmentsreleased from domestic laboratories, began in the summer of 1916 during the famous Brusilovsky breakthrough. It is this event that makes it possible to determine the year of the first use of chemical weapons by the Russian army. It is known that during the period of combat operations artillery shells filled with suffocating gas chloropicrin and toxic ones - Vensinite and phosgene were used. According to the report sent to the Main Artillery Directorate, the use of chemical weapons rendered "a great service to the army."

Gloomy war statistics

The first use of chemical weapons firstWorld War was a disastrous precedent. In subsequent years, its use not only expanded, but also underwent a qualitative change. Summing up the sad statistics of the four war years, historians state that during this period the warring parties produced at least 180 thousand tons of chemical weapons, of which at least 125 thousand tons found their use. On the battlefields, 40 types of various toxic substances were tested, which resulted in the death and injury of 1,300,000 troops and civilians in the area of ​​their use.

Lesson Untapped

Has humankind learned a worthy lesson fromevents of those years, and was the date of the first use of chemical weapons a black day in its history? Hardly. And today, despite the international legal acts prohibiting the use of toxic substances, the arsenals of most states of the world are full of their modern developments, and more and more often in the press there are reports of its use in various parts of the world. Humanity is stubbornly moving along the path of self-destruction, ignoring the bitter experience of previous generations.