I chose a document from WWI that corresponded to the use of gas bombs during the war. Although the passage was only a short journal entry from a soldier, there was no extensive use of words needed. It is clear to see that they were powerful and widely used weapon amongst the war.
According to firstworldwar.com, the French were the first to use all gas-related weapons. They used these weapons against the Germans, who were the first to conduct in-depth studies of the grenades and in turn used them on a larger scale. The first type of bomb-shell the French used caused the enemy to undergo a “violent fit of sneezing,” says firstworldwar.com. It was fired in liquid form and would vaporize in the below freezing degree weather. This weapon also came in the form of Mustard Gas. Mustard Gas was an odorless chemical which caused both internal and external blisters. There was hardly any protection against this gas which caused it to be beneficial for those who were not the enemy. The other forms it came in was tear gas, phosgene and chlorine, all dangerous and popularly used as weapons.
According to Wikipedia.com, “The killing capacity of gas, however, was limited – only four percent of combat deaths were due to gas. Because it was possible to develop effective countermeasures against attacks, gas was unlike most other weapons of the period. In the later stages of the war, as the use of gas increased, its overall effectiveness diminished.”
As one can see, although gas weapons came in multiple shapes and forms, it was used universally by many throughout WWI. Although it was not as powerful as machine guns and other rifles of that sort, it was a quick and efficient way to get the enemy scared and out of hiding.
Sources:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_gas_in_World_War_I
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