World War I

The knowledge of chemical and biological weapons grew in leaps and bounds during World War I. This can be attributed to research efforts by France, Germany, Russia and America. During the time World War I a whole host of new chemical weapons were used. These gasses severed as a way to cause panic and fear among the ranks in soldiers. These gases were very hard to tell the difference of until the effects took place. These weapons fall into different categories depending on what type of destructive abilities they contain. During World War I antipersonnel agents, choking agents, blood agents and vesicants were used.

The most popular antipersonnel agent was bromoacetone. Before World War I the French had discovered the usefulness of antipersonnel agents when trying to control large crowds of people rioting. The applied the same strategy during the war to disperse enemy troops that were hunkered down in trenches.

Choking agents were considered the most deadly chemical weapon in the arsenal of armies during World War I. It began with the use of chlorine gas. When the German army used this gas on a large scale in World War I, it became the first use of chemical weapons of mass destruction. This caused a large scale use of chlorine gas to be used by Allied forces in retaliation. Chlorine gas was soon replaced by a more effective killer, phosgene. To be exact, it was a ten times more effective.

Blood agents such as cyanide were used very rarely during the course of World War I. This is because it was difficult to release enough into the air to cause death in the enemy. Last on the list of chemical weapons used during World War I are vesicants. Two types of vesicants used during World War I are sulfur mustard and arsenical. Sulfur mustard gas caused fear in many soldiers, for good reason. This gas, if dispersed in heavy concentration, would settle in low areas on the battlefield such as trenches and craters caused by artillery fire and stay there for hours or even days. If an unsuspecting solider were to jump into one of these areas for cover, they would break out in large blisters.

By the end of World War I, 26 million casualties were counted. Of those 26 million, one million were attributed to chemical warfare. This number does not take into account the soldiers that as a result of chemical weapons weeks or months after coming into contact during battle.

The effects of the chemical weapons were felt by the armies even after the war. Many soldiers returned home disabled. Although they were fortunate to have survived the war, it came with a heavy cost .These costs were blindness, loss of speech, severe chemical allergies and respiratory issues. These issues left many veterans few choices when they returned home.