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Mustard Gas

The German Army started using Mustard Gas in September of 1917.This odorless gas was the deadliest of all the chemicals used in the war. The yperite, as it was called, remained active for several weeks in the soil and was so toxic, only small amounts were needed to be added to bombs.

The effects were devastating. First, the victims’ skin would blister. Then the eyes would become extremely sore. Third, vomiting. Mustard gas strips off the mucous membranes of the bronchial tubes in the lungs. It also caused external and internal bleeding. Mustard gas poisoning incited pain for about four or five weeks before causing death

Chlorine was another deadly gas used by the Germans in the war.

The German Army first began experimenting with flame-throwers in 1900 and was issued to special battalions eleven years later. The flame-thrower used pressurized air, carbon dioxide or nitrogen to force oil through a nozzle. Ignited by a small charge, the oil became a jet of flame.

Flame-throwers were first used at the Western Front in October 1914. Operated by two men, they were mainly used to clear enemy soldiers from front-line trenches. At first they had a range of 25 meters but later this was increased to 40 meters. This meant they were only effective over narrow areas of No Man's Land. Another problem was that the flame-thrower was difficult to move around and only contained enough oil to burn 40 seconds at the time. Soldiers who operated flame-throwers had a short-life span because as soon as they used them they were the target of rifle and machine-gun fire.

The British Army also experimented with flame-throwers. However, they found short-range jets inefficient. They also developed four 2-ton throwers that could send a flame over 30 yards. These were introduced in July 1916 but within a couple of weeks two had been destroyed. Although these large flame-throwers initially created panic amongst German soldiers, the British were unable to capture the trenches under attack. With this failure, the British generals decided to abandon the use of flame-throwers.