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Poison Gas in World War I: Stats & Impact

Poison gas was first used in World War I, with Germany releasing chlorine gas in 1915 at the Battle of Ypres. Over the course of the war, all nations began using gas weapons, with a total of 129,000 tons used resulting in over 1 million non-fatal casualties and 91,198 reported deaths from gas. While chlorine gas caused slow suffocating deaths, later gases like phosgene and mustard gas proved even more deadly and inflicted burns and internal damage.

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2K views11 pages

Poison Gas in World War I: Stats & Impact

Poison gas was first used in World War I, with Germany releasing chlorine gas in 1915 at the Battle of Ypres. Over the course of the war, all nations began using gas weapons, with a total of 129,000 tons used resulting in over 1 million non-fatal casualties and 91,198 reported deaths from gas. While chlorine gas caused slow suffocating deaths, later gases like phosgene and mustard gas proved even more deadly and inflicted burns and internal damage.

Uploaded by

Jayson
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Poison Gas

THE GREAT WAR


Total Cost of the War:
$3,363,322,147,850
8,556,315 Soldiers Dead
91,198 Dead From Gas
Dead from gas attack….
What were the Poison Gas Stats?

• Total tons used:


129,000.
• Non-fatal
casualties:
1,205,655.
• Reported Fatal
Cases: 91,198.
How did it all start?
• First use was at
Battle of Ypres on
April 22, 1915.
• Germans released a
5 mile wide cloud of
chlorine gas
• Within months all
nations using gas as
a weapon
• Hitler was once
exposed to gas and it
terrified him so much
he would not use it in
WWII.
What was Chlorine Gas?
• Enters lungs or eyes
and mixes with
moisture to create
hydrochloric acid.
• Inhalation destroys
lungs within
seconds.
• Slow death by
suffocating.
• If not killed, lung and
eye damage
expected.
What was the protection against
chlorine?
• give soldiers cotton gauze and instruct them
to urinate on it
• Ammonia neutralized the chlorine.
• Difficult to fight while holding gauze over face,
so IN 1915 the first gas masks were given to
troops
What was Phosgene Gas?
• first used in 1916.
• Killed in the same way as Chlorine
• But less coughing.
• More efficient - delayed effect that would kill
men 48 hours later.
• Twice as toxic as Chlorine
What was Mustard Gas?
• used by Germans in 1917.
• Took average of twelve hours to take
effect.
• Remained potent in ground for weeks
posing a danger to all troops.
• Burned different parts of the skin &
body

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