396 EEPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE. — 1919. 



in many cases the failure of the ammunition supply is to 'be attributed to 

 this. From the same cause it seems that the timely withdrawals of batteries 

 could not be effected. Artillery activity seems to have been paralysed by 

 the effect of the gas. 



During the later months of 1917, especially during the third battle of Ypres, 

 we continued to use gas shell with increasing effectiveness, as was proved by the 

 material results, by numerous captured documents and by prisoners' statements. 

 It happened repeatedly that the enemy's artillery fire ceased abruptly when 

 their batteries were fired on with gas shell, and prisonei's admitted that 

 batteries were put out of action in this way. Most of the movement immediately 

 behind the lines necessarily took place dm'ing the night, and the gas shelling 

 of tracks interfered seriously with ration parties and reliefs moving over muddy 

 ground composed mainly of deep shell holes full of water. Prisoners often said 

 that ration parties had been compelled to abandon their journey owing to the 

 difficulty of moving in the dark when wearing a gas mask, and the following 

 extract from a prisoner's statement is typical of the difficulty of carrying out a 

 relief : — 



A dense cloud of gas with a strong irritant action, lay across the route 

 of the relieving Battalion. The 5th Company attempted to pass through it 

 at a slow double without putting on their masks, since owing to the number 

 of shell holes in the road, the men would have been unable to make their 

 waj' along if wearing masks. On reaching the gas cloud some of the men 

 tried to put on their masks, with the result that they fell into shell holes ; the 

 others were affected by the gas, and finally the whole company went back in 

 disorder to their starting-place. 



' Mustard Gas ' was first used by us in September 19lS in the successful attack 

 on the Hindenburg line. The French had used it three months earlier, and the 

 results obtained showed that the enemy was taken completely by surprise and 

 suffered heavy casualties. Apparently the Germans had not thought it possible 

 that the technical resources of the Allies would be capable of producing this 

 substance in large quantities in so short a time, and their first idea was that 

 the French had filled shells with liquid taken from their 'blinds.' Examination 

 in the laboratory showed that it had been made by a method entirely different 

 from their own, and at the date of the Armistice they were considering the 

 possibility of adopting the Allies' method of manufacture. 



In October, 1916, the 'Livens Projector,' a new type of trench mortar for 

 firing gas bombs, invented by Major W. H. Livens, D.S.O., M.O., R.E., was used 

 for the first time, and in 1917 it developed into one of the deadliest weapons of 

 trench warfare. By means of the 'projector' large numbers of bombs con- 

 taining 50 per cent, of their v^eight of gas could be fired simultaneously on to 

 important targets, producing very high concentrations of gas without any warning 

 beyond the flash and noise of the discharge and the bursting of the bombs. The 

 following extracts from a telegram from German General Headquarters dated 

 August 8, 1917, and from two reports on the ' projector ' attacks show the 

 effectiveness of the new method of discharging gas : — 



The English have achieved considerable success by firing gas-mines 

 simultaneously from a considerable number of projectors on to one point. 

 The casualties occurred because the gas arrived without warning and because 

 its concentration was so great that a single breath would incapacitate a man. 



Extract from Beport of Fourth Gdrmnn Army on a Projector Attach at 

 Merris on May 23-24, 1918. 



Shortly after midnight the enemy carried out a heavy surprise bombard- 

 ment with H.E. ammunition, at the same time a projector attack was made 

 with phosgene drums. The recognition of the nature of the bombardment 

 was made extraordinarily difficult for the troops. The garrison -was taking 

 cover, and only a few of them noticed the bright flash of the projector 

 discharge. 



Even though the British have so often violated the technical laws of gas 



