ON CHEMICAL WARFARE. 



397 



warfare as regards wind conditions, it is still surprising that they should 

 have carried out a gas attack on the night in question. . . . 



Casualties : 11 men killed. 



121 men gassed (including 2 officers). 



To the credit of the troops it must be emphasized that their good 

 discipline and skill in the use of their masks enabled them to avoid even 

 greater losses. 



Extract from Diri.<ional Report on Projector Discharge at Ablainezeville, 



June 18-19, 1918. 



Only part of the garrison saw the flash of the discharge, and the flash a,nd 

 the ensuing explosion were mistaken for an enemy ammunition dump going 

 up. Direct hits in or close to dug-outs led to the rapid development of such 

 a concentration of gas that the occupants could not get their masks on in 

 time. The installation of projectors had been suspected, and all regiments 

 had been warned, so that the troops were not taken unawares. 



Casualties : 2 officers killed. 



57 other ranks killed. 

 66 other ranks gassed. 



The following extract from an order from the Seventeenth German Army 

 shows that the effect of surprise had not been lost even as late as July 1918 : — 



Owing to the severe losses we have suffered and to the impossibility of 

 providing our troops with a more convenient form of protection the Army 

 Commander is obliged to resort to more stringent precautions. 



(a) On all nights when it is neither raining heavily nor blowing hard 

 special sentries are to be posted over all dug-outs. 



(6) On such nights all ration parties and working parties will_ make 

 the last 1000 yards of. their journey to the front line with respirators 

 adjusted. 



(c) Respirators will be adjusted at every burst of artUlery fire. 



Value of Gas as a Weapon. 



The above extracts from German documents illustrate some of the w-ays in 

 which gas proved itself effective, and some of the reasons which make it such 

 a valuable addition to existing weapons. 



It has added many complications to war. The possibility of its use compels 

 everyone to carry a respirator, which means additional weight and additional 

 training. When a man wears a respirator his fighting efficiency is diminished 

 owing both to the interference with his vision and to the additional fatigue, and 

 a respirator cannot be worn for an unlimited period, as it must be removed to 

 enable a man to eat and drink. The introduction of gas increased in many 

 ways the strain on troops in the trenches. Elaborate precautions are necessary 

 to ensure a gas alarm being given promptly, many additional sentries being 

 necessary for this puriDose, and much extra work has to be done, for example, 

 in rendering all dug-outs gas proof. In addition there is the moral effect of 

 gas, due no doubt largely to ignorance and to an exaggerated notion of its 

 ixjssihilities, but an effect that must always be reckoned with. The Germans 

 tried to exploit this before their attack at Verdun in 1916 and their offensive in 

 1918 by circulating rumours of the terrible effects of the new gases they intended 

 to use. 



Gas shell differ in their effects from other types of shell and can be made to 

 supplement them in many ways. For instance, although deep dug-outs give 

 complete protection against H.E. and shrapnel, gas will enter quickly unless 

 the entrance is protected, and the burst of a gas projectile near the entrance often 

 proved fatal to the occupants. Then again the effects of a bombardment may 

 be prolonged for many hours or even day.s by the use of a persistent gas, and 

 important areas may be rendered untenable for long periods except to troops 



