Technology In World War 1 Essay

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El Barmelgy, Aya 2012; World War 1 History G10C Technologies in World War 1 Poisonous Gas Poisonous gas was the most feared weapon and can be acknowledged as the fist trace of biological weapons in World War 1. It was used on the trenches even when no attack was going on. Even though it wasn’t the main weapon used like the machine guns, it led to instant death of large numbers of soldiers on enemy sides. People assume that gas was first used in war by the Germans, however that is somewhat inaccurate. France started the first gas attack in August 1914 where it created tear grenades in hope to stop the German army from taking over Belgium, north-eastern France and advancing. The Germans then thought of creating a poisonous gas that would…show more content…
They attacked the German lines at The Battle of Loos however; this retaliatory attack failed because the winds direction changed and the chlorine gas affected the British more than it affected the Germans and therefore didn’t fulfill its purpose. The change in wind direction is the major reason why poisonous gas was the most feared weapon during World War 1. A new form of poisonous gas called “Phosgene” was created and adopted by both Germans and Allied armies. It was used in many battles during World War 1 but not as a main alternative. Phosgene was more powerful than chlorine and caused much less coughing because more of it was inhaled. It often had a delayed effect, which means that healthy soldiers were taken down by phosgene gas poisoning after 48 hours of…show more content…
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