Chemical weapons in World War I

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Chemical warfare dates back thousands of years, but the first large-scale use of chemical weapons was during World War I. Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States used chemical weapons on the battlefield. They were primarily used to demoralize, injure, and kill entrenched defenders, against whom the indiscriminate and generally very slow-moving or static nature of gas clouds would be most effective. The types of weapons employed ranged from disabling chemicals, such as tear gas, to lethal agents like chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas. In survivors, gas attacks caused medical problems and a strong psychological impact. This chemical warfare was a major component of the first global war and first total war of the 20th century. Estimates go up to about 90,000 fatalities and a total of about 1.3 million casualties. However, this amounts to only 3–3.5% of overall casualties, and gas was unlike most other weapons of the period because it was possible to develop...

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