The World's First Weapons of Mass Destruction

Abstract

Toxic gases and chemical warfare agents – such as chlorine, dichloroethylsulphide (mustard gas), phosgene, hydrogen cyanide, chloropicrin, and arsenic-containing diphenychlorarsine – were used with varying success by both sides in the First World War. Chemical warfare led to some 1.5 million casualties among all the belligerent nations, yet less than 1% proved fatal. This chapter explores the success and limitations of the first weapons of mass destruction, as well as the race to protect against these chemical weapons using various forms of gas mask and treatment methods.