Chemical warfare was first introduced in World War 1. This was really the testing point for chlorine and mustard gases. Both these gases proved effective but they also proved to be costly and slow to kill. The introduction of chemical warfare proved many things but also created many problems.One of the chemicals used was chlorine produced by the German Army in April, 1915 it was a green gas that destroyed the respiratory organs of its victims and this led to a slow death by asphyxiation. It was a horrible death, but as hard as they tried, doctors were unable to find a way of successfully treating chlorine gas poisoning. The only bad thing about chlorine gas was it was a slow killer but it could be put into shells for easy detonation. Mustard gas was also produced by the Germans later around 1917 which were the most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the war; it was almost odorless and took twelve hours to take effect. It was so powerful that only small amounts had to be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks. This was a great impact because it could kill vast amount of people in a short amount of time.Although there were many advantages there were many disadvantages to these gases. It was important to have the right weather conditions before a gas attack could be made. When the British Army launched a gas attack the wind blew it back into the faces of the advancing troops. This problem was solved when gas shells were produced for use with heavy artillery. This increased the range of attack and helped to protect their own troops when weather conditions were not completely great.Chemical warfare has made a big effect on the war today because there is an ever growing threat of chemical attack on the U.S. by many countries. Chemicals were used recently in the gulf war which was against Iraq which killed many people. After the war we discover...
