Dear all,

I am reading the war diary of the 49th Division, for July 1915 near Boezinge (Northern part of the Ypres Salinet). It states that on the 13th, the left battalion of the 148th Brigade (4th Y&L), more or less opposite ferme 14, were shelled with asphyxiating gas shells. 70 men suffered from the effects, but after a few hours most of them were fit enough to go back into the lines.

I just wonder what kind of substance might have been in those shells. I heard somewhere that gas shells fired this early in the war mostly contained subsatnces like tear gas, and not the deadly chlorine or phosgene that was released from large cilinders. Can someone confirm this?

Best regards,

Bert.

Hello Bert

These will be tear gas shells. Although they had used them on the Western Front since March or April 1915, during June and July the Germans began using them in concentrated bombardments to force troops out of their positions. The original fillings of these ‘T Shells’ were xylyl bromide and benzyl bromide.

By July the Germans were trying a range of fillings. In the Ypres Salient the British reported a sudden increase at the beginning of July of tear gas shells and on 4 July Capt. Barley, the Chemical Adviser to 2nd Army, reported that the shells contained ‘dibromoxylene’. Unfortunately I cannot identify this amongst the lachrymators described in the literature.

During July the French reported chemicals in shells and trench mortar bombs which could also act as lung irritants. The French report that on 16 July the Germans used Chlormethylchloroformate (known to the Germans as K- and C- Stoff), a lung irritant more poisonous than chlorine but with also serious tear effects. The Germans also used bromacetone (B-Stoff) in July.

The major use of shells containing lung irritant gases, principally phosgene and diphosgene, did start until the beginning of 1916.

Regards

Simon

Bert,

I suppose that what Simon says is correct. In all sorts of contemporary sources (regimental histories) referring to Boezinge July 1915 I found references to this. I mean that once in a while there was gas alarm, but then afterwards it turned out to be 'only' tear gas. I think the word 'lachrymatory' (sorry if wrong spelling) was used.

Aurel

Bert/ Aurel

I can give you the National Archives references for the British reports if you are doubtful .

Regards

Simon

Aurel, Simon,

Many thanks for these helpfull replies.

regards,

Bert

Bert

Simon is spot on.

There were five broad types of gas used in the Great War:

(i) Acute Lung irritants – very irritating & damaging to the lungs
(ii) Lachrymators – very irritating to the eyes - “tear gas”
(iii) Paralysants – directly poison the central nervous system – rapidly fatal
(iv) Sternutators – very irritating to the eyes, nose, throat – the name comes from the violent coughing such gases caused
(v) Vesicants – very irritating to the skin – blisters etc.

Each category had several chemical variants, with “progress” made as the war went on.

First use of categories (i) & (ii) was in 1915, but (iii) did not appear until 1916, the vesicants (Mustard being the most common) first appeared in 1917 as did the first of the sternutators.

1915 saw chlorine, phosgene, and chloromethyl-chloroformate used (lung irritants) and benzyl bromide and xylyl bromide as lachrymators. The British, Germans, and French used chlorine and phosgene, the French and Germans chloromethyl-chloroformate, and the Germans exclusively used the bromides. Like Simon, I cannot find a reference to a di-bromide compound.

Tear gas was very debilitating but not fatal, whilst the acute lung irritants could cause death due to “water on the lung”. Not surprisingly, the concentration a soldier was exposed to greatly determined the degree of incapacity/pathology suffered.

Regards

Andrew