Because it is TOXIC it had a fear about it, all of its own. Most soldiers of the era were raised in the early era of gas lights and gas stoves etc. They knew from civil life how explosions could occur by accident, but they also knew that being “gassed” was deadly. Many hundreds died in the early civil use of gas, through accident. It was so obviously fatal, that it became a popular way in which to commit suicide.
So to the common soldier, GAS in the Chem.2 form was a very scary business, capable of killing all and sundry, with no distinctions for rank, class or troop quality. In this regard it was therefore probably more feared than the over-all results reflected. A Grim old British Army joke was that that the stuff was so deadly, it could kill someone just looking at the pay book photograph of the victim.
In the wargames sense it is not hard to deploy. It would be part of a pre-game plan. Would be limited to a certain area and would only be released if the wind was right. A simple die roll can suffice to give wind speed and the same roll determines how long the cloud remains together. The faster it moves, the stronger the wind, therefore the sooner it disperses. The charts you have already worked out are OK for casualties except as below.
If the troops have proper masks and get sufficient warning, casualties will be light. The nuisance value will be high. Visibility is drastically reduced. Ability to move about and act strenuously is severely effected.
If they do not have masks at all, the casualties will be high regardless of troop quality. If they have poor, or inadequate masks, the casualties will be less but again will still have nothing to do with troop quality. Ability to move about and act strenuously is not only severely effected, there is a strong likelihood the troops will abandon the area as a result of panic. The level of likelihood for panic is effected by troop quality….but it is also by how badly the equipment is functioning. Therefore a guardsman veteran, with a poor mask, will choke at the same rate as a green recruit with the same sort of mask. Once a man starts to choke, his survival instinct cuts in. Breathing is one of the most basic of all human instincts to retain.
If the man is well trained and a veteran, and his equipment is functioning reasonably well, he knows that the attack will pass, is less likely to try tearing it off to get a breath, etc. This is the only value of higher troop quality. Once this happens instinct takes over and the man will bolt for it, hoping to find some breathable air.
After the first few months of CLOUD attacks, the casualties became quite slight. Everyone was scared, so everyone took precautions. The CLOUD attack then became mostly only of the same value as CHEM. 1. (Which I shall cover) and therefore not worth the expense.
With a BEAM attack, the concentration is so strong that it is very quickly fatal and adequate warning might not be given. If that is the case, then along the path of its movement, casualties to men and animals will be heavy. They will also extend into the rear areas and supporting artillery etc. Gas kills HQ troops just as easily as front line troops. However in this regard the HQ troops who have not served in the trenches may be at a disadvantage as they are more likely to panic and more likely to be slow to re-act to the danger.
EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL 1
Since it was quickly realized, that the enduring advantage of a gas attack with toxics, was to make the other side wear gas masks, then a cheaper alternative was sought. Pre War there had been experiments with tear gas. The French had used it to subdue some anarchists during a Paris siege. It was cheap to make and it effected both the eyes and breathing. Very few people could tolerate it and so wearing a gas mask was necessary. The same applied to pepper based gasses that made men sneeze, gasses that made people vomit, stung the eyes etc.
In addition, unlike the CLOUD gasses, IRRITANTS were reasonably simple to put into a shell. They were less dangerous to handle and less dangerous to store. They were also inexpensive, so plenty of ammunition could be provided. They exploded on the target area and did not need to be in a cloud as they were re-enforced by following shells also landing on target. They had a reasonable ‘hang around time’ and were therefore very annoying for the target troops.
Advantages
An artilleryman forced to wear a gas mask can only work and fire at about half that which he normally would. His vision is reduced to a few hundred yards and he gets tired very easy. Even if (as was usually the case) the artillery had spare crews, the fatigue level increased so much, so quickly, that soon all the men would be exhausted and the rate of fire drastically effected. The only choice would be for the guns to up and move to another position…..or accept a slow rate of fire while waiting for the gas to disperse. You can’t eat while it is around, you can't talk properly, passing orders is hard. Using telephones (essential for artillery) is almost impossible. Draught animals must be masked or moved away. In the direct fire mode (such as anti tank) the men must peer through the vision slits of their masks, the smoke and debris of the battlefield and the clouds of gas in order to see the target.
For this reason much of the huge quantity of CHEM 1. Fired, would be directed at the enemy artillery.
However the next favorite target would be enemy machine gunners. With gas masks on, they too are restricted to a few hundred yards vision. They get tired quickly and with masks on are more likely not to see threats to their flanks…. therefore making them more vulnerable to the attackers advancing troops. They not only lose vision due to the restricted vision from their masks, they also lose vision due to the misty clouds of gas. The next on the list were the front line troops. These were less likely to receive as much of a thorough dousing with CHEM 1 than the above. Nonetheless, during the assault bombardment they would be given sufficient to make them put their masks on. Sometimes this would be mixed with smoke, which was hard to pick from gas. As the troops did not know (and were not keen to find out) they would not take their masks off to sniff which was which. So the effect was again to cause fatigue, to reduce visibility and to make the men less capable of physical effort. As none of the troops knew if the gas was TOXIC or not, there was little chance they would leave their masks off and ‘tough it out’.
Even if they were brave enough to try toughing it out, the effects of the IRRITANTS would make them ill, their eyes and noses would be streaming, vomiting would be occurring and the over all effect would be worse than wearing the mask anyway.
A big advantage for the attacker was that the gas dispersed fairly easily. Therefore they could sneak up on the enemy trenches and assault from close range. To help with this the artillery bombardment would switch to HE and smoke. As the defenders do not know when the bombardment is going to lift, they will not be able to tell the subtle difference….and there will be a residue of gas about anyway.
Although the attackers might need gas masks initially, they will be able to take theirs off more quickly as they know the schedule. With a mask on a man cannot run, he can barely fight or do anything strenuous. The attacker, leaping into trenches without a mask on, has a great advantage. The defender ‘could’ take his mask off…but he is now too busy trying to repel the attackers. Because of the easy dispersal, there was a good chance that troops breaking through, would over-run rear areas, such as HQ and artillery support and when they got there, would not need masks. It had the advantage of clearing areas of the enemy, without damaging the defensive positions. This means an attacker has got immediate cover, once having taken the enemy line. Because these agents do not create damage, they therefore do not hinder the passage of tanks and troops.
Defensive
It could be used to fire on the enemy batteries causing them to have the same disadvantages . Even if firing fairly blind, a ‘near enough’ carried on the breeze, could still force them to ‘mask up’.
It can be used to disrupt enemy communications, HQ, and assembly area, to disrupt the coming attack.
It can be fired close to one’s own troops, who are already masked up, to prevent the enemy moving close without having to wear masks. If used on enemy reserve areas and assembly points, it can force them to mask up and therefore subject them to the same restrictions to visibility and physical exertion. (Can’t run or work hard.)
So, it can be seen that TOXIC 1. IRRITANTS were an extremely important weapon and were used in vast amounts.
It was not unusual for it to comprise 60% of the ammunition for a pre attack bombardment. 33% was fairly normal. 25% would be considered minimum requirement.
CHEMICAL 3 EFFECTS
If the main advantage of Irritants was that they force men to mask up or move away, the effect of being pounded with MUSTARD GAS, was even more dramatic. Now they not only needed to mask up, but to wear protective clothing as well. Exposed areas of flesh had to be covered with a special cream. So once again it caused artillery men to fire more slowly, or to move away entirely.
Everything about it caused difficulties. Men and animals picked it up on their feet and spread it. Despite precautions the smallest drop could cause blisters and injuries. This increased casualty rates. The slightest drop in the eyes caused total blindness for periods of up to three months.
If it was breathed in, death would occur in a horrible manner. This results in a huge morale effect on those not killed, but who are worried as hell that it is going to happen to them next. Because it gathers in low places, troops cannot now use trenches and dugouts. Everyone has to get out of its way. If fired into towns it can cause them to be abandoned for many hours. Woods become uninhabitable for days.
It hangs around. Continuing to make the area un-usable for 72 hours in the open, or up to 7 days in towns, ruins and woods.
It is therefore the perfect weapon to prevent the other side moving troops through an area. The zone needs to be marked out on the wargames table, as it was visible. If they chose to move through there they take casualties the same as anyone else. These chemicals do not distinguish between one side or the other. Civilian or soldier.
For this reason it was usually put down on the flank areas of an impending attack. That makes it hard for re-enforcements to be brought in from the flanks. It was additionally used to force the enemy defensive artillery to move away. However as the attacker does not intend to pass through there he is not worried about his own casualties. For the above reasons it was always a fairly strong part of the ammunition percentage allocated.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER IN A WARGAME CONTEXT
In a divisional or larger wargame bombardments would be vital. Nobody attacked unless they had sufficient stores and ammunition built up. Pre attack bombardments were therefore quite large. Defensive fire will be much less if the defender was not aware, or even partially aware, he was to be the subject of an offensive.
The attacking player would need to plan a bombardment, as in real life. This is something like it would be in 1918. He would use HE & SHRAPNEL to destroy wire. If British, he might plan a beam attack the night before the attack.
HE, SHRAPNEL and IRRITANT is put down on the enemy trenches to force them to mask up and inflict casualties on troops who left cover. It might also be mixed with SMOKE to cause confusion and reduce visibility.
HE, SHRAPNEL and IRRITANT on the enemy close defensive batteries forces them to mask up and reduce their rate of fire and visibility….but also inflict casualties. Again smoke might be used to make up for a shortage of real Gas and confuse the target as to what it is.
HE and IRRITANT is put on the enemy machine gun positions. The HE might destroy them altogether. The Irritant will certainly reduce their effectiveness.
HE, SHRAPNEL and IRRITANT is used on the enemy reserve areas to force them to mask up and reduce their rate of fire, visibility and slow their ability to move up.
PERSISTENT on the flanks outside the planned attack area, will prevent enemy re-enforcements moving in from the flanks.
PERSISTENT on enemy distant (heavy) batteries where occupying or passing through them, was not part of his immediate battle plan.
PERSISTENT on enemy reserve areas to force them to move away and prevent their intervention, as long as the areas were not part of his own plans for passing through or occupation for 72 hours.
PERSISTENT on enemy senior HQ areas to force them to move and therefore disrupt command and control. The attacker, might mix this with SHRAPNEL & HE to inflict casualties on them as they try to move, thereby causing even more disruption.
SMOKE and IRRITANT lobbed into various other areas creates confusion as to the actual attack plans. He would not use PERSISTENT as that would only signal that he was *not* going through there. If he had guns and plenty of HE to spare he might use some of that to perpetuate the confusion.
For the attack he would concentrate his light and medium artillery (usually the light) to form various types of attacking barrages.
A box barrage enables troops to move inside it and the enemy outside of the box to be unable to move in to intervene. This would be popular where there was no PERSISTENT to protect flanks. The barrage will march slowly forward at walking pace, across the battlefield, with his own troops as close behind it as they dare. This type of bombardment will make it hard to see the attackers, and hard for the defenders to do anything about them without risking heavy loss by exposing themselves.
Medium guns will lift from the frontal areas and commence to pound the rear areas with IRRITANT to prevent or slow, the movement of reserves to counter attack. They will intensify their bombardment of the enemy distant batteries with IRRITANT, HE and SHRAPNEL as they try to intervene.
Heavy guns will switch to cross roads etc. with HE, IRRITANT and SHRAPNEL to also prevent reserves moving up.
The DEFENDER
Would plan certain areas to be pre-determined zones of fire. When the attack got under way, these would be initiated through a series of flares, rockets, or other messages. They would probably include SHRAPNEL and IRRITANT put down in no-mans land to hopefully catch the attackers in the open. They would dump as much IRRITANT as possible on the enemy batteries and probably include some PERSISTENT since they are not the ones attacking. They would mix this with HE to kill, and also spread the PERSISTENT.
If he got the right signal, that his frontal areas had fallen, he may well have a planned bombardment with his whole arsenal of nasty stuff to prevent the enemy using the area too. Of course preventing him doing this, is the reason why the enemy pre-attack bombardments have been so well planned.
RE GAS MASKS. Note that even modern day Chemical Warfare suits do not allow for the wearer to run or do anything too strenuous. The WW1 sets were crude by comparison, hot and sweaty to wear and often very uncomfortable. Some types were not all that effective at keeping gas out. German Flame thrower crews used Gas Masks when operating their weapons due to the need to protect their flesh. They also wore heavy gloves. This is why the famous battle reports talk of the Germans ‘walking’ across no-mans land, squirting flame. So having a serious Divisional level WW1 Battle without CHEMICAL artillery playing a major role is totally un-realistic, both in method and historical fact.
Very few WW1 wargames rules effectively cover the effects of gas weapons. Probably, because they are not understood. Gas is generally considered a horror weapon of WW1 and although tempted into the period, many rule writers seem reluctant to accept the need to reflect the historical realities.
As wargamers reflecting history, it is not our role to change that history to suit out abhorrence of otherwise of these weapons. Nor is it really for us to judge those who used them or suffered from the results. Not correctly reflecting the use of Gas in WW1 wargames, would be akin to refusing to use arrows in an ancients game, because they put eyes out. History is history.
Select Bibliography
CHEMICAL SOLDIERS. British Gas Warfare in WW1. Donald Richter. Kansas Publishing.
GAS. The Battle for Ypres, 1915. J.M.Williams and R.J.Steel. Vanderwell publishing.
BATTLE TACTICS OF THE WESTERN FRONT. Paddy Griffith. Yale.
WITH A MACHINE GUN TO CAMBRAI. George Coppard. Imperial War Museum.
GAS ATTACK.; William Moore; Leo Cooper Publishing.
TANK BATTLES OF WW1. Bryan Cooper.; Ian Allen Publishing.
THE LEAVENWORTH PAPERS. U.S. Army.
FIRST WORLD WAR. GERMANY & AUSTRIA HUNGARY. Holger H. Herwig. Arnold Press.
THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA AT WAR 1914-18. C.E.W.BEAN. Australian War memorial.
THE 1917 SPRING OFFENSIVES. Yves Buffetaut; Historie & Collections.
ALLIED ARTILLERY OF WW1. Ian Hogg.
WARRIOR NATION. John Thomson; Hazard Press.
GAS WARFARE IN WW1. A.J.Flintham; Educational Chemistry.
GASSED! Whyler. - The infantry experience; Army Press.
GAS. Story of the special Brigade. C.H.Foulkes; Edinburgh London press.
THE POISONOUS CLOUD. Ludwig F. Haber; Oxford Press.
DEATHS MEN. D. winter.; London Press.
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