POISONS USED IN WARFARE
The use of poison as a weapon in warfare is not by any means a modern
practice. It may be traced back to the use of poisoned arrows and
spears, and from the time of the discovery of gunpowder, when surgeons
believed that a bullet formed a septic wound.
François Bernier, who died in Paris in 1688, served in the capacity of
physician to Aurungzebe, the Grand Mogul. In describing a battle fought
at Agra against the Mogul, he states that the Rajputa, a hereditary race
of warriors, were great opium eaters and consumed it in large
quantities, and when going into battle they always doubled the dose to
their soldiers, which had the effect of rendering them insensible to
danger. “They threw themselves,” he states, “into combat like wild
beasts, knowing no retreat, and died at their Rajah’s feet if he would
keep his post.”
It was on April 22, 1915, that the French and Canadian troops in the
front line in the neighbourhood of Langemarck saw what appeared to be a
wave of curious green mist approaching them which soon caused them to
choke and gasp and seemed to seize them in a deadly grip from which they
could not escape. A gap was made in the line in that sector, but the
results of this first use of poison gas in the Great War, although
serious, were not disastrous.
A thrill of horror went up from the Allied nations against this fiendish
manœuvre, which was regarded as a crime against humanity and will never
be forgotten. The gas first used was chlorine, the effects of which are
well known, and was liberated by the enemy from cylinders concentrated
on a front of six hundred yards. The first attack was evidently made as
an experiment, and in the interval, owing to the activity of our
chemists, our men were supplied with a temporary respirator as a defence
from this new peril.
During the following months of May and June, several other gas attacks
were made by the Germans, but not on a very large scale, as for some
time the prevailing winds had been in favour of the Allies, which would
be likely to blow the deadly cloud back into the enemy’s lines.
On December 19, 1915, a much more important attack with poison gas was
made on the British front in the Ypres salient, on a front of three and
a half miles. Gas was released continuously for an hour, but thanks to
the protective measures which had been adopted by this time, although
25,000 troops are stated to have been in the area of attack, the
casualties were small.
Disappointed in the effects of their first essay with this form of
weapon, the Germans next introduced phosgene, a very deadly vapour, and
one against which the respirators then used were no protection. A new
type of respirator, however, was speedily devised, and proved effective
against the danger. The gas helmet with its special filter, invented by
Lieut.-Colonel Harrison, came into use, and our men became very quick in
placing it in position.
In August 1916 they launched a highly concentrated phosgene attack
against the Allied lines, on a hot and stifling day, the effects of
which were felt as far as nine miles behind the lines.
The uncertainty of the atmospheric conditions led the Germans to adopt
later another vile method of disseminating poisonous vapours, and they
introduced the gas shell, of which numerous varieties were eventually
made. The contents of these shells were distinguished by the Germans by
special marks in the form of coloured bands on the shell cases; the
so-called “blue cross” contained diphenyl chlorasine, a substance which
when scattered as a fine powder caused intense sneezing to those in the
neighbourhood of it. Two-thirds of the shell were filled with high
explosive, and the intention was to produce uncontrollable sneezing, so
that the wearing of a respirator was made impossible.
Other gas shells were filled with di-phosgene (trichlor methyl
chlorformate), which formed a vapour of a very deadly character
immediately the shell burst and produced most serious consequences.
Another type contained in addition to di-phosgene a quantity of
chlorpicrin, which was not only deadly, but produced extreme running at
the eyes and nose.
These vapours, however, were succeeded in July 1917, in the
neighbourhood of Ypres, by the use of di-chlorethyl sulphide, called
“mustard gas.” Mustard gas is undoubtedly one of the most terrible and
deadly of the gas poisons used. It not only blistered the skin and
turned it brown, but caused intense inflammation, of the eyes and lids,
the throat and nose, often causing permanent blindness and loss of
voice, and eventually producing septic bronchopneumonia, frequently
ending in death.
In the autumn of that year it was used on a large scale against the
Italians, and largely assisted the Austro-German armies in the
break-through at Caporetto.
Clothing, boots, soil or other things which came in contact with it were
liable to affect seriously those brought near them, days after the
articles had been contaminated, but even against this terrible weapon
our gas masks were made effective, if put on with sufficient quickness
and the men could be warned in time.
In spite, however, of this fiendish weapon, the Allies held their own,
and were enabled by scientific and other means to combat these attacks.
It is satisfactory to note that, however deadly were the gases employed,
some means was soon found to counteract them effectively.
The use of poison as a lethal weapon in the Great War was by no means
confined to deadly gases. Numerous instances, many of which are
undoubtedly authentic, were recorded from 1914 to the time of the
Armistice of poisoned sweetmeats and disease organisms that were dropped
from enemy aeroplanes in France and other countries.
On November 4, 1916, it was reported by cable that Prince Mercier, the
youngest child of King Ferdinand of Rumania, who was only five years
old, had died of typhoid.
According to Helen Vacarescu, the Rumanian poetess, the Prince was the
victim of poisoned sweets which were dropped by German airmen into the
streets of Bukarest and other cities of Rumania. Some of these sweets
are said to have fallen into the garden of the Royal Palace, and the
little Prince while playing there took some up and ate them. According
to Miss Vacarescu, he fell sick almost immediately, and when he told
about the sweets he had eaten, a search was instituted, and some of them
were found in the garden. On a scientific investigation being made of
these, they were found to be impregnated with typhoid bacilli. According
to _Le Temps_ it is said that all the families who ate the sweets died.
According to _The Times_ of October 31, 1916, an aeroplane coming from
Transylvania scattered about boxes of poisoned sweetmeats for the
purpose of murdering children, and this excited the greatest indignation
in the district. According to further reports, several of the sweets
contained the microorganisms of various infectious diseases.
On October 12, 1916, a report was received from Petrograd of an enemy
air squadron which dropped bombs on Constanza, the Rumanian Black Sea
port, as well as darts and poisoned sweets saturated with cholera
bacilli.
According to an official report, on October 9, 1916, a squadron of eight
German aeroplanes flew over Bukarest at eleven o’clock one morning and
dropped bombs in the neighbourhood of some linen warehouses. The damage
done was insignificant, but an investigation of the German Legation led
to the discovery of numerous cases of high explosive buried in the
garden, as well as phials labelled Virus Morbi Glanders, which are
supposed to have been sent to propagate an epidemic against cattle and
horses in the country. The discovery is vouched for by a representative
of the United States Legation.
In May 1917 it was reported from Rome that during an Austrian air-raid
over Codigaro, near Ferrara, sweets were thrown out which were found to
contain cholera bacilli. The local authorities issued an order directing
that all wells thereafter should be kept covered.
On December 17, 1917, an account is reported of an air-raid on Calais,
where the Germans dropped a number of small boxes bearing instructions
in English to the effect that they contained soup-powder. Directions
were given to dissolve the powder in water and to add to it a pint of
boiling liquid. Several deaths resulted from using these packets, and an
analysis proved that they contained an extremely virulent poison.
On February 20, 1918, if was reported from Southend that when a raiding
Gotha passed over the town the previous Monday night, a curious patter
was heard on the roofs of some houses in the district. In the morning a
number of sweets about the size of small eggs were found in the roadway
and gardens, believed to have been dropped from the enemy aeroplane.
They were handed to the medical officer of health for Southend, who
reported that he had discovered traces of arsenic in the sweets found on
the public footpath.
On July 29, 1917, a sensation was caused in America by an announcement
made by the Attorney-General, that expert examination had disclosed the
presence of tetanus germs in court plaster which was believed to have
been distributed by German agents, and he essayed to warn the public to
avoid using plaster of that description. The New York State Health
Department published a statement that specimens of such plaster sold by
pedlars had been sent to the State laboratory for examination.
Despatches had been received from Western and Southern areas of the
United States, reporting epidemics of anthrax in herds in the same
region, after the use of such plaster recommended for cuts and other
injuries to cattle.
Poison was used extensively in various ways by the German forces,
although frequently where wells were said to have been poisoned, our men
drank from them freely without any bad results. On the other hand it was
not uncommon in some cases to find, left behind in trenches, large tins
of cocoa and other tempting commodities which on analysis proved to be
contaminated.
The use of bacteriological methods was also not neglected by the enemy,
and it was stated in a despatch from Washington on July 9, 1917, that
the Germans, before evacuating the territory west of St. Quentin,
inoculated the French inhabitants, men, women and children, with
tuberculosis bacilli. The _New York World_ commissioned Dr. Theodore C.
Beebe, a pathologist, of Boston, in charge of the American Ambulance
Hospital at Neuilly, to make an independent investigation of this
matter. Dr. Beebe, in his report, states that while there was no way to
obtain indubitable proof of the allegation, the evidence pointed to the
belief that the Germans made a deliberate attempt to spread tuberculosis
throughout France under the pretence of vaccinating the inhabitants to
protect them from smallpox which they said was sweeping over the
country. Dr. Beebe pointed out that only those persons vaccinated
developed tuberculosis, while unvaccinated children and older persons,
although suffering from pneumonia and other diseases, showed no trace of
it. He found these inoculations were never made until a month or six
weeks before the Germans were evacuating the place; in other words, when
it became apparent to the Germans that they were forced to retreat. Of
course only an examination of the serum at the time of the inoculation
would determine whether it contained tuberculosis bacilli or not; that
of course was impossible, but the investigator concluded that the facts
he had ascertained led him to the belief that the charge brought against
Germany of having committed this most horrible crime was true.
On March 30, 1917, it was reported that a discovery had been made of a
plot to kill the cavalry horses within the British lines. This was to
have been done by bacteriological cultures introduced into the food or
by making a wound inside the horse’s nostril with a contaminated wire.
This plot, which was discovered in time, was part of the German plan of
retirement, but was fortunately found out and frustrated before any
casualties occurred.
In the latter part of June 1918 some sensation was caused in London by a
story that was circulated of a mysterious man who was distributing
chocolate sweets broadcast. At that time most of the conductors of
omnibuses were women. Suspicions were aroused when two of these women,
after accepting chocolates from a male passenger, who was said to have
been well dressed, became ill. Two omnibus girls and a tramway girl who
accepted some sweets in the same way, handed them over to the
Metropolitan Police, and the authorities were placed on the watch; in
almost every case the sweets were offered by the man when he was in the
act of descending.
At Cedar’s Road, Clapham, the same man gave a tramway conductress a box
containing five chocolates. The man is reported to have said, “You won’t
taste any more like this for years to come.” The girl, having been
warned by a police notice posted in the tramway depot, did not eat any
of them. Several cases were reported from the East End, and several
chocolates were found on omnibus seats after passengers had left. The
object of the mysterious individual not having achieved its effect, his
operations eventually ceased, and nothing further was heard of the
matter.
Probably the only case on record of the use of a poison gas in an
attempt to murder, was reported from Germany in November 1922, when two
men were charged at Leipzig with attempting to kill a man called
Scheidemann at Cassel on Whit-Sunday. They carefully charged glass
syringes with cyanogen gas, and secreting them in their pockets, they
awaited the coming of their victim, and discharged the poison gas in his
face. Scheidemann eventually recovered, and the two men were convicted
of an attempt to kill him.
During the Napoleonic Wars the curious suggestion was made by Perceval
that the Allies could bring the French to their knees by prohibiting the
importation to the Continent of cinchona bark and other valuable drugs.
“The suggestion,” says a writer of the time, “is well worthy of the
statesman. To bring the French to reason by keeping them without
rhubarb, and exhibiting to mankind the awful spectacle of a nation
deprived of natural salts! Without castor oil they might for some months
be able to carry on a lingering war, but could they do without bark?
Will the people live under a Government where antimony cannot be
procured? Will they bear the loss of mercury? Depend upon it they will
soon be brought to their senses, and the cry of ‘Bourbon and Bolus’ be
raised from the Baltic to the Mediterranean!”