AWFUL DESTRUCTIVENESS OF MODERN GUNS
Of late years a shell which combines the action of the shrapnel and the high-explosive shell has been introduced. This is the “Universal” shell (see [Fig. 3]) invented by Major van Essen, of the Dutch Artillery. It is a shrapnel with a detachable head filled with high explosive. When burst during flight it acts like an ordinary shrapnel, and the bullets fly forward and sweep the ground in front of it; at the same time the head, with its explosive burster, flies forward and acts as a small but efficient high-explosive shell. These projectiles have been introduced for howitzers and for anti-aircraft guns, and some of the nations with new equipments, such as the Balkan States, have them for their field-guns. Their introduction has, however, been delayed in Western Europe, as they are less efficient as such than the ordinary shrapnel, which is considered the principal field artillery projectile.
CHAPTER XXXI
WHOLESALE SLAUGHTER BY POISONOUS GASES
[CANADIAN VICTIMS] — [TRENCH GAS AT YPRES] — [AWFUL FORM OF SCIENTIFIC TORTURE] — [REPORT OF MEDICAL EXPERT] — [KIND OF GAS EMPLOYED] — [ALLIES FORCED TO USE SIMILAR METHODS.]
Killing by noxious gases may be, as the Germans claim, no more barbarous than slaughter by shrapnel, but it has been denounced in America as a violation of all written and unwritten codes and as a backward step toward savagery. Certainly the descriptions of responsible persons who have witnessed the pernicious work of the gas only deepens the horror with which all peace-loving citizens look upon “civilized” warfare.
The following description of the effect is told by a responsible British officer who visited some Canadians who were disabled by gas:
“The whole of England and the civilized world ought to have the truth fully brought before them in vivid detail, and not wrapped up as at present. When we got to the hospital we had no difficulty in finding out in which ward the men were, as the noise of the poor devils trying to get breath was sufficient to direct us.