CHAPTER VIII
AMERICAN DEVELOPMENTS
Special Attention Justified;—Special Value of American Opinion.—Various reasons prompt us to pay special attention to the development of chemical warfare by the United States of America. In the preceding chapters we have attempted a more or less connected account of its development during the campaign. Such an account must necessarily make constant reference to French and British developments. But American preparations, although on a colossal scale, were not in time to influence the campaign seriously and directly. Therefore, purely for the symmetry of our account, special reference should be made to America. But a more serious reason is to be found in the great importance attached by America to this branch of warfare. As everybody knows, the arrival of the American troops in large numbers was preceded by an educational period, during which American staffs, officers, and men became acquainted with Allied staffs, operations, and methods on the Western Front. They were less biased by military tradition, and not under the same necessity as the European Allies to organise in an improvised way for different violent emergencies. Their opinions of war methods on the Western Front are, therefore, of great interest.
Chemical warfare at once assumed a place of prime importance in their schemes, receiving a stimulus and a momentum which, rather than losing force during peace, appears to have gathered intensity. There was at first no particular background of emotion, or desire for specific retaliation in this American development. It was purely a question of deciding on technical grounds the relative importance of different methods of warfare. Solid facts determined the matter later. We have it on the best authority that 75,000 out of the total 275,000 American casualties were due to gas.
Early American Activities.—The earliest American activities, consisted in attaching various officers to the British formations in France and to the French research and producing organisations centred in Paris. A period ensued of remarkably rapid and efficient assimilation of the best developments in allied chemical warfare. Two American gas companies were attached to ours for instruction in the first month of 1918, and they assisted in several gas attacks on the British front.
Field Activities.—In a sense the development of chemical warfare organisations by the Americans was deprived of its promised success. The Allies regained the general and final offensive before American plans matured. But if the latter were prevented from participating in various types of cloud and stationary attack along the front, yet the coincidence of their organisation with the development of more open warfare gave them an opportunity, which they readily seized, to demonstrate the possibilities of mobile chemical attack. Two gas companies, known as the 30th Engineers, were assembled, partially trained, and embarked for France at the end of 1917. They entered upon a course of training with the British Special Brigade R.E. while further units were being organised in America. The projector at-tracted the Americans, and they were ready, as General Fries informs us, to launch a big projector gas attack, when Marshal Foch's counter attack disorganised the front concerned. They then turned their attention to the use of the four-inch Stokes mortar in an attempt to neutralise the German machine-gun nests, using phosphorus for smoke and thermit shell, and continued to assist the infantry either by taking part in the preparations for attack or in subsequent operations.
Special Difficulties.—The great length of the American lines of communication led them to develop certain research and experimental organisations near to the front. These had to deal with the "short range" problems, those of immediate importance, without referring them back to America. The 3000 miles of ocean represented a necessary loss of contact which prevented the home workers, however willing, from fully realising the needs of the problems concerned. Accordingly a strong experimental station, Hanlon Field, was developed near Chaumont, and a well-equipped laboratory was established at Puteaux, near Paris.
Edgewood Arsenal.—The organisations developed in America were of very great interest. The American officers in the field, through their contact with the British and French, realised early that we were extended to the utmost in the matter of production, that our demands and programmes were far ahead of our output, and that they could not reasonably expect serious help from us, either with regard to the results or the material means of production. They, therefore, made surveys of our methods and wisely determined to concentrate on production in America. As a result, they developed the phenomenal chemical warfare arsenal of Edgewood. Had the war lasted longer, there can be no doubt that this centre of production would have represented one of the most important contributions by America to the world war. Probably had production been conceived on a smaller scale, however, its results would have materialised sooner and produced greater actual influence.
A few facts with regard to Edgewood suffice to confirm its potentialities. We learn[1] that the arsenal organisation comprised a huge chlorine plant, probably the largest in the world, various chemical plants for the manufacture of the chief chemical warfare substances adopted by the European belligerents, and shell-filling plant capable of filling a total of more than 200,000 shell and bomb daily.
[1] Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, January, 1919.
Research.—Supporting this production, and in connection with the other branches of chemical warfare, a tremendous research organisation developed which, with the exception of the combined research facilities of the I.G.[2] was probably the largest research organisation ever assembled for one specific object. It grew until it contained 1200 technical men and 700 service assistants, and we are told that its work covered exhaustive research on more than 4000 different materials. Nor were the Americans less ambitious on protection. Wisely adopting the British Box Respirator during the early stages, they made vigorous attempts at the same time, with considerable success, to develop a form of their own.
[2] The great German organic chemical combine.
Production.—An American opinion on the importance of Edgewood Arsenal at the time of the Armistice is worth quoting.[3] "Here is a mammoth plant, constructed in record time, efficiently manned, capable of an enormous output of toxic material, and just reaching its full possibilities of death-dealing at the moment when news is hourly expected of the signing of the Armistice. What a pity we did not possess this great engine of war from the day American troops first sailed for France, for, had we been so prepared, how many of our boys who `have gone West' could have returned for the welcome home! Shall we forget this lesson of preparedness? Is this great plant to be scrapped? Possibly wise heads may find a solution of the problem which will add this great resource to American chemical industry, at the same time preserving its value to the nation as a greater asset, in case of future war, than a standing army."
[3] Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, January, 1919.
Although mainly dependent on Edgewood Arsenal for their war schemes, it is perfectly clear that the Americans realised that theirs was not the ideal way, in fact was a very wasteful and inefficient way to produce poison gases or chemical warfare substances. Indeed, even during the war, in spite of their huge arsenal they established contact with various American chemical producers. At the present time, except in connection with its use for emergencies during the next few years, this huge source of production at Edgewood must be regarded as an unnecessary burden upon the State. To be of any use, it requires costly maintenance. It is only capable of producing a limited number of organic substances. Some of these are likely to become obsolete as time goes on. This reliance upon a huge fixed arsenal is not only out of accord with any international scheme for disarmament, but it is altogether too ponderous, and not sufficiently flexible for reliance in future emergencies. This is fully realised in America. General Fries, addressing the American Chemical Society, said: "The magnificent plant at Edgewood may soon be a thing of the past. We do not believe the Government should attempt to manufacture poisonous gases on a huge scale." He explains how, by reliance upon normal chemical industry, "We believe we can build up more quickly and to a greater extent than by any other method the necessary large output of poisonous gases required in a war with a first-class Power." Referring to the mobilisation of industry for this purpose, he says: "We believe that if this is done satisfactorily it will be one of the greatest possible guarantees of future peace."
Post-Armistice Developments.—But perhaps the most interesting and significant aspect of American chemical warfare development concerns what has occurred since the Armistice. Valuable and successful attempts have been made to educate not only the public but also political leaders to its real meaning. No one examining the American daily and scientific press, or reading the records of the various Government Committees on the proposed bills of chemical, or chemical warfare, interest can doubt that the Americans are probably as a whole much more alive to the importance of this matter than any other ally. Discussions on the Longworth Bill and on the new chemical warfare service have provided full ventilation for the facts of the case, in their proper setting.
It was a striking contrast to land in America early in 1920 and find New York plastered with recruiting posters setting forth the various reasons why Americans should join their Chemical Warfare Service. It was not only a sign of American methods but also one of their appreciation of the importance of the matter. This is amply borne out by their final step in reconstruction during the last few months. A separate Chemical Warfare Service has been reorgan-ised in America in such a way as to give it a position of independence equivalent to that of the older branches of the service. The specific possibilities in the development of this form of warfare are acknowledged by the action of the American Congress, and this result is very largely due to the creation of an intelligently informed political and public opinion. Large grants of money have been placed at the disposal of the new Chemical Warfare Service, and its research facilities promise to equal the war establishments of the older services of other Allied countries.
Views of General Fries.—In view of the creation of this independent Chemical Warfare Service in America and of its importance when measured in terms of financial and material facilities, it is of interest to summarise some of the views already expressed by General Fries,[1] the head of the new service. With regard to the general function of chemical warfare, he tells us: "In the first place, chemical warfare is a complete science in itself. No other invention since that of gunpowder has made so profound a change in warfare as gas is making, or will make, in the future.
[1] Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 1920.
"To-day there are only four really distinct arms of the Service, viz.: the Infantry, the Artillery, Aviation, and Chemical Warfare. All other forms of warfare are a combination, more or less complete, of these. The gases, smoke, and incendiary materials that make up chemical warfare are used to a greater or lesser extent by other arms, but wherever gas is used it compels precautionary measures that are found in no other branch of the Service.
"Considering its power, it has no equal. Physical vigour is one of the greatest assets in any army. Gas, used properly and in quantities that will be easily obtainable in future wars, will make the wearing of the mask a continuous affair for all troops within two to five miles of the front line, and in certain places for many miles beyond. If it never killed a man, the reduction in physical vigour, and, therefore, in efficiency of an army forced at all times to wear masks, would amount to at least 25 per cent., equivalent to disabling a quarter of a million men out of an army of a million."
The Gas Cloud Inescapable.—He goes on to explain some of the more specific military needs which can be met by chemical means, and refers independently to a point which the Germans have mentioned repeatedly in their memoirs. "One great reason why chemical warfare will continue is that it fills a long-felt want on the part of the soldier, that of shooting successfully around a stump or rock. The gas cloud is inescapable. It sweeps over and into everything in its path. No trench is too deep for it, no dug-out, unless hermetically sealed, is safe from it. Night and darkness only heighten its effect. It is the only weapon that is as effective in a fog or in the inky blackness of a moonless night as in the most brilliant sunshine. Only the mask and the training that go with it protect. Terror, confusion, lack of discipline and control are fatal."
Importance of Smoke.—General Fries is insistent on the future importance of smoke in warfare:
"Chemical warfare includes gas, smoke, and incendiary materials, and they can't well be subdivided. As before stated, all the early gas attacks were in the form of clouds. The value of that cloud, not only for carrying gas but for screening purposes, began to be realised in the fall of 1917. Clouds of smoke may or may not be poisonous, and they will or will not be poisonous, at the will of the one producing the smoke. For that reason every cloud of smoke in the future must be looked upon as possibly containing some deadly form of gas. When you consider this for a moment, you can realise the tremendous possibilities for ingenuity that gas and smoke afford the attacker.
"The American, trained for 300 years in meeting nature on her great plains and in her vast forests, was early appealed to by this side of chemical warfare. As early as November 3, 1917, the United States was urged, in a cablegram from the Chemical Warfare Service in France, to push the development of a large phosphorous supply for use in smokes. Not only were the early intuitions of the value of gas borne out by later events, but to-day the future of smoke appears greater still. The battle-field of the future will be covered with smoke— not the all-pervading black smoke of the battles of the Civil War and of earlier wars before smokeless powder came into use, but a field covered with dots and patches of smoke, big and little, here and there and everywhere.
"Every man who has hunted ducks and been caught in a dense fog with ducks quacking all round, and who has tried to get ducks by firing at the quack in the fog, can realise the difficulty of hitting a man on the battlefield when you cannot see him, and have only a quack, or less, by which to locate him. The smoke will be generated in candles of two or three-pound cans that can be thrown out in front of trenches; by knapsacks that can be carried and which will give off dense white smoke in large volume for many minutes; by grenades which, while they may be thrown by hand, will generally be fired from rifles; by artillery shells reaching ten, fifteen, twenty miles back of the main battle line; and finally, from aeroplane bombs whose radius of action is limited only by the size of the earth. And thus smoke becomes one of the great elements of war in the future. It is more or less wholly protective in its nature, but as it costs more and takes longer to train a man in the various problems involved in modern war than ever before in this history of the world, it is worth while taking every precaution to protect him, once you have him trained."
Casualty Percentages.—He also brings out very dearly the unique possibility possessed by gas warfare of increasing its military efficiency, while decreasing its relative atrocity:
"The death rate in the first gas attack was probably in the neighbourhood of 35 per cent. of all casualties— and everybody in front of the wave was a casualty. With the development of masks and training in the use of the mask and in taking advantage of the ground, the death rate fell. At the same time the total number of casualties fell, but not at all in the same ratio as the decrease in the death rate. From a probable death rate of 35 per cent. in the first attack it fell to 24 per cent., then to 18 per cent., and, as gas attacks by artillery became general, to 6 per cent., and finally, with the extended use of mustard gas, the rate fell to 2.5 per cent. or less."
Again referring to casualties, he gives us the startling fact that 75,000 out of the 275,000 American casualties were caused by gas, "And yet," he says "the Germans used it in a halting, comparatively feeble manner."
Short Range Projectors.—Very much alive to the future of the short-range projectors developed in connection with gas warfare, he tells us, "The Gas Regiment in the St. Mihiel battle fired on the Cote des Esparges one hundred of these high explosive bombs at the zero hour on the morning of the attack. That hill, famous for its strength through four years of struggle between the French and Germans, dis-appeared completely as an enemy standpoint. Nothing remained but torn and broken barbed wire, bits of concrete pill-boxes, and trenches filled with debris, and a few scattered fragments of clothing.
"The gas troops will, in the future, handle all short-range methods of firing gas, smoke, or high explosive. They will deliver the greatest quantities of material possible up to ranges of a mile and a half or a mile and three-quarters. So effective and so efficient are these short-range methods of projection that the No-Man's-Land of the future will be the width covered by these projectors and mortars. They can't, and never will, compete with the artillery, where range and great accuracy are the most important factors. The efficiency of artillery gas shell or artillery smoke or high explosive shell is only one-fifth that of the projector. Hence, for economy and efficiency, the artillery will be used to fire gas, smoke, high explosive, and incendiary materials only at ranges beyond those reached by the gas troops."
Again, showing how the American authorities were seized with the importance of the matter, we read:
Vast Expansion in Personnel.—"So greatly were these possibilities appreciated in the summer of 1918 that the number of gas troops authorised for use against the Germans was increased from six companies to fifty-four. Back of all this, however, was the productive capacity of the United States, which ensured that those troops would be able to fight day and night, summer, winter, and fall, until the war was over. No wonder the German quit—it was time, and he knew it."
And in conclusion General Fries tells us:
"The universal adoption of gas warfare on sea and land and in the air, combined with its persistent quality, will make that nation able to produce and use gas in the largest quantity superior in war to any other nation on the globe. The United States can reach that position and maintain it, and I believe that we are going to get such encouragement from the War Department that we can do it. I feel sure that the army appreciates the value of chemical warfare, and that it appreciates also the value of the chemists to chemical warfare.
"So long as there is any danger of other nations continuing these methods of warfare, research and experiment in chemical warfare must be pursued. Research must not only be directed towards the gases and apparatus, likely to be employed in the future, but also towards protection against all possible gases. Training in the use of gas will be confined to appropriate branches, but training in defensive measures will include the whole army.
"We must continue our studies of what is known as chemical warfare. No nation has renounced the use of poison gases as the result of the Peace Conference. There are nations whose word we could not respect if they did renounce it. It is essential to study the offensive side of chemical warfare if we are to be prepared for defence. The great importance of adequate defensive appliances arises from the fact that preparations for the offensive use of gas can be made in peace-time with great secrecy, and may have far-reaching and even fatal results in the early stages of a war.
" . . . For these reasons it is necessary to make adequate provision for research, experiment, and design in connection with war material. It is equally necessary to avoid overlap, duplication of effort, and the setting up of military institutions for scientific research which can better be done by existing civil institutions."
He also quotes from a statement from General Debeney, Director of the French College of Warfare:
"Should war begin now, aviation, and especially gas, would play one of the most important parts. The progress of aviation would make the rear of each front, and very far in rear, extremely dangerous, and the progress of chemistry would permit the use of gas on zones of such an extent as cannot be imagined.
"Making gas is naturally rapidly done, because all the manufacturers of chemical product—still so numerous in Germany—can be requisitioned, but to make airplanes is much slower.
"The defence against gas seems to be more difficult than against airplanes. I believe that against airplanes, the anti-aircraft artillery is susceptible of making rapid progress, and perhaps in that very instance gas will be one of the best ways, if with appropriate shells *the air can be poisoned all around the attacking airplanes.
"It would be much more effective to create, for example, a sphere of poisoned air a mile round the airplane, instead of trying to hit the machine directly with bits of the shell."
British, French, and even German opinion, while not underestimating the importance of the matter, may not agree in an unqualified way with all the above statements. But we claim that they show vision in a branch of war which, on account of its scientific basis, may, more than any other, speedily prove the visionary a true prophet.