Inventions of the Great War

by A. Russell Bond

THE SNEEZING-SHELL

The Blue Cross shell was comparatively harmless, although very annoying. It contained a solid which was atomized by the explosion of the shell, and which, after it got into the nostrils, caused a violent sneezing. The material, however, was not poisonous and did not produce any casualties to speak of, although it was most unpleasant. A storm of Blue Cross shell could be followed almost immediately by an attack, because the effect of the shell would have been dissipated before the attackers reached the enemy who were still suffering from the irritation of their nostrils.

GAS-MASKS

As the different kinds of gas shell were developed, the gas-masks were improved to meet them. In every attack there were "duds" or unexploded shell, which the chemists of the Allies analyzed. Also, they were constantly experimenting with new gases, themselves, and often could anticipate the Germans. The Allies were better able to protect themselves against gas attacks than the Germans, because there was a scarcity of rubber in Germany for the manufacture of masks. When it was found that phosgene was going to be used, the simple cotton-wad masks had to give way to more elaborate affairs with chemicals that would neutralize this deadly gas. And later when the mustard gas was used which attacked the eyes, and the sneezing-gas that attacked the nose, it was found necessary to cover the face completely, particularly the eyes; and so helmets of rubber were constructed which were tightly fitted around the neck under the coat collar. The inhaled air was purified by passage through a box or can filled with chemicals and charcoal made of various materials, such as cocoanut shells, peach pits, horse-chestnuts, and the like. Because the Germans had no rubber to spare, they were obliged to use leather, which made their masks stiff and heavy.

GLASS THAT WILL NOT SHATTER

One of the greatest difficulties that had to be contended with was the covering of the eyes. There was danger in the use of glass, because it was liable to be cracked or broken, letting in the deadly fumes and gassing the wearer. Experiments were made with celluloid and similar materials, but the finest gas-masks produced in the war were those made for our own soldiers, in which the goggles were of glass, built up in layers, with a celluloid-like material between, which makes a tough composition that will stand up against a very hard blow. Even if it cracks, this glass will not shatter.

The glasses were apt to become coated on the inside with moisture coming from the perspiration of the face, and some means had to be provided for wiping them off. The French hit upon a clever scheme of having the inhaled air strike the glasses in a jet which would dry off the moisture and keep the glasses clear. Before this was done, the masks were provided with little sponges on the end of a finger-piece, with which the glasses could be wiped dry without taking the masks off.

But all this time, the Allies were not merely standing on the defensive. No sooner had the Germans launched their first attack than the British and French chemists began to pay back the Hun in kind. More attention was paid to the shell than the cloud attack, and soon gas shell began to rain upon the Germans. Not only were the German shell copied, but new gases were tried. Gas shell were manufactured in immense quantities.

Then America took a hand in the war and our chemists added their help, while our factories turned out steady streams of shell. If Germany wanted gas warfare, the Allies were determined that she should have it. Our chemists were not afraid to be pitted against the German chemists and the factories of the Allies were more than a match for those of the Central Powers. When the Germans first started the use of gas, apparently they counted only their own success, which they thought would be immediate and overwhelming. They soon learned that they must take what they gave. The Allies set them a pace that they could not keep up with.

When the armistice brought the war to a sudden stop, the United States alone was making each day two tons of gas for every mile of the western front. If the war had continued, the Germans would have been simply deluged. As it was, they were getting far more gas than they could possibly produce in their own factories and they had plenty of reason to regret their rash disregard of their contract at The Hague Conference. One gas we were making was of the same order as mustard gas but far more volatile, and had we had a chance to use it against the Germans they would have found it very difficult to protect themselves against its penetrating fumes.