Movements of Personnel.—The movements of German chemical personnel give us a clue as to the main tendencies in their chemical warfare policy. The factories were called upon to produce, as we have already shown, towards the end of 1914, but this production largely involved the use of substances already manufactured on a certain scale. Large scale production of the more advanced types of war chemical seems to have been directly stimulated by the Hindenburg programme, in connection with which the Companies withdrew large numbers of their skilled workers from the front.
German Simplicity of Organisation.—We can safely conclude from the above that Germany required no cumbersome government mechanism for the preparation of new war chemicals, for the semi-industrial work in developing processes for approved substances, nor for their production. By relying on the I.G., the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, and probably some other organisation for field and physiological tests, Germany escaped the necessity for comprehensive government organisation, the development of which was such a handicap to Allied countries. It is certainly very suggestive that we only met, in the field, substances approved before the summer of 1917. It is with great interest and a certain amount of apprehension that we speculate upon the research developments after that period with which the war did not make us immediately acquainted. If this early period produced such effective results as mustard gas, Blue Cross compounds, and the different cloud substances, what hidden surprises were matured in the later period? This feature of simplicity, of linking up a new war with an old peace, activity was paralleled somewhat in the field organisation. We have seen how Germany created special formations for cloud attacks, but for a time practically abandoned them, throwing most of her chemical warfare production into shell. In other words, she substituted a normal weapon, the artillery. We, on the other hand, largely impelled by the enforced simplicity of our production, tended more towards the development of special formations and special weapons for cloud production, but with such success that the German Pioneer formations, after being practically dropped, found a use in developing and using our new weapon, the Livens Projector.
German Organisation at the Front;—The Gas Regiment.—It is probable that the earliest form of German organisation at the front consisted in the liaison between Professor Haber and the German G.H.Q. It will be remembered that Ludendorff, discussing cloud and shell gas, refers to this co-operation, stating:[1] "Geheimrat Haber proved of valuable service in this connection with the use of gas." It was also rumoured soon after the first German attack that the organisation and preparation of the latter were under the scientific guidance of this renowned Professor. The attack was carried out by the 35th and 36th Pioneer Regiments, each furnished with chemically trained officers who were specially detailed for gas warfare.
The importance of protection was realised very early, and a gas school for officers of all armies was organised at Leverkusen for training in protection. We cannot but regard it as significant that Leverkusen is also the site of the enormous Bayer[2] organic chemical works which played such a large part in poison gas production. The school dealt mainly with protection.
[1] My War Memories, page 338.
[2] A branch of the great German dye combine, the Interessen Gemeinschaft, known as the I.G.
Early German Gas School.—Apparently, at the end of November, 1916, special gas staffs were created and attached provisionally to the headquarters of formations entrusted with large scale gas operations. In addition, these staffs had the normal routine function of supervising inspection and instruction in gas warfare at the front. At about this time each regiment or larger unit was given a gas officer (gasschutzoffizier) with similar duties to those outlined above. In other words, the arrangement was generalised throughout the army. This officer was assisted by non-commissioned officers and men specially chosen for the purpose in the smaller units. The great need for these staffs is brought out in German official documents.
New Gas Regiments;—Gas Shell Experts.—In 1917 two new Pioneer battalions, the 37th and 38th respectively, were created for the express purpose of carrying out projector attacks. These developments in organisation, both advisory and combatant, led, at about this time, to the centralisation of the gas services at the front under a Kommandeur der Gastruppen at G.H.Q. It would thus appear that the Germans achieved the centralisation of their gas services some months later than ourselves. Further developments in organisation, of which we are aware, were connected with two main tendencies in German gas warfare. In the first place, the vast employment of gas shell led the Germans to create special gas experts on the Divisional artillery staffs. We have this on the authority of an order by Ludendorff dated June 16th, 1918. This gas shell expert was not necessarily an imported specialist, but was usually a specially trained officer chosen from the staff in question. This was a very important move, for it gave the artillery a paternal interest in gas shell. This artillery specialist maintained a very close liaison with the Divisional Gas Officer.
Inspection of Protective Masks and Method.—The second tendency was towards stricter protective standards and inspection. The gas inspection centre at Berlin was given more responsibilities in the field and the protection of horses, dogs and carrier pigeons received great emphasis.
British Field Organisation;—"Breach" Organisations.—Our own field development followed very similar lines. The immediate need in April, 1915, was for organisations on the front to advise formations on temporary methods of protection, to ascertain quickly the nature of any new German chemical attack, and to provide special means of examining the treatment of the new kind of casualty. These were "breach organisations," so to speak, countering the immediate effects of enemy attacks while more comprehensive and permanent cadres were created to absorb them. The personnel of these breach organisations was largely composed of chemists already at the front who had in some cases taken part in the first German attacks. Efforts were soon on foot to mobilise British chemists for offensive purposes. So remote from the old army standards and training were the conceptions of the new scientific warfare, that there was no scientific cadre or outstanding scientific soldier to take over the direction and organisation of these matters at the front or at home. Accordingly, in June, 1915, Brigadier-General C. H. Foulkes, C.M.G., D.S.O. (then Major, R.E.) was given the difficult task of assembling and training an offensive gas formation, and acting as Gas Adviser to G.H.Q. The Special Companies thus created have already been referred to in quotations from despatches. In addition to this combatant personnel a number of specialists and advisory organisations came into being. Additional gas officers were appointed by various divisions, and chemical advisers by higher formations.