Asphyxia

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

suspended animation; an interruption of the arterialization of the blood, causing the suspension of sensation and voluntary motion. It may be produced by breathing some gas incapable of furnishing oxygen by submersion under water, by suffocation, from an impediment to breathing applied to the mouth and nostrils, by strangulation, or by great pressure, external or internal, upon the lungs. If asphyxia continu unrelieved for a short period, it is necessarily followed by death. ASPHYXIATING GAS. This new and terrible weapon was introduced into the World War by the German military authorities. At the battle of Ypres, April 22, 1915, it was used for the first time in warfare. The idea itself was not new. Dundonald, an eminent British chemist, who was born in 1775 and died in 1860, had informed his Government that it was possible to produce asphyxiating gas of such a character and in such ELASTIC ISINGLASS DIAGRAM OF GAS MASK quantities as to make it a formidable weapon of offense. That Government, however, had rejected the idea as being too inhuman. The Hague Convention of 1899 had expressly condemned its use. The conception therefore was by no means novel to military chiefs. It remained for Germany to initiate its use in battle. The first gas attack produced almost a panic. The soldiers who gazed wonderingly at the clouds of chlorine gas creeping toward them suddenly found themselves gasping for breath or convulsed with terrible agony. There is but little doubt but that at that time, if the Germans had been able to use a greater amount than their supplies permitted or if they had sensed to the full the effect it was producing in their enemies' NOSE CLIP BREATHING TUBE PURIFIER DIAGRAM OF GAS MASK ranks, they could have broken through LEATHER and reached the Channel. As it was, the quantity was limited, and all the resources of the Allied scientific world were employed at once to neutralize the effects of this new and deadly weapon. It was speedily discovered that the only defense was the use of gas masks, in which charcoal and other chemicals were able to absorb the gas or render it innocuous. Later on, wincing under the charges of inhumanity and anxious to forestall the reprobation of the neutral world, the Germans charged that the gas had been previously used by the British and the French on March 1, 1915. This was demonstrated to be a pure invention. It is certain that long before the end of the war, the German authorities regretted having brought asphyxiating gas into general use, for it was turned on them with with deadly deadly effect by the Allies, who, being forced to "fight fire with fire," adopted it as a necessary retaliation. Allied energy and ingenuity developed the gas in far greater quantities than was possible for the Germans, and used it with much effect. Moreover the meteorological conditions in the zone of warfare favored the Entente, because the winds for 75 per cent. of the time set toward the German lines. At the time the armistice was signed, America was producing the gas in such enormous quantities that it could have brought about the annihilation of whole armies. Giant containers were being prepared that would TYPICAL GAS MASKS. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT, AMERICAN, BRITISH, FRENCH, GERMAN hold a ton of gas, which could be carried over fortresses by airplanes and released with a time fuse that would operate at a given distance above the forts. Being heavier than air, the mustard gas would have settled over the doomed fortress, FUSE WIRE VALVE GAS OPENS CONTAINER ON HITTING GROUND DIAGRAM OF GAS GUN AND GAS SHELL making it impossible for any living thing within its radius to survive. Various gases differing in characteristics were employed. The less virulent put the soldier hors de combat without causing death. Such was the lachrymatory gas, that caused tears to flow so freely that the soldier could not use his weapon nor the gunner see his sights. By far the most atrocious was mustard gas, that ate through clothes and into flesh like vitriol. Chlorine gas produced suffocation and the lungs of the sufferer sometimes burst in the effort to breathe. Sneezing powder was also used, which percolated through the gas respirators and brought on sneezing spells, which led the men to take off their masks and thus be easily killed by phosgene and CAST IRON SHELL HOLE FOR FUSE BASE PROPELLING CHARGE diphosgene gases, which were timed to reach the spot while the masks were removed. The Germans did not depend wholly on a favorable wind for the dissemination of gas. Hand grenades and i long range artillery shells filled with gas carried it into the trenches of their enemies. Not content with single guns, they often used twelve or more mortars, shooting large caliber shells at the same instant, the firing being produced by an electrical current that set the guns off simultaneously, thus producing a powerful concentration on their target. The adoption of gas made necessary the addition of new units to the army organization. A Chemical Warfare Service was made an important branch of the American and other armies. Its functions consisted in the "operation and maintaining or supervising the operation and maintaining of all plants engaged in the investigation, manufacture or production of toxic gases and proving grounds used in connection therewith, gas defense appliances, the filling ing of gas shells, and the necesary research connected with gas warfare." The organization provided for various units, each with its special work. The most important of these were the Gas Defense Production, which supervised the making of gas masks; the Gas Offense Production, which concerned itself with the making of gas for the purpose of attack; ; and the Training Section, which taught to officers and men the approved methods of gas warfare. On the battle fronts the utmost care was taken by means of signs and sounds to protect the troops. Sirens, horns, and bells were sounded to warn of an impending attack. Signs were posted bearing the legend "Gas Alert On" and "Gas Alert Off," the former meaning that the ground was dangerous and that masks must be carried in front for instant use, while the latter permitted less caution. Special training was given in rapidity of adjustment, and the regulations required that the mask be put on in six seconds or less. The mask sk itself became more effective, especially in the case of the American mask by the use of "soda lime" produced by a secret process. Constant drill and warning proved so effectual that the casualties were greatly diminished, and toward the end of the war it became almost a maxim that a soldier who was "gassed" owed his misfortune to his own carelessness. See WORLD WAR.