Existing comment:
Gas!
The Germans developed gas as their solution to the stalemate, to try to bring movement back to the front. The Germans first used chlorine gas at Ypres, Belgium in April of 1915, causing over 6,000 deaths in the first ten months. Gas was effective given the right weather conditions, but it proved unreliable. A sudden change in wind could shift the poison back upon the attacker. Even though gas did not prove decisive on the battlefield, chemical weapons continued to be developed by both sides. The Germans introduced mustard gas, a chemical liquid that soaked into clothes and burned everything it touched, in 1917. Gas forced both sides to wear protective equipment, slowing troops down. |