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Political Decisions and Britain’s Chemical Warfare Challenge in World War I: Descend to Atrocities?
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Girard, Marion |
| Copyright Year | 2008 |
| Abstract | The enemy had started a form of warfare that the Army was not prepared to combat; the military had no masks, no gas canisters, no policy with regard to chemicals, and no one who could use the new weapon. 2 The country was morally repulsed and militarily vulnerable. Responding was a challenge, but a straightforward one that could be overcome. The government would need to harness scientists, industry, and the military to develop defensive and offensive tools to combat and use gas. Within months, the Army possessed efficient masks, ones that were constantly improved to increase protection against novel gases. The labs produced a range of chemicals, from simple chlorine to sophisticated mustard gas, as the war continued. With time, industry learned to manufacture these products and the Army began to use them effectively. After the first wave of anti-gas helmets had been created and distributed to troops (by the end of April public volunteers had fulfilled the War Office’s request with simple masks, and by 6 July all soldiers had received more sophisticated hypo helmets), the problem British politicians faced was not about the country’s ability to wage chemical warfare. 3 It was whether it should do so offensively. As World War I developed, it became clear that the conflict would require novel kinds of warfare, ones that dismayed, disgusted, and disillusioned people prepared to fight a romantic, quick war. Soldier-poet Wilfred Owen’s cynicism about ‘ pro patria mori est’ provides vivid evidence of this; his experiences in the trenches proved it was not sweet and proper to die for one’s country. 4 The enormous numbers of casualties, the unbearable |
| Starting Page | 105 |
| Ending Page | 132 |
| Page Count | 28 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1080/14702430701812019 |
| Volume Number | 8 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://moodle2.sscnet.ucla.edu/pluginfile.php/547997/course/section/10257550/Girard,%20Marion-Political%20decisions%20%20Britains%20chemical%20warfare%20challenge.pdf |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1080/14702430701812019 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
