Chlorine cylinder attacks

War I using chlorine and phosgene gas released from cylinders. The largest cylinder attack occurred in October 1915, when the Germans released 550 tons of chlorine from 25 000 cylinders at Rhiems. 

Meanwhile, Haber s weather experts monitored the wind. Most of the time, it seemed to blow the wrong way. Only after all the chlorine cylinders were in place did they obtain weather records showing that this was no passing meteorological phase. They d chosen the worst conceivable spot for their gas attack. The wind at that location nearly always was in their faces, blowing inland from the coast. 

Fig. 3 -3. This photograph is reputed to show the historical German chlorine gas cloud attack at Ypres, Belgium, on 22 April 1915. Although there is little evidence to support this claim, the photograph does show a visible cloud, probably created by a cylinder attack. Photograph Courtesy of Chemical and Biological Defense Command Historical Research and Response Team, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

Lethal agents, such as the poison gases of World War I, have always been dispersed by explosive action, with the exception of the original chlorine gas attack of 1915 at Ypres, where commercial cylinders were used. 

The first British cloud attack took place at Loos, Belgium, on 25 and 27 September 1915 and involved 6,400 chlorine cylinders on a twenty-five mile front. Since it was impossible to cover so large a front with the available cylinders, an innovation was introduced— more than 12,000 newly developed smoke candles were deployed to supplement and simulate the gas cloud and to conceal troops moving forward. While natural smoke had been used for battlefield concealment for centuries, this was probably the first use of artificial smoke on a battlefield of a modern war. The tactical employment of artificial smoke gave the new chemical warfare and gas services another mission. ... 

From October 2006 until mid 2007, suicide terrorists in Iraq detonated vehicle-borne lEDs carrying chlorine cylinders (Pita, 2012). This new tactic clearly shows that the use of TICs is an option that may yield better results than following the crude and rudimentary procedures of A1 Qaeda-related publications for the production of CWs. However, the chlorine attacks in Iraq were still rudimentary in their means of delivery. In most of the attacks casualties were not caused by chlorine exposure, but rather because of the mechanical and thermal effects of the explosion. Also, in some attacks chlorine was not released because the low mechanical effect of the explosion was not enough to break the cylinders. 

FIGURE 11.1 The birth of CWAs in WWI. The photograph depicts the initial chlorine gas attack by Germany at Ypres, Belgium, on April 22, 1915. The German Army released chlorine gas from cylinders to form a poisonous cloud (indicated by black and white arrows) directed toward the French lines by the prevailing winds. 

There are believed to have been nearly half a million Russian gas casualties in the First World War. Of these more than a tenth - over 50 000 men - died. The first major gas cylinder attack on the Eastern front took place at Bolimow on 31 May 1915 when 12 000 cylinders containing some 264 tons of chlorine were discharged. Despite heavy losses, the Russian artillery continued to fire, and the German infantry did not follow the attack through. Nonetheless, here as in the West, gas had proved its effectiveness and continued to be used. The Russians for their part lacked the means to produce significant quantities of gas their protection and the gas discipline of their troops were poor. They suffered more gas casualties than all the other combatants together. ... 

Modern chemical warfare began with the German gas attack at Ypres, France on April 22, 1915, when 5700 cylinders filled with chlorine gas, were blown against French and Canadian trenches. This first gas attack was... 

Uses Was the first toxic gas used in World War I. German chlorine attack near Ypres, April 2, 1915. Later replaced by more effective gases. May be used in cylinders and shells in mixture with phosgene or chlorpicrin. 

The first toxic chemical attacks of World War I employed gas cylinders. In March 1915, the Germans emplaced 1600 large and 4130 small cylinders of chlorine gas opposite Allied troops defending Ypres, Belgium. This attack illustrated the benefits and weakness of using cylinders although the attack covered a much larger area than could be... 

On May 31, 1915, chlorine was first employed on the eastern front, by the Germans at Bolimow, near Skierniewice, 50 km southeast of Warsaw. This attack employed 12 000 cylinders, releasing 264 tons of chlorine along a 12 km line. There were 200 chemical attacks during World War I using gas released... 

The association of the cyclohexaamylose and anisole molecules is similar to the situation found in an inclusion compound. The result is that the ortho positions are blocked by the sheath of the cyclohexaamylose molecule while the para position is exposed at the bottom of the cylinder, and so can still be attacked by the chlorine electrophile. 

The first chemical agent to be used was about one hundred sixty tons of chlorine gas, which was released from 6,000 pressurized cylinders by the Germans against the Allies on April 22, 1915, near the Belgian village of Ypres. The chlorine floated in huge clouds on the wind until it reached the Allied lines. Over 5,000 allied troops died in the attack and in a second attack two days later, another 5,00 soldiers died. Both attacks wounded about 15,000 men. 

Phosgene was extensively used as a war-gas, either in shells, or in drums, which were hurled by projectors and exploded when they struck the earth. A mixture of phosgene and liquid chlorine was allowed to escape from cylinders when a cloud attack was made. Phosgene and mustard gas (393) were the most efficient gases used during the recent war. A concentration of 0.3 milligram of phosgene in 1 liter of air is toxic to animals. 

Chlorine attacks rubber, cork, stopcock grease and Hg but can be stored in glass containers over concentrated H3SO4 or as a liquid in steel cylinders. The vigorous reaction of chlorine with many commonly used metals occurs only at elevated temperatures the reaction with steel, for example, starts above 250°C [G. Heinemann, F. G. Garrison and P. A. Haber, Ind. Eng. Chem., Ind. Ed. 38, 497 (1946)]. 

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