World War casualties

While our battle experience was limited to the last nine months of thr war, it embraced the period of greatest development in chemical attack, and hence most accurately reflects the real powers and limitations of thi mode of warfare. The casualty records of the United States Army arc for the year 1918 only, hence they indicate the resulls of chemical warfare after it had passed through its period of incubation and had reached a stage approximating its full effectiveness. We will, therefore, conclude our study of World War casualties by considering a few of the salient points indicated by our own casualties in the war. 

H. L. Gilchrist, "A Comparative Study of World War Casualties", U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1931. 

Gas mask discipline was the key to low chemical casualty rates in the face of this insidious weapon. Quotation Gilchrist HL. A Comparative Study of World War Casualties From Gas and Other Weapons. Edgewood Arsenal, Md Chemical Warfare School 1928 16. Photograph Reprinted from Moore WE, Crussell J. US Official Pictures of the World War. Washington, DC Pictorial Bureau 1920. 

Adapted from Gilchrist HL. A Comparative Study of World War Casualties From Gas and Other Weapons. Edgewood... 

Fig. 7.2 A field hospital during the First World War. Casualties with toxic pulmonary oedema following a gas attaek outside a field hospital during the First World War. Little could be done for such cases, apart from providing bed rest during the latent period of possible development of pulmonary oedema following the exposure. (Source The National Archive)...

CA was the first tear agent that came into existence at the end of World War I. It was outmoded in 1920 with the introduction of the CN series and is now obsolete. The tear compounds cause a flow of tears and irritation of the skin. Because tear compounds produce only transient casualties, they are widely used for training, riot control, and situations where long-term incapacitation is unacceptable. When used against poorly equipped guerrilla or revolutionary armies, these compounds have proved extremely effective. When released indoors, they can cause serious illness or death. 

Blister agents were developed for military purposes and are intended to inflict casualties (delayed following exposure), restrict terrain access, and slow troop movement. They affect the eyes and lungs and blister the skin. Mustard was the primary blister agent used in World War I. It was recognized by its distinctive odor. Modern... 

At the end of World War I, medical thought was turning to the possibility that soldiers who had been gassed with mustard, chlorine, phosgene, and other agents would develop tuberculosis. In the early postwar years, publications described efforts to identify cases of tuberculosis among gas casualties. The expected epidemic failed to appear, and attention subsided. More extensive studies, such as that of Beebe, were initiated.1 Gradually, mustard gas became the... 

Chlorine is a gas of great importance. We wouldn t be certain of safe drinking water in our cities if it weren t for chlorine — a small amount of it in the water kills the dangerous germs that may lurk in it. Chlorine is also used extensively in blcaching.-Chlorine is a friendly gas when it is used correctly. But it is dangerous when used improperly because it affects the lungs. As a poison gas it caused many casualties in World War I. 

Because of the fear of tourniquet-related limb damage, tourniquets are almost never used in civilian trauma cases and have been discouraged since World War II by many militaries due to the amputations suffered by soldiers when tourniquets were left on too long or over tightened. This practice was kept in place even though many if not most trauma specialists believed that if properly used, tourniquets saved lives. It was not until modem battlefield casualty studies were made that the need for tourniquets was reevaluated. 

Assessment of the impact of the use of gas in the First World War on the Western, Eastern and Italian Fronts is difficult. Analysis of casualty figures is doomed to failure because of a contemporary lack of definition and classification. Gas casualty estimates by several national sources exceed a million but elements of uncertainty exist on the precise cause of death or major source of injury in those who were both gassed and wounded. Also comparison of gas and other battlefield injuries shows vast swings in the proportions on different fronts in different years (Table 2.2). 

Table 2.2 Chemical warfare casualties of the BEF in France during the First World War...

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