Types Of Poisonous Gases!
Poison gas was probably the most feared of all weapons in "World War One". Poison gas was indiscriminate and could be used on the trenches even when no attack was going on. Where as the machine gun killed more soldiers overall during the war, death was frequently instant or not drawn out and soldiers could find some shelter in bomb/shell craters from gunfire. A poison gas attack meant soldiers having to put on crude gas masks and if these were unsuccessful, an attack could leave a victim in agony for days and weeks before he finally succumbed to his injuries.
Mustard Gas!
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Mustard Gas: Mustard Gas (Yperite) was first used by the "German Army" in September 1917. It was one of the most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the war. It was almost odourless and took twelve hours to take effect. Yperite was so powerful that only small amounts had to be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks.
The skin of victims of mustard gas blistered, the eyes became very sore and they began to vomit. Mustard gas caused internal and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucous membrane. This was extremely painful and most soldiers had to be strapped to their beds. It usually took a person four or five weeks to die of mustard gas poisoning
The skin of victims of mustard gas blistered, the eyes became very sore and they began to vomit. Mustard gas caused internal and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucous membrane. This was extremely painful and most soldiers had to be strapped to their beds. It usually took a person four or five weeks to die of mustard gas poisoning
Chlorine Gas!
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Chlorine Gas: The German Army first used chlorine gas cylinders in April 1915 against the French Army at Ypres. French soldiers reported seeing yellow-green clouds drifting slowly towards the Allied trenches. They also noticed its distinctive smell which was like a mixture of pineapple and pepper. At first the French officers assumed that the German infantry were advancing behind a smoke screen and orders were given to prepare for an armed attack. When the gas arrived at the Allied front-trenches soldiers began to complain about pains in the chests and a burning sensation in their throats.
Chlorine was chosen on account of its exceptionally irritating character ; it rapidly puts a man out of action when inhaled in a strength of only 1 in 10,000, whereas sulphur dioxide is only effective in a concentration four times as great. Chlorine, being much heavier than air, readily drifts and sinks into trenches, dug-outs, and cellars. It can be rapidly manufactured in enormous quantities and is easily compressed into cylinders, in which it can be conveyed to the front .
Chlorine gas destroyed the respiratory organs of its victims and this led to a slow death by asphyxiation. One nurse described the death of one soldier who had been in the trenches during a chlorine gas attack. nothing can be done” It is a horrible death, but as hard as they try, doctors were are unable to find a way of successfully treating chlorine gas poisoning.
Symptoms:
The first effect of inhalation of chlorine is a burning pain in the throat and eyes, accompanied by a sensation of suffocation; pain, which may be severe, is felt in the chest, especially behind the sternum. Respiration becomes painful, rapid, and difficult ; coughing occurs, and the irritation of the eyes results in profuse lachrymation. Retching is common and may be followed by vomiting, which gives temporary relief. The lips and mouth are parched and the tongue is covered with a thick dry fur. Severe headache rapidly follows with a feeling of great weakness in the legs; if the patient gives way to this and lies down, he is likely to inhale still more chlorine, as the heavy gas is most concentrated near the ground. In severe poisoning unconsciousness follows; nothing more is known about the cases which prove fatal on the field within the first few hours of the "gassing," except that the face assumes a pale greenish yellow colour. When a man lives long enough to be admitted into a clearing station, he is conscious, but restless; his face is violet red, and his ears and finger nails blue ; his expression strained and anxious as he gasps for breath; he tries to get relief by sitting up with his head thrown back, or he lies in an exhausted condition, sometimes on his side with his head over the edge of the stretcher in order to help the escape of fluid from the lungs. His skin is cold and his temperature subnormal; the pulse is full and rarely over 100.
Respiration is jerky, shallow and rapid, the rate being often over 40 and sometimes even 80 a minute ; all the auxiliary muscles come into play, the chest being over-distended at the height of inspiration and, as in asthma, only slightly less distended in extreme expiration. Frequent and painful coughing occurs and some frothy sputum is brought up. The lungs are less resonant than normal, but not actually dull, and fine riles with occasional rhonchi and harsh but not bronchial breathing are heard, especially over the back and sides.
Chlorine was chosen on account of its exceptionally irritating character ; it rapidly puts a man out of action when inhaled in a strength of only 1 in 10,000, whereas sulphur dioxide is only effective in a concentration four times as great. Chlorine, being much heavier than air, readily drifts and sinks into trenches, dug-outs, and cellars. It can be rapidly manufactured in enormous quantities and is easily compressed into cylinders, in which it can be conveyed to the front .
Chlorine gas destroyed the respiratory organs of its victims and this led to a slow death by asphyxiation. One nurse described the death of one soldier who had been in the trenches during a chlorine gas attack. nothing can be done” It is a horrible death, but as hard as they try, doctors were are unable to find a way of successfully treating chlorine gas poisoning.
Symptoms:
The first effect of inhalation of chlorine is a burning pain in the throat and eyes, accompanied by a sensation of suffocation; pain, which may be severe, is felt in the chest, especially behind the sternum. Respiration becomes painful, rapid, and difficult ; coughing occurs, and the irritation of the eyes results in profuse lachrymation. Retching is common and may be followed by vomiting, which gives temporary relief. The lips and mouth are parched and the tongue is covered with a thick dry fur. Severe headache rapidly follows with a feeling of great weakness in the legs; if the patient gives way to this and lies down, he is likely to inhale still more chlorine, as the heavy gas is most concentrated near the ground. In severe poisoning unconsciousness follows; nothing more is known about the cases which prove fatal on the field within the first few hours of the "gassing," except that the face assumes a pale greenish yellow colour. When a man lives long enough to be admitted into a clearing station, he is conscious, but restless; his face is violet red, and his ears and finger nails blue ; his expression strained and anxious as he gasps for breath; he tries to get relief by sitting up with his head thrown back, or he lies in an exhausted condition, sometimes on his side with his head over the edge of the stretcher in order to help the escape of fluid from the lungs. His skin is cold and his temperature subnormal; the pulse is full and rarely over 100.
Respiration is jerky, shallow and rapid, the rate being often over 40 and sometimes even 80 a minute ; all the auxiliary muscles come into play, the chest being over-distended at the height of inspiration and, as in asthma, only slightly less distended in extreme expiration. Frequent and painful coughing occurs and some frothy sputum is brought up. The lungs are less resonant than normal, but not actually dull, and fine riles with occasional rhonchi and harsh but not bronchial breathing are heard, especially over the back and sides.
Deadly Weapons!
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Trench Knife: A Trench knife is a combat knife designed to kill or gravely incapacitate an enemy soldier at close quarters, as might be encountered in a trenchline or other confined area. It was developed in response to a need for a close combat weapon for soldiers conducting assaults and raids on enemy trenchlines during the First World War. An example of a World War I trench knife is the German Army's Nahkampfmesser (close combat knife). With the outbreak of the Second World War, the trench knife, by this time usually referred to as a combat knife, proved so useful that armies continued to develop and issue new designs.
On the Axis side, the Nahkampfmesser and designs developed from it were again widely issued to the ordinary soldier as general-purpose fighting and utility knives, while Allied armies generally restricted issue of trench knives to elite infantry units and infantry not otherwise equipped with then bayonet.
On the Axis side, the Nahkampfmesser and designs developed from it were again widely issued to the ordinary soldier as general-purpose fighting and utility knives, while Allied armies generally restricted issue of trench knives to elite infantry units and infantry not otherwise equipped with then bayonet.
Mortars!
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As with grenades, the Germans were also initially armed with mortars. Mortars were (generally) portable and could fire unexposed from the bottom of a trench, dropping their shells into the enemy trenches, with a little luck. Mortars are essentially hollow tubes angled greater than 45 degrees. A mortar shell is dropped down the tube where the base of the shell strikes a firing pin, setting off the shell's propellant and shooting the shell up, over and nearly straight down on an enemy position. Neither the French or the British had mortars at the start of the war. The French actually scrounged up Napoleonic-era mortars more than a century old until modern mortars became available.
Both the British and the French also used catapults to hurl grenades into enemy trenches until mortars became available. The British produced the No. 15 “Ball Grenade” (to replace the “tin-jam” grenade, see above) with two types of fuses: 1) the 5-second fuse for throwing and 2) the 9-second fuse for use with catapults.
It wasn't until late 1915 that the British produced their 2 inch Medium Trench Mortar, nicknamed the “Toffee Apple” because its shell resembled one. Instead of dropping the mortar shell down the tube, the shaft of the toffee-apple-shaped shell was inserted in the tube and the main part of the shell (the “apple”), containing 42 lb of explosive, stuck out the top. It was fired by pulling a lanyard, but sometimes premature explosions resulted. Later the British would develop the Stokes Mortar,
Both the British and the French also used catapults to hurl grenades into enemy trenches until mortars became available. The British produced the No. 15 “Ball Grenade” (to replace the “tin-jam” grenade, see above) with two types of fuses: 1) the 5-second fuse for throwing and 2) the 9-second fuse for use with catapults.
It wasn't until late 1915 that the British produced their 2 inch Medium Trench Mortar, nicknamed the “Toffee Apple” because its shell resembled one. Instead of dropping the mortar shell down the tube, the shaft of the toffee-apple-shaped shell was inserted in the tube and the main part of the shell (the “apple”), containing 42 lb of explosive, stuck out the top. It was fired by pulling a lanyard, but sometimes premature explosions resulted. Later the British would develop the Stokes Mortar,
Periscope rifle!
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The Periscope Rifle was created to allow the shooter to fire his rifle without exposing his head. A wooden frame was constructed such that it would securely hold the rifle above the shooter with the top of the periscope aligned with the gun-sites, allowing the soldier to aim by looking through the bottom part of the periscope. To fire the rifle, a string was pulled. Though not as effective as when aimed normally, it was still very useful. Periscope rifles were used extensively during the 1915 Gallipoli campaign, where the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) were constantly overlooked by Turkish positions on higher ground.
Zeppelin
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The Zeppelin, or blimp as it is also known, is an airship and it was used during the early part of the war in bombing raids by the Germans. These airships weighed 12 tonnes and contained over 400,000 cubic feet of hydrogen. They were propelled along by 2 Daimler engines, which enabled the craft to travel at speeds of up to 136mph and heights of 4250 metres! They usually carried machine guns and around 4,400lb of bombs! They carried out many raids and were eventually abandoned as they were easy targets for artillery.
bOLT ACTION RIFLE!
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Bolt action is a type of firearm action in which the weapon's bolt is operated manually by the opening and closing of the breech (barrel) with a small handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (for right-handed users). As the handle is operated, the bolt is unlocked, the breech is opened, the spent cartridge case is withdrawn and ejected, the firing pin is cocked (this occurs either on the opening or closing of the bolt, depending on design), and finally a new round/cartridge (if available) is placed into the breech and the bolt closed. Bolt action firearms are most often rifles, but there are some bolt-action shotguns and a few handguns as well. Examples of this system date as far back as the early 19th century, notably in the Dreyse needle gun. From the late 19th century, all the way through both World Wars, the bolt-action rifle was the standard infantry firearm for most of the world's militaries.
In military and law enforcement use, the bolt action has been mostly replaced by semi-automatic and selective fire weapons, though the bolt action remains the dominant design in dedicated sniper rifles. Bolt action firearms are still very popular for hunting and target shooting. Compared to most other manually operated firearm actions, it offers an excellent balance of strength (allowing powerful chamberings), ruggedness, reliability, and potential accuracy, all with light weight and low cost. The major disadvantage is a marginally lower practical rate of fire than other manual repeating firearms, such as lever-actionand pump-action, and a far lower practical rate of fire than semi-automatic weapons, but this is not an important factor in many types of hunting and target shooting.
In military and law enforcement use, the bolt action has been mostly replaced by semi-automatic and selective fire weapons, though the bolt action remains the dominant design in dedicated sniper rifles. Bolt action firearms are still very popular for hunting and target shooting. Compared to most other manually operated firearm actions, it offers an excellent balance of strength (allowing powerful chamberings), ruggedness, reliability, and potential accuracy, all with light weight and low cost. The major disadvantage is a marginally lower practical rate of fire than other manual repeating firearms, such as lever-actionand pump-action, and a far lower practical rate of fire than semi-automatic weapons, but this is not an important factor in many types of hunting and target shooting.