History of Chemical Warfare

History of Chemical Warfare

PREHISTORC AND ANCIENT WARFARE

          .Poisoned arrows, smoke, noxious fumes, ets.

          .”Greek fire”-toxic smoke based on flammable mixture

WORLD WAR I: MODERN CHEMICAL WARFARE BEGINS

          .Ypres, Belgium, 22 April 1951 – first use of CW-chlorine (5.000 deaths)

          .Bsura-Rumka, Russian front, 31 May 1915-chlorine/phosgene (6,000 deaths)

          .Ypres, Belgium, July 1971-first use of mustard gas

          .1, 000,000 casualties from chemical weapons (CW), 90,000 of them fatal

          .80%of casualties were caused by mustard gas (known since 1800s)

          .124, 000 tons of chemical agents expended

1925 GENEVA PROTOCOL FOR THE PROHIBITION OF POISONOUS GASES AND BACTERIOLOGICAL METHODS OF WARFARE

POST WORLD WAR I

          .1935-36-massive use of mustard gas by ltaly against Ethiopia

          .1937-1941(or possibly as late as 1943) – Japan used mustard gas and lewisite against china, notably during the attack of Yichang

WORLD WAR II

          .No battlefield use of CW, though major countries stocked CW

          .Bari, Italy, 02 December 1943-accidental spill of mustard in harbor, high casualties among naval personnel and civilians

          .German scientists synthesized nerve agents (tabun, sarin, soman)

          .Huge quantities of CW dumped/abandoned at end of war

          .Allies captured German nerve agent formulas, manufacturing techniques

POST WORLD WAR II

          .1949-VX (nerve agent) synthesized in UK

          .Cold War-chemical warfare agent research/stockpiling continued

          .Egypt is alleged to have used mustard gas in the Yemen, 1963-68