The History Room
I would like to make another thread in order to remind everyone reading my nanoessay that Cancel Culture is destroying the Freedom, which was once so valued by America. I would also like to remind you that the only way Conservatives can end Cancel Culture is by cancelling Progressives. Unfortunately, if that was the topic of my nanoessay, I would be disciplined for Spam and for posting off-topic material in History Subforum. Thus, in this nanoessay I will describe German introduction of Chemical Warfare in 1915 and the steps taken by Allies to protest the use of chemical weapons.
WWI began on July 1914. In April 1915, Germany conducted a massive Chlorine attack against British and French forces. The amount of Chlorine deployed was 170 tons. That was a gross violation of all international customs of war and a shock to all notions of Humaneness existing at that point.
German use of gas and flame-throwers resulted in massive protest in Allied Nations. Even though neither Internet nor Memes existed at that time, artists got to work in making placards -- precursors to memes. One Russian placard portrayed a German flame-thrower with a description: "Against Divine and Human Laws: German machine for projecting burning liquid". Given that in 1915, sensibilities were finer then in 2021, no placards had profanity. One placard portrayed a German soldier and had a sign "Enemy of Humankind". Even though Facebook and Forums did not exist, many newspapers published articles about German atrocities and reaffirmed the point that Allies are more ethical then Germans. Another form of protest by young ladies was dressing as flappers. All these forms of protest were ineffective in stopping Germany from using Chlorine.
Immediately after German use of Chlorine, another form of protest began. Even though Telegram Messenger became popular among Conservatives only in 2021, electric telegraphy existed since 1837. From the first day of German chemical attack, British and French officers started exchanging many telegrams with representatives of French, British, and American chemical industries. One question they did not discuss is whether Allies were morally superior to Germans due to the fact that so far, only Germans have used Chlorine. One question they did discuss is whether Chemical Industries of France, Britain, and the United States of America can produce more Chlorine then German and Austro-Hungarian industries. The answer was affirmative. French, British, and American industrialists promised to deliver hundreds of tons of Chlorine by July 1915.
Many people in Allied Nations started engaging in protest against German use of Chemical Weapons. Unlike some rich young ladies who protested by dressing as flappers, some munitionettes took on a second job in producing chlorine containers. Chemists protested by improving the process by which sodium chloride salt is electrolysed. Top secret military chemists protested by starting a project on development of Second Generation Chemical Agents. Some form of protesting was difficult, stressful, and cruel -- chemical agents were tested on rats, squirrels, and rabbits.
At first the protest was unsuccessful. July came and no chemical munition were delivered to French and British troops. Their disappointment was greater then our disappointment when Parler failed to return online in January 2021. Industrialists made a promise to deliver chemical munitions by August. Some Allied soldiers believed Industrialists. Other soldiers did not believe having been fooled once. Allied soldiers were not really comforted by the claim that their abstaining from the use of Chemical Weapons made them superior to Germans! The date of delivery of Chlorine was postponed until early September. That promise was also futile.
On September 25, 1915, at the Battle of Loos, the British used 140 tons of chlorine arrayed in 5,100 cylinders to attack Germans. As the war progressed, German forces began to crumble under the onslaught of Russian French, and British forces. In 1917, USA joined the war on Germany. During December 1915, Germany has used a new and more potent agent called phosgene -- COCl2. Allies soon responded in kind. In 1917, mustard gas was introduced.
By 1918, German forces were being crushed by French, British, and American tanks, heavy guns, and airplanes. They were suffocating in clouds of chlorine and phosgene. They were being blistered by mustard gas. The spectacle of a disaster was glooming for Germany. German lines would collapse, and Allied forces would pour into Germany and attack cities and villages with air-dropped chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas. On November 11, 1918 Germany signed a Peace Treaty which was effectively a surrender.
Even though Nazis committed worst atrocities in History, they did not use chemical weapons on the battlefield. They were afraid of Allies responding in kind. During the bombing of Germany in 1944, Winston Churchill wanted to reintroduce chemical warfare. British government did not agree. Fortunately, since 1945, and introduction of nuclear weapons, no major war has taken place.
What would have happened if the Allies decided not to use chemical weapons during WWI as a matter of principle? There is a whole genre called Alternative History, but we can rest assured that nothing good would have resulted. Will Conservatives learn the lessons from History? Will our Freedom be saved? Only time will tell.
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Originally Posted by carolina73
