Progression of Chemical Warfare: Post #3

Chemical warfare has existed since the dawn of time, starting with the poisoning of arrows and spears, progressing to the use of mustard gas in World War I before making its most deadly impact in Hiroshima with the atom bomb, Chemical warfare will always exist because the entire globe of civilizations will never be completely at peace with one another, and extreme conflict will only expedite the need for one country to be better and stronger than another, through the creation of more deadly weapons.

Although it is widely known that ancient, nomadic civilizations made use of poisonous plants and animals to create deadly spear and arrow tips, there is evidence that chemical weapons in ancient times were more advanced than this. The Ancient Chinese created smoke by pumping balls of mustard and other toxic plant life into tunnels to hold off enemy soldiers. Smokes with arsenic-like bases were nicknamed “soul-hunting fog,” due to its harmful effects. One of the earliest recordings of true gas warfare was during the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta, when Spartans placed a lighted mixture of wood, pitch, and sulfur under the walls hoping that the noxious smoke would incapacitate the Athenians, so that they would not be able to resist impending attack. It was common for Spanish forces in Hispania to be weakened by indigenous groups throwing gourds filled with ashes and ground hot peppers in order to temporarily blind their opponents. In the 17^th century, armies attempted a crude form of chemical warfare by launching incendiary shells filled with sulfur, tallow, rosin, turpentine, saltpeter, and antimony, starting fires and causing copious amounts of smoke to collect around their enemies. However, these small-scale endeavors in chemical warfare were only the start of the destruction.

The battlefields of World War I are often considered to be the birthplace of true chemical warfare.  The Hague Declaration of 1899 and the Hague Convention of 1907 forbade the use of "poison or poisoned weapons" in warfare. However, by the end, more than 124,000 tons of gases were produced by the end of World War I. The French were the first to break the pact, using the tear gases, ethyl bromoacetate and chloroacetone to harm their enemies. Germany too entered this underhanded tactic with the use of dianisidine chlorosulfonate shells, xylyl bromide shells, and chlorine gas. The results were devastating: 50,965 tons of pulmonary, lachrymatory, and vesicant agents were weaponized, including chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas, 1.3 million casualties can be attributed just to chemical weapons in just this war, and 100,000-260,000 of these deaths were innocent civilians. After World War I, counties continued the race to garner more destructive weapons, leading up the creation of the most horrific kind of weapon yet: nuclear.

On August 6^th and August 9^th, 1945, the United Stated dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The assignment was called the Manhattan Project, and the best scientists in the world were called to work on the scheme in secret. The bomb was so “effective” that it killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki, half of which occurred in the first 24 hours. Japanese health experts estimated that 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling or flying debris, and 10% from other causes. In the months that followed, many more fell ill and died of radiation, and those who didn’t went on to give birth to children with severe defects, or they themselves had extreme negative health problems for the rest of their lives. However, the United States achieved their goal when Japan surrendered on August 15^th, 1945, just 6 days after the second bombing. All in all, chemical weapons have caused horrific destruction since they were invented, with casualties ascending during World War I and exploding upward with the bombing of Japan.