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     Biological or chemical warfare has been believed to be a very old form of warfare. It was recorded in 600 BC how Solon contaminated the River Pleisthenes with a poisonous gas knows as helleborus, which the defenders drank. The defenders then suffered diarrhea and couldn’t fight

     It has been historically confirmed that at the siege of Caffa in Crimea in1346, the Mongols used siege catapults to shoot plagued corpses into the city. It was an attempt to plague the entire city. Also they would poison sources of water with the corpses of dead animals or toxic plant extracts.

     It was during World War I that the Germans first used the first chemical agents. They released a quantity of irritant tear gas against the French at the battle of Neuve Chapelle in October 1914. Then at the Eastern Front in January 1915 the Germans fired shells containing xylyl bromide against the Russians. During World War I, gas was used from all sides, including Italy and America who each produced 4,100 and 6,215 tons of gas agents. The total number of gas casualties was 1.2 million non-fatal injuries and more than 91,000 fatalities, this only accounting for less than 2 percent of the total war’s casualty list.
     Since 1945 traces of biological agents have been used within small wars and battles. Some agents are not designed to destroy human life, but rather affect long-term health conditions of those that have been exposed. This type of incident was seen in the case of "Agent Orange" in the Vietnam War. respirationdrill.jpg (87178 bytes)
     As time progressed, gas became a bigger issue. New gasses were constantly being developed such as Mustard gas. And before, they would only release gas from cylinders, hoping for the wind to carry it to their opponents. Later, techniques of loading the gas into artillery shells and mortar bombs had been perfected. Gas has become a major part of wars today. It has impacted modern battles a lot. It’s the newest type of warfare that is still being changed. We are seeing devastating effects of powerful gasses. The use of gas has also influenced the use of nuclear weapons.

 

 

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