WORLD HISTORY AND FACTS

11 Terrifying Facts About Mustard Gas “Here are some little-known facts about one of history’s most terrible weapons of mass destruction.” TO THE MILLIONS OF MEN FIGHTING IN FLANDERS in 1917, it would have been hard to imagine how the hell of trench warfare could be made any worse. But worse it would get that year, thanks to the introduction of a new and particularly horrifying chemical weapon. On July 12, German gunners lobbed more than 50,000 artillery shells containing an experimental poison gas into the British and Canadian lines near Ypres. Unlike the widely used chlorine or phosgene agents, which attacked the eyes and lungs, this new terror burned its victims bodies both inside and out. And because of the unmistakable pungent aroma that accompanied its release, soldiers in the trenches soon had a name for the weapon: mustard gas. Initially, those in the path of the unfamiliar and faintly yellow vapour had little idea they were even in danger. But within hours, the gas’ let