Show Ch Chemicals in the the Next WarI War WarBy I By Frederic J. J Haskin Hukin WASHINGTON So So far as anyone anyone anyone any any- one knows today the chemical weapon which will be used wed to the greatest extent In the next war Is mustard gas according to an analysis anah 51 sis of ot thc the chemical warfare situation situation situa situa- tion made by Alden H. H Waitt a captain in the chemical warfare service and secretary of ot the chemIcal chemical chem chern ical Jeal warfare service school at the Edgewood od arsenal in Maryland Captain Waitt notes th that every lit little Ittle It It- tle tie while some sensational story appears In the press to the effect that some new and especially deadly dead dead- ly gas has been developed and may be expected to spread pread unheard unheard unheard un un- un- un heard of desolation In the next war The fact tact is this expert declares declares de de- de- de clares dares nothing has yet jet been discovered discovered dis dis- covered so far as it is known more effective than the same mustard mus tard gas which was developed in inthe inthe inthe the world war Captain Waitt admits however that it Is I. I a foregone conclusion that if it any government had developed a more effective gas the secret of ot It its very existence would be so closely guarded that no publication publication tion would attend For this reason reason reason rea rea- son there is is' always pr present ent an clement cle ele ment meat of uncertainty in the chemical chemical chem chem- ical warfare field This is peculiarly peculiarly peculiarly pe pe- pe- pe so because a chemical is so sowell sowell well adapted to secrecy It does not even have to exist Secret gun placements may be established and the secret discovered because of ot their actual tangible presence New types of warships airplanes tanks and the like have the same obtrusive obtrusive obtrusive sive physical presence But a chemical or rather the knowledge of ot it need not even exist on n paper Once the discovery has been made and tested the formula need exist only in the minds of men inca or conceivably conceivably conceivably con con- in the mind of ot a single Individual not to be revealed until until un un- til iii the time comes for its use Preparations for manufacture may maybe maybe maybe be made in advance without the secrets secret's being revealed for tor secrecy is o of the very nature of chemistry No Defense Against It Nevertheless Captain Waitt seems to lean to the belief belie that so sotar far tar nothing more effective than mustard gas need be expected The Theon on only feasible policy to follow in preparation to meet foreign dIscoveries discoveries discoveries dis dIs- dis- dis is continuous patient research re search It is to be assumed apparently apparently ap ap- that as yet the thc American Ameri Amen can chemical w warfare experts have not yet hit upon an anything better than the mustard Mustard gas is so effective however however however how how- ever that it can be depended upon as a deadly war weapon What has happened hap ned is that far more effective tive methods of ot employing mustard gas than were known in the world war have been developed while at atthe atthe atthe the same time no adequate defense has been found Some other gases which have been introduced have been countered by evolution of ot defenses against them but not so 0 with mustard gas A Controllable Poison Polson It is 5 a fascinating and probably not widely realized fact that toward toward to to- ward the close of ot the world war when chemical warfare was being being belag be be- ing lag concentrated upon the use of ot mustard gas was exp expanding with fth great rapidity The closing months of the war reveal that mustard gas was rapidly overtaking high explosive as a charge for shells it being felt that the effect of the gas spread by these bursting projectiles projectiles projectiles pro pro- was more effective against an enemy force than spreading shrapnel What is regarded by military experts to be one of the most valuable valuable valuable val val- qualities of mustard gas is the ability of the handlers to control control control con con- the period of ot effectiveness that is 5 the duration of its presence presence pres pres- ence in effective quantities after discharge Thus when a barrage is laid down against an n enemy position po po- po 1 it may be the intended tactics tactics tactics tac tac- tac- tac tics to follow tollow up the barrage speedily with an infantry advance ad ad- vance If It too much of any deadly dead dead- ly lygas gas Is laid down in the barrage it would have the effect of acting act ing lag against the very force that discharged it by lying yIng in wait over the enemy terrain to prevent any advance to follow tollow up the gesture But it seems mustard gas can be controlled as to the quantity disseminated dis so that if it an advance is contemplated in a brief period after the discharge the gas wIllbe will willbe willbe be sufficiently dispersed to permit permit per per- mit it A Moat loat of Poison Polson Captain Waitt thinks the principal prin principal prin- prin cipal advance since the war in the chemical warfare field has been In connection with the dis discharge harge of ot gas from the air and this type of offense bids fair to be one of ot the most important in the the next war Every important country ha haS haS' been cn working on this problem It is n noted ted that in the soviet union long strides have been taken There has been organized in the soviet union the league cague for tor air and chemical defense and Russians including men women and even children are numbered among the membership It appears that the chemical division of ot the red a army y has devoted particular attention to this type of ot warfare In general the Russian military policy has ha been one of ot defense The p policy licy of ot the union has not been offensive but it has been considered the capitalist nations of the world at any time might combine to attack this more or less outlaw state Russia is not ambitious ambitious am am- to 3 acquire Quire more territory having already alre dy a vast expanse e of ot the ear earths earth's hs h's unoccupied surface but she is determined fo to hold what she has Hence the purely defensive sive policy Her chemical warfare warfare warfare war war- war war- fare plans are known to include means for lor dropping from the air chemicals which will impregnate the ground creating an effective poison polson moat along the borders 1 if need be War ar on Noncombatants It is extremely interesting to note that General von organizer organizer organizer or or- of the postwar German army has laid stress upon the value of tear gas For an army which has held so horrid a reputation reputation tation for lor frightfulness in the past the idea of adopting so relatively relatively rela rela- harmless an agent as tear teargas gas merely gas merely the sort of ot gas used wed by police to quell riots and not death dealing seems somewhat surprising But there is another aspect It is pointed out that the discharge of ot tear gas over troops would make it necessary for lor them to stop to don masks slowing up their advance Moreover it takes only tenth one-tenth as much chemicals to produce tear gas as s to produce mustard gas and of course in postwar Germany economy has necessarily been a paramount con con- S But Dr Ulrich Mueller's comment comment com corn ment meat in this same connection Is somewhat illuminating He sugg suggests suggests sug- sug sug sug- g ts that the final mission of ot this air chemical air agency would be embodied em cm- I bodied in Ia its effect on the enemy hinterland especially on the cities All experts in all countries seem well agreed that the air and chemical them chem ical agencies are in the next war to be employed against the noncombatants noncombatants non- non combatants of the cities perhaps against farmers in the fields raising raising rais raising rais- rais ing food crops against munitions and other factories Indeed it has bas been suggested that in the next war perhaps the safest place willbe will willbe willbe be in the front line trenches An interesting comment is that of Major General J. J F F. F C. C Fuller of the British army He observes that the main military weapon of oC attack will I consider be gas as not because it is so deadly but because it is so terr terrifying ying There is something pretty gruesome about the descriptions of or the use of ot the chemical aero-chemical arm It is pictured for tor example how a fleet of airplanes airplanes air airplanes air air- planes could fly over a battle area over troops on the march or over overa a city open their chemical tanks and begin sprinkling agents which would bring a gentle lethal ram rain ra n down upon those below who would have nowhere to go to escape whose effectiveness would be reduced reduced re re- re- re by the n necessity to mask and whose morale would be impaired impaired im im- im paired to the point of surrender It is admitted that the future of ot chemical warfare can not fully be realized but only adumbrated but buthe buttle the tle military men have from their point of ot view great hopes for it I |