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All in World War I
Buy our new book! A completely new version of Rexmond Cochrane’s classic containing all new material, just in time for the centennial of the battle at Belleau Wood.
One of our readers requested some additional source material about some of what I write about on CBRNPro.net. The Further Reading list posted today will appear in our forthcoming book on Belleau Wood and in our series of publications of Rexmond Cochrane's work, but I'm posting it here for a "living version" on our website to encourage others to learn more about the most critical part of CBRN history - the beginning.
Preview our forthcoming book, the first in a series, and learn how you can score a free t-shirt, coffee mug, or sticker.
What do Pancho Villa, coffee, military Mermite food containers, and chemical warfare have to do with each other? The surprising answers at CBRNPro.net!
The Centennial Anniversary of US entry into World War I is almost here and CBRNPro.net is preparing to mark it in a very special way. Check out a preview of our upcoming documentary video and book series examining the American Experience of Chemical Warfare in the "Great War."
CBRNPro.net's inaugural podcast is live on our website! Download and listen today.
Trivia Question: Who designed the Gatun Locks of the Panama Canal, was the first commander of the 1st Infantry Division "The Big Red One," and was the first commander of the US Chemical Warfare Service in World War I?
Answer: Major General William Luther Sibert, the "Hero of Panama" and "Father of the Chemical Warfare Service."
To learn how MG Sibert accomplished all that, and got relieved of command along the way, download and listen to CBRNPro.net's inaugural podcast today!
Today, CBRNPro.net examines how an Italian general and airpower advocate sparked the transition of chemical warfare from a weapon with significant tactical utility, to a strategic weapon of mutual deterrence. We also look at some aspects of chemical warfare in WWII.
The massive scale of chemical warfare on the Western Front between March 21, 1918 and the armistice is a period most history of the war skips over. Yet this period was marked by tactical innovation, more than at any point in the war. This innovation was concurrent with the height of American involvement: Belleau Wood, Cantigny, St. Miheal, and the Meuse-Argonne battles all occurred in this period. While the Americans struggled with everything, from battlefield effectiveness to logistics, the AEF reflects changes going on in the French and British Armies as well.
Many have noted the importance of artillery to these new innovations, and some suggest this period was the harbinger of the "blitzkrieg" style of German warfare in WWII. Few have noted the important role chemical weapons played in the final months of the Great War. CBRNPro.net examines the tactical utility of chemical weapons based on this history, in our latest post in an ongoing series re-examining the history of chemical warfare.
During the German Spring Offensives of 1918, also known as the Ludendorff Offensives and Operation Michel, the Germans used chemical weapons to an extent never seen before, or since, on the battlefield. During the largest artillery bombardment, and chemical attack, in history, Mustard ran in the gutters of the French village of Armentiers "like rain." CBRNPro.net explores this tactical innovation, and what followed in the second part of its ongoing series re-examining the history of chemical warfare, and the lessons that history can teach us today.
Chemical warfare in the WWI is usually relegated to a side show in most history. That is a fundamental error. Chemical casualties in the last year of the war accounted for 30-40 percent of casualties in major operations. The final year of the war demonstrated the tactical efficiency of chemical weapons in both the offense and defense, a stark departure from chemical warfare between 1915 and 1917. Historians usually talk about the early attacks when chemical warfare was largely insignificant, but this leaves out the importance of the chemical war to the end of the war.
In the first in a multi-part series re-examining chemical warfare in the First World War, with particular emphasis on the American Experience. CBRNPro.net examines long-held myths about chemical warfare in WWI, and the propaganda that pushed them into the history books. Many of the lessons that history failed to learn, still apply today.
Was April 22, 1915 really the first use of chemical weapons? The answer is more complicated than you think.
