Were some weapons considered unethical during WW I? Weapons of World War I Were some weapons considered unethical during WW I?

A. Attacks could now come from the sky #1 Aviation – Airplanes A. Attacks could now come from the sky 1. Dropped bombs or shot at targets B. Bombers had 2 seats & Fighters had 1 seat C. Advantages: Quick & agile D. Disadvantages: little room & flimsy

#2 Trench Mortars & Artillery Cannons A. Used by both sides, a mortar is a short, wide tube that fires a missile/bomb from a steep angle that falls straight down on target 1. Advantage: could be fired from inside trench 2. Disadvantage: hard to aim, unpredictable B. Artillery cannons were large guns used for shelling (bombing) 1. Advantage: big fire power 2. Disadvantage: despite wheels, hard to move & maneuver

#3 Grenade Launchers A. Developed by the French, at first, they were sort of like a sling shot 1. Later, they could be fired out of an air rifle 2. Advantage: launched grenades further than a person could throw 3. Disadvantage: dangerous for user if grenade falls off or gets stuck

# 4 The Flame Thrower A. Developed by the Germans but used later by British & French B. Spreads fire by launching burning fuel C. Advantage: could easily destroy large amounts of territory D. Disadvantage: unethical to burn people alive, dangerous for the user (fuel cylinder on back)

#5 Poison Gas A. French first to use tear gas to disable an enemy B. Later, Germans develop mustard gas & ammonia based poison gas 1. Allies started using it when Germans used it C. Advantage: fairly undetectable, enemy doesn’t see it coming D. Disadvantage: seen as a very unethical weapon causing blindness, choking, blisters, death, banned after WW I

Nearly 90K of the 9.7 million killed-in-action were due to poison gas Country Total KIAs Gas Deaths Austria-Hungary 1.2 million 3,000 British Empire 908,371 8,109 France 1.4 million 8,000 Germany 1.8 million 9,000 Italy 650,000 4,627 Russia 1.7 million 56,000 USA 116,708 1,462 Ottoman Empire 800,000 1,000 Question: Who suffered the most from poison gas and why?