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

# 6 The Flame Thrower Developed by the Germans but used later by British & French Spreads fire by launching burning fuel A cylinder containing fuel was carried on your back Advantage: could easily destroy large amounts of territory Disadvantage: unethical to burn people alive, dangerous for the user

#7 Grenade Launchers Handheld launching device developed by the French. At first, they were sort of like a sling shot Later, they could be fired out of an air rifle Advantage: launched grenades further than a person could throw Disadvantage: dangerous for user if grenade falls off or gets stuck

#8 Trench Mortars A mortar is a short, wide tube that fires a missile/bomb from a steep angle that falls straight down on target Used by both sides in addition to regular artillery shells Advantage: could be fired from inside the trench, lots of damage Disadvantage: hard to aim, could explode inside trench

#9 Poison Gas The French were the first to use tear gas to disable an enemy Later, Germany develops mustard gas & ammonia based poison gas Germany widely used poison gas against allied troops. Later both sides use poison gas as a weapon – everyone needs gas masks Gas caused choking, blindness, severe blisters and death Advantage: fairly undetectable, enemy doesn’t see it coming Disadvantage: seen as a very unethical weapon. Treaties were signed after WWI that bans poison gas warfare

Nearly 90,000 of the 9.7 million casualties were due to poison gas CountryTotal Casualties Gas Casualties Austria-Hungary1.2 million3,000 British Empire 908,371 8,109 France1.4 million 8,000 Germany1.8 million9,000 Italy650,0004,627 Russia1.7 million56,000 USA116,7081,462 Ottoman Empire800,000 1,000