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Essay on history of chemical weapons
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Chemical weapons have been extremely controversial in our world. A chemical weapon is, “A toxic chemical contained in a delivery system, such as a bomb or shell,” its essential purpose is to conflict harm onto people through harmful gases. A chemical weapon, as of the definition from the North Atlantic Treaty of Organization’s definition is, “A chemical substance which is intended for use in military operations to kill, seriously injure, or incapacitate people because of its physiological effects.” Clearly, these two definitions of chemical weapons are similar but are still considered to be inhumane. Chemical weapons are cheap and are easy to produce, even in many countries that are developing. These types of weapons are created in laboratories, which contain different gases and elements. Some gases used to create chemical weapons are chloride gas, mustard gas and phosgene gas. Should chemical weapons be permitted during years to come; after all the damage they have left in various places around the world, are they really necessary? These weapons have been used during World War I in trench warfare. The gases were releases from canisters and spread by the wind. This caused thousands of death and over a million casualties during the war. In 1935, Italy began its conquest of Ethiopia using mustard gas that was distributed through aircrafts. In 1936, Japan invaded China using mustard gas, phosgene, and hydrogen cyanide. In 1963-4, Egypt used phosgene and mustard gas aerial bombs against Yemen royalists during the Yemen civil war. In 1980-8, Iraq used mustard gas and nerve agents against Iran and Iraqi Kurds. Somewhat recent in 1994-5 the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult used sarin in multiple terrorist attacks at Matsumoto (June 1994) a... ... middle of paper ... ...ms Trade and Its Impact on Health . The International Arms Trade and Its Impact on Health. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2539084/?page=2 7. The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (n.d.). About.com 20th Century History. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/hiroshima.htm 8. Article Not Found. (n.d.). Cambridge Journals. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=BB950C485D425842754EDDC9277ECBDF.journals?fromPage=online&aid=3218284 9. Article Not Found. (n.d.). Cambridge Journals. Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=BB950C485D425842754EDDC9277ECBDF.journals?fromPage=online&aid=3218284 10. CODOH. (n.d.). 1944) (2008). Retrieved May 7, 2014, from http://codoh.com/library/document/976/
Looking back at how the chemical weaponry expanded starting in the beginning of World War 1, it all began with Tear gas which was used by the French in August of 1914. Those techniques have been used in ancient times. Moving forward eight months in to the war the Germans have been giving great study in to the development of chemical weapons due to the first usage from the French and witnessed its great effectiveness and were the first to use it in a large scale.
Donohue, Nathan. "Understanding the Decision to Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Center for Strategic and International Studies. N.p., 10 Aug. 2012. Web. 4 Jan. 2014.
There have been many wars and battles fought with different weapons, but chemical weapons used in these wars are the worst kind. These weapons cause mutations and horrible deceases to a state in which some deceases even exist many years after the incident. These chemical weapons were unfortunately used by Iraq during the 8-year war between Iran and Iraq: 1980–1988. Iraq started using these chemical weapons excessively after 1984, until the end of the war even though countries are not allowed to use chemical weapons in any cases. However, Iraq got confirmation from The United States.
Though biological weapons have been available for under a century, there is a long history of their use between 1914 and 1972. Chemical warfare was first introduced in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. Because of the new style of warfare with automatic weapons, trenches were dug out from the ground to defend against a slaughter. The introduction of this issue caused us to invent weapons such as the grenade, flame thrower, and finally, biological weapons. Biological weapons were distributed by hoses, grenades, and aerial attacks. By doing this, we eliminated many enemy trenches and saved a large amount of Ally lives. (Menace)
In August of 1945, both of the only two nuclear bombs ever used in warfare were dropped on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombs shaped much of the world today.
The French were the first to start experimenting on chemical agents in 1912. They first used it on their people as riot control to capture criminals that who had robbed a bank. They used 26 millimeter grenades filled with chemical agents into the center of the group criminals they were attempting to apprehend. It was not said if it was effective but continued to look into using it for other means. However, the Germans at this time had not been interested in producing any kinds of chemical weapons.
“The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Calliope. 01 May. 2011: 13. eLibrary. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.
The Effects of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki." iBliblio.org - a. United States Government Printing Office, 1946. Web. The Web. The Web.
Poison gas was perhaps the most feared weapon out of all. Created to overcome the long stalemate style of trench warfare, its purpose was to draw out soldiers hiding in the trenches. One side would throw the poison gas into the enemy trenches and they would either wait for their enemy to come out into open fire or perish in the trenches. The first poison gas used in battle was chlorine at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres on April 22, 1915 by the Germans. Shortly after, followed the phosgene. The effects of these gases were ghastly. Chlorine was the most deadly as "within seconds of inhaling its vapor, it destroys the victim's respiratory organs, bringing on choking attacks" (Duffy). Phosgene had similar effects, except the fact that the effects started kicking in after 48 hours of inhalation. In September 1917, the Germans introduced the mustard gas or Yperite which was contained in artillery shells against the Russians at Riga. Those exposed t...
“Little Boy” and “Fat Man”, the world’s first two nuclear bombs were dropped in two major cities in Japan: Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6th and 9th of August 1945. This “experiment” by the United States Government completely demolished the two cities, killing over 150,000 people instantly and nearly 50,000 people died from aftermath as well as radiation.
When looking at the aftermath of the atomic bomb in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima the devastation it caused is evident. The majority of the population in Japan could have never imagined such a catastrophic event. On August 6, 1945 and August 9, 1945 massive amounts of lives were changed forever when an atomic bomb fell from the sky and created an explosion as bright as the sun. These two bombs were the first and only accounts of nuclear warfare. (“Atomic Bomb is…”) The impact that the two bombs left on the cities of Japan was tremendous. The bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima devastated the country through structural damage, long term medical effects, expenses, and the massive loss of life.
Mustard gas was not the only example of chemical weaponry used during World War I. The first example of this was the Germans use of a gas called phosgene in mid-1915, which caused drastic damage to the lungs (Mack 2). The Germans began using mustard gas in 1916 and soon both sides began to use poison gas as a weapon. At a lab at American University, which at its peak employed over 1,200 scientists specifically to create chemical weapons for the war, a new gas called Lewisite was developed. Lewisite poisoned its victims through the skin and rendered gas masks useless against it. During the war as many as 50 different gases were used by both sides (Mack 2). When the war e...
Although WW II ended over 50 years ago there is still much discussion as to the events which ended the War in the Pacific. The primary event which historians attribute to this end are the use of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the bombing of these cities did force the Japanese to surrender, many people today ask “Was the use of the atomic bomb necessary to end the war?” and more importantly “Why was the decision to use the bomb made?” Ronald Takaki examines these questions in his book Hiroshima.
Introduction The development and usage of the first atomic bombs has caused a change in the military, political, and public functionality of the world today. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki revolutionized warfare by killing large masses of civilian population with a single strike. The bombs’ effects from the blast, extreme heat, and radiation left an estimated 140,000 people dead. The bombs created a temporary resolution that led to another conflict.
Chaos, fear, and death. Those three words are what most people’s first thoughts are when they see the destructive offspring of either Biological or Chemical Weapons. These Weapons of Mass Destruction (also known as WMD’s) are actually considered the deadliest weapons of all time to not only humans but also to other animals, and plants. Biological and Chemical Warfare has become a major threat not only to the safety to the people of America, but also on the frontlines across the world but, that in order to fix these that the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and Chemical Weapons Convention could do is to make mandatory background checks for anyone who buys any additives that are in any Bio/ Chemical weapons, mandatory safety exercises, and make bans heavier on the use of these weapons in war.