Hell’s Fires on Earth
Introduction
From the beginning of known history, men have fought over everything. Land, food, and
resources were just a few prizes to winning. Ever since the creation of the sling, spear, and bow and
arrow, men have discovered ways to be better than their opponent. At first, these were mere tools to be
used for hunting. Then primitive humans learned to take what was another human’s. Since then, one
man has tried to be better than the rest, and they use their brains to create weapons. Fire has been
around longer than humans. Some wished to leash its power and use it against others. Through the
greatest invention came one of most terrible weapons ever created: napalm.
The Creation
Throughout history, many incendiary weapons have been made such as Greek fire and the
lighting of hot oil off castle walls, but none were more notorious than Napalm B. During World War
One, the flamethrowers used only gasoline. Though it was liquid fire, the flamethrowers had a very
short range and would run off a target before burning it severely. A new formula was desired that would
stick to a target, burn longer, and have a better range. The formula invented in 1942 by Dr. Louis
Fieser, a chemistry professor at Harvard University, replaced the former gasoline (Time, 2000). The
device was named napalm because the original formula used naphthenic palmitic acid; the device was
made from a form of aluminum soap mixed with the acid (Time, 2000). The formula was said to have
been good at destroying crabgrass (Time, 2000). Napalm B revised Dr. Fieser’s formula. Napalm B’s
composition included the original napalm but also had a much higher gasoline percentage. The ...
... middle of paper ...
...ld have had a demoralizing effect. With the harnessing of fire's incredible
properties came responsibility. The Vietcong must have wondered what the next seemingly impossible
weapon would be. Only the future would tell.
Reference Page
Brody, J. (n.d.). Napalm. VietnamWar.net. Retrieved April 12, 2011, from http://www.vietnamwar.net/napalm
Johnson, S. (n.d.). Napalm. GlobalSecurity.org - Reliable Security Information. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military
Time. (n.d.). Napalm. The Virginia Center for Digital History at The University of Virginia. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/PVCC
Wain, C. (n.d.). Vietnam Napalm Girl - FamousPicturesMagazine. Main Page - FamousPictures.
Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://www.famouspictures.org/mag/index.php?
title=Vietnam_Napalm_Girl
3Brophy, L. (1959). The Chemical Warfare Service (1st ed.). Washington: Office of the Chief of
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.
“All the soldiers there were wearing NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical warfare) protective clothing. We said: ‘What’s going on here?’ And their answer was: ‘Didn’t you know? This ammunition is a bit dodgy.’” – Tim Pubrick, Gulf War veteran, British Royal Army tank commander.6
Weapons manufactured at Rocky Mountain Arsenal included both conventional and chemical munitions, including White Phosphorus (M34 grenade), Napalm, Mustard Gas, Lewisite, and Chlorine Gas. Rocky Mountain Ars...
...soldiers also used gases to kill the enemy. The big three gases was chlorine, phosgene gas and mustard gas. The one most widely used was mustard gas because it was less detectable. Eventually the tank was invented, the tank was almost impossible to stop so they used it to break through enemy lines especially to break through the trenches. Soldiers would also break through lines by using miners to dig tunnels to the enemy trench and place a mine to blow it up so they could attack them.
Fries, A. A., & West, C. J. (1921). Chemical warfare,. New York [etc.: McGraw-Hill book company, inc..
food. They had a war club with also was made for war and hunting was made out of a stone
Chemical warfare is the use of chemical agents to injure, incapacitate, or kill enemy combatants. First seen during World War I (WWI), the devastating effects of widespread chemical warfare were eventually deemed inhumane by an international consensus and chemical agents were subsequently banned from use. Still, despite the tendency of the modern warrior to overlook antiquated tactics, the threat of chemical agents in the theater of war cannot be entirely discounted by today's Soldier. By analyzing the application, evolution, and overall legacy of chemical weapons in the Great War we can work to minimize the danger they pose in current conflicts and those of the near future. For it is only by understanding the past that we can understand the present and shape tomorrow.
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...
Tu, Anthony. “Chemical Weapons Abandoned by the Imperial Army in Japan and China at the End of World War II.” Toxin Reviews 30.1 (2001): 1-5 Environmental Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Prior to living in homes build to with stand the test of time, growing food their food source, and raising animals, humans were nomads who followed their food source around and were hunters and gathers. Although it took many years, from 8000B.C. to 3000B.C. for humans to go from hunters and gathers to a more common day life as we now know it, the result is referred to as the Neolithic Revolution the begins of human civilization. As the people of this time began to settle down and they began to both farm the land and domesticate animals for the better of the community. Along with the development of these communities as for the first time began to create social class among the many different roles they played in their community. Because the people of this time no longer roamed around some of the first signs of technology began to appear around this time as well.
Since WWI has really been called the birthplace of chemical weapons Tim Cook starts his article there with the Germans use of chlorine gas and how chemical weapon use escalated from that point.
Introduced during World war II. Napalm would be used on the soldiers in entrenched positions.
Hydrochloric acid is a strong and corrosive acid that is often used as a reagent in laboratories.