The great war: during World War I, soldiers faced a terrifying weapon of mass destruction: poison gas.

"There's devil's work going around Ypres, wrote Harvey Cushing, an American doctor who was working in a hospital in Paris, France, in 1915. Cushing was caring for French and Algerian soldiers during the dark, early days of World War I. The doctor had been hearing stories of the terrible German assault near the town of Ypres (EE-pruh), Belgium.

At first, few believed the reports from the front, which said that the Germans were using some kind of lethal (deadly) gas. Then the wounded soldiers began to arrive. They told of a green-yellow cloud that made them cough and choke. The gas had killed or blinded many men and forced many more to flee in panic.

"You smelled nothing at first, but then it attacked your eyes, your throat, and your lungs," said Jean Creange, who fought at Ypres.

"Worst of all was their terror as fluid [caused by the gas] rose higher and higher in their lungs until eventually they drowned in it," wrote Lyn MacDonald, a British nurse and historian in a book called The Roses of No Man's Land.

According to the World Health Organization, the Germans released 180 tons of liquid chlorine, contained in 5,730 pressure cylinders, along a four-mile battlefront at Ypres. The gas gathered in a haze that drifted with the wind across "no man's land"--the area between the enemy lines. Then the gas descended upon the Algerian trenches.

The soldiers were unprepared for the deadly cloud. As many as 5,000 died of suffocation within 10 minutes. Thousands more ran from their positions. Some were temporarily blinded; Jean Creange permanently lost the sight in one eye.

Poison gas had been used before, but not with much success. This time it worked--at least at first. The age of modern chemical warfare was born.

THE GREAT WAR

World War I grew out of a long history of bitter conflict on the Balkan Peninsula of southern Europe. Nationalist passions ran high, and many people resented the country of Austria-Hungary, which dominated the region. Wars were a constant threat. Then, on June 28, 1914, a Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinated the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. A month later, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.

Days after that, Russia, Serbia's military ally, declared war on Austria-Hungary. Germany, Austria-Hungary's military ally, then declared war on Russia and France, and Great Britain declared war on Germany. Before anyone could stop it, the conflict had spread across the continent.

The warring nations were the Allied Powers--France, Britain, Russia, and their allies--against the Central Powers Germany, Austria-Hungary, and their allies (see map).

President Woodrow Wilson tried to keep the U.S. out of "Europe's war." But German attacks on U.S. ships and other actions finally pushed the U.S. to enter the war on the side of the Allies in April 1917.

People at the time called it the Great War, because no conflict had ever spread so far so fast. The war would last four years and kill nearly 10 million troops, 116,516 of them American. President Wilson hoped that it would be "the war to end all wars." Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden was not so optimistic. He called the war "the suicide of civilization."

STALEMATE

The Germans used chemical weapons at Ypres in an effort to break the stalemate (deadlock) of trench warfare. During the summer of 1914, the Germans had pushed at frightening speed into Allied territory. The Allies were able to halt this advance in the fall. But then the fighting came to a standstill. The armies faced each other from a series of trenches that stretched across Belgium and France. Each attempt by either side to advance resulted in tens of thousands of deaths--and more stalemate.

The night of the gas attack, the Germans were able to advance through a gap in the Allied line. But they didn't get far. Allied reinforcements rushed in and held their line.

Chlorine gas did not win many victories for the Germans. The Allies defended themselves with gas. The Germans then turned to mustard gas, which could penetrate (pass through) clothing, burning and blistering the skin and lungs.

After Ypres, the Allies also used poison gas as a weapon. But gas was not in the end a decisive (conclusive) force in the Great War. It was hard to control, and soldiers were able to guard against it. In fact, the deadliest weapons of World War I would be two other new "improvements" on the art of war--the machine gun and the tank.

SEEDS OF WAR

World War I ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany and its allies. The Treaty of Versailles (1919) broke up countries and imposed new borders, often satisfying no one. In Germany, Adolf Hitler came to power by promising to restore that country's past glory. The result was World War II (1939-1945).

In the end, the Great War accomplished little. People had been appalled (horrified) by its use of chemical weapons. So in 1925, most of the world's countries signed the Geneva Protocol, banning the use of chemical weapons.

Since then, even more powerful weapons of mass destruction--including nuclear bombs--have been created. Although nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons have seldom been used in war, they remain a threat. And nearly a century after the Great War, war is still very much with us.

write it!

Imagine you are a soldier in a trench, and you are told you will fight in the morning. Write a letter to your family describing your thoughts.

World War I Time Line

June 28, 1914

A Bosnian Serb nationalist assassinates Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. A month later, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.

August 1-4, 1914

Germany, Austria-Hungary's ally, declares war on Russia, France, and Belgium. Britain enters the war against Germany.

April 22, 1915

After trench warfare deadlocks troops on both sides, the Germans use poison gas at Ypres, Belgium.

May 7, 1915

A German submarine sinks the British ocean liner Lusitania, killing 1,198--including 128 Americans. German subs later sink U.S. cargo ships.

February-November 1917

Heavy Russian losses in the war help force Czar Nicholas II from power and lead to a Communist takeover of Russia.

April 2,1917

U.S. President Wilson asks Congress to declare war on Germany. The U.S. enters the war on the side of the Allies. Above: British troops on the Western Front near Ypres.

November 11, 1917

Germany signs an armistice (cease-fire agreement), and the war is over.

June 28, 1919

The victorious Allies force Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which imposes harsh terms on that country.

Your Turn

WORD MATCH

1. lethal     A. pass through
2. stalemate  B. horrified
3. penetrate  C. conclusive
4. appalled   D. deadlock
5. decisive   E. deadly

THINK ABOUT IT

Why do you think so many countries became involved in the Great War? What do you think their goals were? How was their reasoning faulty?

OBJECTIVES

Students should understand

* Nationalism, ethnic tensions, and military alliances plunged Europe into World War I, beginning in 1914;

* The Central and Allied Powers both used chemical weapons during World War I.

TEACHING STRATEGY

Have students identify modern examples of weapons of mass destruction. Ask: "Is the use of weapons of mass destruction ever justified?"

BACKGROUND

Since World War I, more powerful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have been used in warfare, such as the two atomic bombs the U.S dropped on Japan in 1945. Last year, U.S. concern over Iraq's alleged possession of WMD resulted in the U.S.-led invasion to disarm Iraq. But last month, a White House report concluded that Iraq no longer possessed any WMD in the months leading up to the invasion. President Bush has called for an investigation into the failure of U.S. intelligence to accurately judge the threat of WMD from Iraq.

THINKING SKILLS

MAIN IDEA: Why was World War I referred to as the "Great War"? (The war involved many nations in almost every area of the world. The number of soldiers and military forces involved was unprecedented.)

MAKING INFERENCES: Why did nations agree to the Geneva Protocol, banning chemical weapons? (Answers will vary. Students could answer that the death and destruction caused by chemical weapons instilled a fear among nations over the potential for increased use of such weapons in future armed conflicts.)

ACTIVITY

WWI AND TODAY'S ALLIANCES: Instruct students to write a report that compares and contrasts the U.S. role in the military alliances created during World War I with the ones created during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last year.

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Time, continuity, and change: How political events across Europe led to World War I (1914-1918).

* Power, authority, and governance: How chemical weapons and other advances in weapon technology affected the fighting and outcome of World War I.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Adams, Simon, World War I (DK Publishing, 2001). Grades 5-8.

* Levine, Beth Seidel, When Christmas Comes Again (Scholastic, 2002). Grades 7-8.

WEB SITES

* World War I www.pbs.org/greatwar/

* Chemical and Biological Weapons

www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/ trade.center/biochem.weapons/