ENEMY SNIPERS

Soldiers in front-line trenches suffered from enemy snipers. These men were usually specially trained marksmen that had rifles with telescopic sights. German snipers did not normally work from their own trenches. The main strategy was to creep out at dawn into no-man's land and remain there all day. Wearing camouflaged clothing and using the cover of a fake tree, they waited for a British soldier to pop his head above the parapet. A common trick was to send up a kite with English writing on it. Anyone who raised his head to read it was shot.

TUNNEL BUILDING TACTICS

On the Western Front special miners were employed to dig tunnels under No Man's Land. The main objective was to place mines underneath enemy defensive positions. When it was detonated, the explosion would destroy that section of the trench. The infantry would then advance towards the enemy front-line hoping to take advantage of the confusion that followed the explosion of an underground mine.

GAS WARFARE

Poisonous gas made its debut as a main weapon in World War 1. Up till now it had been considered too uncivilised to use. It was first used by the French Army in the first month of the war against the Germans. In October 1914 the Germans retaliated by firing shrapnel shells treated with a chemical irritant. Trench warfare was a situation of stalemate and therefore called for new methods of fighting. Gas warfare was one of the developments considered a suitable weapon in this type of war.

In order to launch a gas attack the weather conditions had to be right, with the wind blowing at the right speed and in the right direction. In September of 1915 Britain attacked the Germans with gas, only to have it swept back in their faces. However in 1916 this problem was solved by the production of gas shells suitable for use with artillery. This development helped to protect the attacking forces.

Defence against these attacks was difficult. After the first German attacks the Allied troops were provided with masks of cotton wool soaked in urine. The ammonia in the pad neutralised the poison and so protected the owner. Troops also used socks and handkerchiefs wetted with a solution of bicarbonate of soda and tied across the mouth and nose. Efficient gas masks and anti-asphyxiation respirators were not issued until July 1915.

" vapor settled to the ground like a swamp mist and drifted toward the French trenches on a brisk wind. Its effect on the Frencb was a violent nausea and faintness, followed by an utter collapse. It is believed that the Germans, who charged in behind the vapor, met no resistance at all, the French at their front being virtually paralysed "

The Germans first used chlorine gas in April 1915. This gas destroys the respiratory organs of its victims and leads to a slow, painful death by asphyxiation.   Problems were soon discovered with chlorine gas and so it was found that phosgene gas was more effective. Within 48 hours of the attack the victims would die.

The most lethal of all poisonous chemicals used during the war was mustard gas. First used in September of 1917 by the Germans, it only took 12 hours to work. Almost odourless, Mustard gas was so powerful that only small amounts were needed and once in the soil it could remain active for weeks.

The German army also used bromine and chloropicrin. The French also produced a nerve gas obtained from prussic acid but it was not widely used on the Western Front.

Total estimations for the amount of gas used against the Allies reaches 68 000 tons. This was more than the amounts used by the French and the British army put together. French - 36 000 tons, British - 25 000 tons.

The Russian Army, with 56 000 deaths, suffered more than any other armed force due to the causes of poisonous gas. With effective defences against these gases not being in place until 1917 thousands died a slow desperately painful death as a result. In total 91,198 soldiers died of poison gas attacks and another 1.2 million were hospitalised.

Due to Adolf Hitler's personal experience in the First World war and his own short spell of blindness, gases were not used as a tactical weapon in the Second World War.