when did germany first use poison gas in ww1
Chemical weapons in World War I The first instance of large-scale use of gas as a weapon was on 31 January 1915, when Germany fired 18,000 artillery shells containing liquid xylyl bromide tear gas on Russian positions on the Rawka River, west of Warsaw during the Battle of Bolimov. However, instead of vaporizing, the chemical froze and failed to have the desired effect.[8]
World War I The trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a diplomatic crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia[11][12] and, as a result, entangled-international-alliances, formed over the previous decades, were invoked. Within weeks the major powers were at war, and the conflict soon spread around the world.
World War I On 28 June 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb supporter of Yugoslav nationalism, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand while he was visiting Sarajevo. The instability caused by competing Russian and Austro-Hungarian objectives in the Balkans meant this led to a diplomatic crisis, which ended with Austria-Hungary issuing an ultimatum to Serbia. [12][13] Interlocking alliances meant the crisis ultimately involved all the major European powers as well as their respective colonial empires and the conflict rapidly spread across the globe.
Aviation in World War I At the start of the war, there was some debate over the usefulness of aircraft in warfare. Many senior officers, in particular, remained sceptical. However the initial campaigns of 1914 proved that cavalry could no longer provide the reconnaissance expected by their generals, in the face of the greatly increased firepower of twentieth century armies, and it was quickly realised that aircraft could at least locate the enemy, even if early air reconnaissance was hampered by the newness of the techniques involved. Early skepticism and low expectations quickly turned to unrealistic demands beyond the capabilities of the primitive aircraft available.[3]