CHEMICAL WARFARE
McGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc.
PUBLISHERS OF BOOKS FOR
Coal Age ▼ Electric Railway Journal
Electrical World ▼ Engineering News-Record
American Machinist ▼ Ingeniería Internacional
Engineering & Mining Journal ▼ Power
Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering
Electrical Merchandising
CHEMICAL WARFARE
BY
AMOS A. FRIES
Brigadier General, C. W. S., U. S. A.
Chief, Chemical Warfare Service
AND
CLARENCE J. WEST
Major, C. W. S. Reserve Corps, U. S. A.
National Research Council
First Edition
McGRAW-HILL BOOK COMPANY, Inc.
NEW YORK: 370 SEVENTH AVENUE
LONDON: 6 & 8 BOUVERIE ST., E. C. 4
1921
Copyright, 1921, by the
McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.
[Pg vii]
PREFACE
Shortly after the signing of the Armistice, it was realized that thestory of Chemical Warfare should be written, partly because of itshistorical value, and partly because of the future needs of a textbookcovering the fundamental facts of the Service for the Army, the ReserveOfficer, the National Guard, and even the Civilian Chemist. The presentwork was undertaken by both authors as a labor of patriotism andbecause of their interest in the Service.
The two years which have elapsed since the initial discussion of theoutlines of the book have thoroughly convinced us of the need of sucha work. The Engineers, the Medical Department, and most of the otherbranches of the Army have their recognized textbooks and manuals.There has been no way, however, by which the uninformed can check theaccuracy of statements regarding Chemical Warfare. The present volumewill serve, in a measure, to fill this gap. That it does not do somore completely is due in part to the fact that secrecy must still bemaintained about some of the facts and some of the new discoverieswhich are the property of the Service. Those familiar with the work ofthe Chemical Warfare Service will discover, though, that the followingpages contain many statements which were zealously guarded secrets twoyears ago. This enlarged program of publicity on the part of the Chiefof the Service is being justified every day by the ever increasinginterest in this branch of warfare. Where five men were discussingChemical Warfare two years ago, fifty men are talking about the workand the possibilities of the Service today. It is hoped that the factshere presented may further increase the interest in Chemical Warfare,for there is no question but that it must be recognized as a permanentand a very vital branch of the Army of every country. Reasons for thiswill be found scattered through the pages of this book.[Pg viii]
It should be explained that this is in no sense a complete historicalsketch of the development and personnel of the Chemical WarfareService. At least two more volumes are needed,—one on the Manufactureof Poisonous Gases and one on the Tactics of Chemical Warfare. We havepurposely refrained from an attempt to give credit to individuals forthe