gas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Battle of the Somme lasted officially from 1st July 1916 to 16th November 1916. The British lost 420,000 casualties, the French 200,000 and the Germans 450,000. On the first day alone nearly eight times as many British troops were killed or wounded as in the battle of Waterloo. Of the 20,000 dead on the first day, most had been slaughtered by perhaps a hundred German Machine-gun teams. From the British perspective this was a tragic waste of men, almost exclusively volunteers and tremendously committed. The Reverend Stanhope Walker said "It was a time one can never forget. At a Casualty Clearing Station one realised the meaning of war more than anywhere else. One could go and see all the country round Trones Wood and Delville Wood spitting fire from our huge guns and see the great crumps from the German artillery bursting amid indescribable wreckage and desolation, but here were gathered together the results of it all in broken humanity. I don't think there is any part of the human body I have not seen wounded,frequently blown to pieces." (People at War, 1914-1918. A David & Charles Military Book. 1973. ISBN-0-7153-9244-1)

Mustard Gas

Mustard Gas (Yperite) was first used by the Jerries in September 1917. It was one of the most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during the war. It was almost odourless and took twelve hours to take effect. Yperite was so powerful that only small amounts had to be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks