World War I and the Legacy of Chemical Weapons

There are few weapons in war as nefarious as poison. One hundred years after the Germans first used chlorine gas during the Second Battle of Ypres, chemical weapons remain widely stigmatized and outlawed. Of all the technologies from World War I that went on to redefine combat in the 20th century, chemical weapons have the most sordid legacy. Ultimately, however, the use of lethal and incapacitating gasses proved largely ineffective in conventional warfare. They were comparatively easy to counter, difficult to use and rarely achieved the desired or planned result. The impact of chemical weapons is less practical than it is psychological, which partly justifies the reluctance to use such measures but also explains why many countries still have chemical stockpiles....