Tow Chemical Against Gas at Ypres

[Nathan Greenfield]

Pals:

According to one record I've read, the German infantry that followed the two gas attacks at 2nd Ypres ware gauze masks soaked in "tow." Does anyone know what tow is?

Thanks,

Nathan

[SiegeGunner]

'Tow' refers to short or broken fibres used to make wadding, matting or similar pressed/moulded materials. At the time of WW1, 'tow' would probably have been derived from cotton, jute or hemp. A Google search turns up references to the use of tow in gas mask filters today.

Mick

[Nathan Greenfield]

Mick:

Thanks. I wonder what they soaked the tow in. Water? Urine? Strangely, the regimental histories do not say.

Cheers,

NMG

[SiegeGunner]

Thanks. I wonder what they soaked the tow in. Water? Urine? Strangely, the regimental histories do not say.

I don't know, but I'd expect it to be something rather more scientific than water or urine, knowing the Germans. Do you have a passage in German that describes their gas protection equipment?

Mick

[squirrel]

Carbonated water? - seems to be that these bottles are found quite often in German trench excavations.

IIRC that's what British forces used as well.

[Simon Jones]

Mick:

Thanks. I wonder what they soaked the tow in. Water? Urine? Strangely, the regimental histories do not say.

Cheers,

NMG

Allied analysis found the pads soaked with a solution containing sodium hyposulphite.

From my forthcoming Osprey book on gas in WW1:

"the original Riechpäckchen respirator ... were an afterthought to the gas attack preparations, issued on 15 April, the masks with tapes, made in Gent, were soaked in a hyposulphite solution and kept in a rubberised bag attached to the front of the uniform."

regards

Simon

[Nathan Greenfield]

Mick:

I don't have a passage that describes the gas equipment that the infantry wore. The German Regimental historie refer only to "cotton mouth protectors."

Interestingly, the Canadian records refer to men "dressed in the type of gear used for diving" being seen at the edge of the parapet putting hoses in place towards no man's land."

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Nathan

[Simon Jones]

Interestingly, the Canadian records refer to men "dressed in the type of gear used for diving" being seen at the edge of the parapet putting hoses in place towards no man's land."

The German pioneers wore the Dräger Model 1914 Selbstretter oxygen breathing apparatus.

regards

Simon

[Simon Jones]

The Riechpäckchen.

Pioneers wearing the Dräger Model 1914 Selbstretter.

[SiegeGunner]

Interestingly, the Canadian records refer to men "dressed in the type of gear used for diving" being seen at the edge of the parapet putting hoses in place towards no man's land."

These sound like Pioniere wearing 'serious' PPE, perhaps even including body suits, for protection against possible direct exposure to undiluted gas at the point of discharge. As pal Bob Lembke has often told us, German military use of Flammenwerfer was built on experience and expertise from the fire service, and I would expect that PPE for troops engaged in gas warfare was based on that used in the German chemical industry.

The gauze masks worn by follow-up infantry were clearly intended for protection against lower concentrations of gas lingering on the battlefield. No doubt all will be revealed in Simon's forthcoming book.

Mick

[SiegeGunner]

Simon posted his photos while I was composing my message. A Selbstretter, or 'self-rescue' apparatus, if I'm not mistaken, is not a filter system but a self-contained air or oxygen supply, as used in mine rescue or for escaping from sunken submarines. Clearly an ideal form of protection for Pioniere discharging a gas that didn't work on skin contact. I wasn't aware that this technology was so advanced at that time. I think I'd better add Simon's book to my Xmas wish-list.

Mick

[PBI]

I don't know, but I'd expect it to be something rather more scientific than water or urine, knowing the Germans. Do you have a passage in German that describes their gas protection equipment?

Mick

It was a soloution of Bicarb of Soda and Boraic Acid.I am not a Chemist so i dont have the Faintest Idea of How this Soloution worked.

[bob lembke]

As pal Bob Lembke has often told us, German military use of Flammenwerfer was built on experience and expertise from the fire service, and I would expect that PPE for troops engaged in gas warfare was based on that used in the German chemical industry.

Mick

Not an expert here, but the story of the development of the gas weapon by the Germans is quite interesting. The leadership was quite academic; in fact, I believe that four of the officers of the first gas unit (35th Pionier=Regiment, I believe) later won Nobel Prizes in Chemistry or Physics. In contrast, Foulkes, the head of the Brit gas unit, himself described how he was approached by one of Haig's staffers to be sized up for the job. The conversation, from memory (from Foulkes' book Gas!): "Foulkes, do you know anything about gas?" "No, nothing at all!" "Oh, well, it doesn't matter. You are to head the gas response." Foulkes was very energetic, but sometimes made very odd technical decisions, and once he made up his mind on a question no amount of subsequent adverse experience could change his mind. In my opinion, he totally screwed up the Brit flame thrower (FW) effort, which he was also charged with developing and leading. (Having seen the demonstration of a FW that may have weighed 60 pounds, he decided that it was too heavy and clumsy to be used on the trench-warfare battlefield, so he decided instead to run with a 4600 lbs. beauty. Go figure!) These (gas and FW warfare) superficially seem similar problems, but really require radically different troops and mind-sets.

In a similar vein, the CO of the German FW effort was a published scientist, had worked on FWs since 1907 (his co-inventor was a chemical engineer who had worked on FW since 1901 and who had FW patents in two or three countries, at least), had a doctorate (but in law!), had patents (after the war, possibly before), and edited two scientific journals and was the director of the Leipzig Fire Service throughout the entire war.

Bob Lembke

[SiegeGunner]

Amazing — I rub the lamp, and the genie appears!

[Nathan Greenfield]

Bob is correct about two of the Germans who developed the gas being Noble Prize winners: Fritz Haber and Otto Hahn. Haber won the 1918 Chemistry Nobel for his synthsis of ammonia. Hahn (Physics) in 1942 for his discovry of fission of heavy nuclei. The great irony, given the use of poison gas in the next war, was that Haber and Hahn were both Jewish. Haber fled to the UK in the early 30's, Hahn to the US, where he was part of the Manhattan Project.

Before working on the poison gas, Haber was heavily involved in the German war effort, developing an artificial process to produce nitrates, the British blockade havind cut Germany's ability to access its traditional source, Chilean guano, needed to produce both fertiliser and gun powder. In a December meeting at the War Ministry, set up by chemist Hans Tappen's brother, Haber suggested that chlorine would be a stronger lung irritant than was a mixture of xylyl bromide and bromoacetone; because of its pre-war chemical and dye industries, Germany had a virtually unlimited supply of chlorine. In recognition of his work, the Kaiser put aside his anti-Semitism and commissioned Haber a captain in the militia; after the gas attack, Kaiser Wilhelm awarded Haber the Iron Cross First Class. At a meeting with the Kaiser days after the gas was succesfully used at Ypres, the Kaiser embraced Haber. Haber's other contrbitution was the decision to give up bombs filled with gas (which had been tried against Russia during the winter -- the winter being so cold that the gas did not expand into a cloud-- the attempt was such a failure that it wasn't even known about until after the war) and use instead tanks with hoses.

There is a story that Haber's first wife, a chemist in her own right, committed suicide while Haber was at a party celebrating the first gas attack. She most definitely did oppose the use of the gas. Whether she took her life for that reason is now in some doubt. Haber married his assistant before the year was out.

In his 1967 autobiography, Hahn claims that while at first he objected to working on poison gas because doing so would violate the Hague Convention, Haber “put his mind at rest” when he said that “the French had already started it – though not to too much effect – by using rifle-ammunition filled with gas. Besides, it was a way of saving countless lives” (Hahn’s My Life, p. ). Haber’s staff included two other future Nobel laureates: James Franck and Gustav L. Hertz, who shared the 1925 prize for Physics; Nobelprize.org draws special attention to Franck’s moral courage in his 1933 decision to resign from his position at the University of Göttingen in protest against Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime and his co-authoring of the “Franck Report” (1945), which called for an open demonstration of the atomic bomb prior to its use on Japan.

There i

[bob lembke]

Nathan;

Thanks for fleshing out the story of the gas effort and the people behind it. I knew it was quite dramatic, but had not known it in detail. Haber's wife, I believe, shot herself with his service automatic; quite a signal.

Without the benefit of actual knowledge on my part (something I rarely need), would people have held a dinner party in honor of the first gas attack? Possibly. But I am dubious (again without the benefit of direct knowledge) with Haber being created a captain out of the blue, I have studied German officers' careers and the regulations for years, and have never heard of such a thing. But of course Haber had very valuable knowledge. Being made a captain suddenly would provide an officer without any of the knowledge, socialization, etc., it took years to produce an officer, it seems odd. The Germans had other positions and titles for technical experts.

There were a number of Jewish officers; my father's commander in the Freikorps was Major von Stephani, a Guards officer whose father was a Prussian general. The Chairman of History of Brandis University, the leading "Jewish" university in the US, says that they were Jewish. (Anyone knowing about this or him please pipe up.) Von Stephani was later one of the top leaders in the Stahlhelm, and then served in the Reichstag as an ultra-right deputy (as in to the right of the Nazis) as an "Ehrenaryan", or "honorary Aryan"!

My grand-father, a retired major, challenged another retired officer, quite prominent, to a duel with automatic pistols; the other officer, who was Jewish, (the business had nothing to do with that) wisely declined, and was chucked out of the Reserve Officers' Association. I thought that this was a joke, the image of two older men blasting away at each other, and my father told me (about the idea of a joke): "Certainly not! Your grand-father was an excellent shot, and fully intended to kill the son-of-a-bitch!" (The other officer, the patriarch of the Wirthheim family, had initiated a string of lawsuits against my grandfather.)

Another thing about my grand-father, related to Haber. A wonderful pal on another forum has found fascinating info on him, even info on him from when he was a NCO in the Prussian heavy artillery in the 1880's. One item was an article my grandfather wrote after the war about an exploit of his that I had heard of in the family oral history, but in more detail. He was a Feuerwerk=Hauptmann (Explosives Captain), and was the Id or head of the artillery and infantry ammunition section of the Generalkommando of the III. Reservekorps in Belgium, deeply involved in the use of the 42 cm and 30.5 cm guns in the siege of Antwerp. The War Department cabled the corps and asked for a search for strategic supplies, especially explosives. My grand-father had a deputy to "mind the shop", and he was tapped, given several staff cars and an escort, and he tore about occupied Belgium looking for loot. He found lots of things, including two train-car loads of eau-de-Cologne, but the prize was 1100 train-car loads of nitrates, which was the amount that kept all the German armies going for four months, and which bridged the gap until Haber's advances allowed the production of explosives from athmospheric nitrogen. Supposedly he found the Belgian secret strategic stockpile of explosives with his expert nose, smelling the buried decomposing nitrates in a sealed buker.

Bob Lembke

[martingo]

Re: your suspicions on the Haber post-gas party, Bob, Daniel Charles deals with the scene quite well in his book on Haber. He quotes James Franck as saying he felt Clara's reaction to the gas attacks 'played a role on her suicide', but also quotes a letter from the mechanic in Haber's institute, Hermann Luetke, about a celebration hosted by the Habers on May 1st, the evening before the suidice, in which Clara found haber and charlotte Nathan, the manager of his downtown club, 'in an embarrassing situation'.

Enough for a last straw, probably.

Martin

quote name='bob lembke' date='Nov 26 2006, 03:46 PM' post='564123']

Nathan;

Thanks for fleshing out the story of the gas effort and the people behind it. I knew it was quite dramatic, but had not known it in detail. Haber's wife, I believe, shot herself with his service automatic; quite a signal.

Without the benefit of actual knowledge on my part (something I rarely need), would people have held a dinner party in honor of the first gas attack? Possibly. But I am dubious (again without the benefit of direct knowledge) with Haber being created a captain out of the blue, I have studied German officers' careers and the regulations for years, and have never heard of such a thing.

[Nathan Greenfield]

Bob,

I agree it would have been a rather strange thing for "officers and gentlemen" to do. But, we have to remember that Haber was feted by the Kaiser.

Perhaps the party being referred to followed that.

My researcher in Germany thinks he has found Hans Tappen's diary from that day, which might give us some more info.

NMG

[bob lembke]

Looking in my 1911 Rangliste, the only "Haber" that was an active or reserve officer in the Prussian or Wuerttemburg Armies was a "von Haber" who was an Oberleutnant im Altmaerkisches Feld=Artillery Regiment Nr. 40. He reported to the Bezirk at Schroda. In my 1914 Rangliste the only Haber was this "von Haber", this time promoted to Hauptmann. In my 1914-1918 Ehrenrangliste there is one "Haber", a Leutnant aus Dienst who served in 7. Infanterie=Regiment Nr. 7, a unit of the Prussian III. Armeekorps, from Bayeruth. He can't be our guy, I am sure. Also, I don't think that our Haber was a "von Haber".

So, assuming that our Haber lived in Prussia (wasn't he from Berlin?), he either was an officer before the war but somehow was not in the reserves any longer by 1911 and 1914 (I think that that would be unusual), or he was made a reserve officer during the war, as described. In my experience very unusual, and as a captain a particular honor, to my mind. But he was a key guy. I read one incident from the very beginning of the effort, where he did something with Colonel Bauer, a totally top, key guy in the German technical war effort. (They both saddled up and galloped through a chlorine gas cloud at an early demonstration, I believe briefly hospitalizing both of them. Not nice to their horses.)

He was not in the Ehrenrangliste (which only covered regular officers; I do not know the precise details of its coverage) presumably because he was made a reserve officer, which I would expect; being made an active (regular) captain from no military status would have been astonishing. (Only about 10%, I guess, of the officers minted during the war were "regular" officers; the great bulk were "d. Reserve" or "d. Landwehr", or some of the odd NCO-officer hybred ranks.) So in fact his being made a captain of the reserves to pursue his work from a civilian status probably was correct, if surprising, and a great honor.

Bob Lembke

[mikelewis]

Allied analysis found the pads soaked with a solution containing sodium hyposulphite.

From my forthcoming Osprey book on gas in WW1:

"the original Riechpäckchen respirator ... were an afterthought to the gas attack preparations, issued on 15 April, the masks with tapes, made in Gent, were soaked in a hyposulphite solution and kept in a rubberised bag attached to the front of the uniform."

regards

Simon

I would concur with the pads being soaked in sodium hyposulphite. Molecular chlorine Cl-Cl would be "fixed" in the same way that any halide would be fixed by "hypo" in early photography. One of the products of the reaction would be sodium chloride (common salt).

Ordinary water could have been used (chlorine is very soluble in water) but the concentration of chlorine would have been too great for this to have been effective also the resultant hypochlorous acid itself would have an irritant effect.

mike L