Gas! Gas! Quick Boys!

The years 1914-18 witnessed the birth of a new form of warfare with complex trench systems, artillery, small arms, tanks and planes replacing mass cavalry charges, pitched battles and hand-to-hand combat. However, it is also known as 'the chemists' war' with the use of poison gases becoming more widespread as the conflict continued. Gas! Gas! Quick Boys! explains how chemistry was a key factor in determining the shape, duration, and outcome of World War I. Freemantle's… (more)

The years 1914-18 witnessed the birth of a new form of warfare with complex trench systems, artillery, small arms, tanks and planes replacing mass cavalry charges, pitched battles and hand-to-hand combat. However, it is also known as 'the chemists' war' with the use of poison gases becoming more widespread as the conflict continued. Gas! Gas! Quick Boys! explains how chemistry was a key factor in determining the shape, duration, and outcome of World War I. Freemantle's book shows how chemistry was exploited not only as a destructive instrument of war but also how it was used to protect troops and heal the sick and wounded. The book also describes the chemicals used as explosives, as chemical warfare agents, and as dyes for khaki uniforms; the chemicals used to protect against gas attacks and to treat the sick and wounded; and the metals and alloys used to manufacture munitions. It answers questions such as: What is cordite? What is lyddite? What is mustard gas? What is phosgene? What is gunmetal? This is a true picture of the horrors of the 'Chemists' War'.