Cases of the use of chemical weapons in history. Modern chemical weapons: history, varieties. Terrorist attack in Aleppo, Syria

On the night of July 12-13, 1917 German army During the First World War, she was the first to use the poisonous gas mustard gas (a liquid poisonous substance with a blister effect on the skin). The Germans used mines that contained an oily liquid as a carrier of the toxic substance. This event took place near the Belgian city of Ypres. The German command planned with this attack to disrupt the offensive of the Anglo-French troops. When using mustard gas for the first time, the lesions varying degrees 2,490 military personnel suffered serious injuries, of whom 87 died. UK scientists quickly deciphered the formula for this agent. However, the production of a new toxic substance was launched only in 1918. As a result, the Entente was able to use mustard gas for military purposes only in September 1918 (2 months before the armistice).

Mustard gas has a clearly defined local effect: the agent affects the organs of vision and breathing, the skin and gastrointestinal tract. The substance, absorbed into the blood, poisons the entire body. Mustard gas affects human skin when exposed, both in droplet and vapor states. The usual summer and winter uniform did not protect the soldier from the effects of mustard gas, as did almost all types of civilian clothing.

Conventional summer and winter army uniforms do not protect the skin from drops and vapors of mustard gas, just like almost any type of civilian clothing. There was no complete protection of soldiers from mustard gas in those years, so its use on the battlefield was effective until the very end of the war. The First World War was even called the “war of chemists”, because neither before nor after this war were chemical agents used in such quantities as in 1915-1918. During this war, the fighting armies used 12 thousand tons of mustard gas, which affected up to 400 thousand people. In total, during the First World War, more than 150 thousand tons of toxic substances (irritant and tear gases, blister agents) were produced. The leader in the use of chemical agents was German Empire, which has a first-class chemical industry. In total, Germany produced more than 69 thousand tons of toxic substances. Germany was followed by France (37.3 thousand tons), Great Britain (25.4 thousand tons), USA (5.7 thousand tons), Austria-Hungary (5.5 thousand), Italy (4.2 thousand . tons) and Russia (3.7 thousand tons).

"Attack of the Dead" The Russian army suffered the largest losses from exposure to chemical agents among all participants in the war. The German army was the first to use poison gases as mass destruction on a large scale during the First World War against Russia. On August 6, 1915, the German command used explosive agents to destroy the garrison of the Osovets fortress. The Germans deployed 30 gas batteries, several thousand cylinders, and on August 6 at 4 am a dark green fog of a mixture of chlorine and bromine flowed onto the Russian fortifications, reaching the positions in 5-10 minutes. A gas wave 12-15 m high and up to 8 km wide penetrated to a depth of 20 km. The defenders of the Russian fortress had no means of defense. Every living thing was poisoned.

Following the gas wave and a barrage of fire (German artillery opened massive fire), 14 Landwehr battalions (about 7 thousand infantrymen) went on the offensive. After the gas attack and artillery strike, no more than a company of half-dead soldiers, poisoned by chemical agents, remained in the advanced Russian positions. It seemed that Osovets was already in German hands. However, Russian soldiers showed another miracle. When the German chains approached the trenches, they were attacked by Russian infantry. It was a real “attack of the dead,” the sight was terrible: Russian soldiers walked into the bayonet line with their faces wrapped in rags, shaking with a terrible cough, literally spitting out pieces of their lungs onto their bloody uniforms. It was only a few dozen soldiers - the remnants of the 13th company of the 226th Zemlyansky infantry regiment. The German infantry fell into such horror that they could not withstand the blow and ran. Russian batteries opened fire on the fleeing enemy, who, it seemed, had already died. It should be noted that the defense of the Osovets fortress is one of the brightest, heroic pages of the First World War. The fortress, despite the brutal shelling from heavy guns and assaults by German infantry, held out from September 1914 to August 22, 1915.

Russian empire in the pre-war period it was a leader in the field of various “peace initiatives”. Therefore, it did not have chemical agents or countermeasures in its arsenals similar types weapons, did not conduct serious research work in this direction. In 1915, it was necessary to urgently establish a Chemical Committee and urgently raise the issue of developing technologies and large-scale production of toxic substances. In February 1916, the production of hydrocyanic acid was organized at Tomsk University by local scientists. By the end of 1916, production was organized in the European part of the empire, and the problem was generally solved. By April 1917, the industry had produced hundreds of tons of toxic substances. However, they remained unclaimed in warehouses.

First cases of application chemical weapons to the First World War

The 1st Hague Conference in 1899, which was convened at the initiative of Russia, adopted a declaration on the non-use of projectiles that spread asphyxiating or harmful gases. However, during the First World War, this document did not prevent the great powers from using chemical weapons, including en masse.

In August 1914, the French were the first to use lachrymatory irritants (they did not cause death). The carriers were grenades filled with tear gas (ethyl bromoacetate). Soon its supplies ran out, and the French army began to use chloroacetone. In October 1914, German troops used artillery shells partially filled with a chemical irritant, against the British positions at Neuve Chapelle. However, the concentration of OM was so low that the result was barely noticeable.

On April 22, 1915, the German army used chemical agents against the French, spraying 168 tons of chlorine near the river. Ypres. The Entente powers immediately announced that Berlin had violated the principles international law, but the German government parried this accusation. The Germans stated that the Hague Convention prohibits only the use of explosive shells, but not gases. After this, chlorine attacks began to be used regularly. In 1915, French chemists synthesized phosgene (a colorless gas). It has become a more effective agent, having greater toxicity than chlorine. Phosgene was used in pure form and in a mixture with chlorine to increase gas mobility.

Walked First World War. On the evening of April 22, 1915, opposing German and French troops were near the Belgian city of Ypres. They fought for the city for a long time and to no avail. But that evening the Germans wanted to test a new weapon - poison gas. They brought thousands of cylinders with them, and when the wind blew towards the enemy, they opened the taps, releasing 180 tons of chlorine into the air. The yellowish gas cloud was carried by the wind towards the enemy line.

The panic began. Immersed in the gas cloud, the French soldiers were blind, coughing and suffocating. Three thousand of them died from suffocation, another seven thousand received burns.

"At this point science lost its innocence," says science historian Ernst Peter Fischer. According to him, if before the goal of scientific research was to improve the living conditions of people, now science has created conditions that make it easier to kill a person.

"In war - for the fatherland"

A way to use chlorine for military purposes was developed by the German chemist Fritz Haber. He is considered the first scientist to subordinate scientific knowledge to military needs. Fritz Haber discovered that chlorine is an extremely poisonous gas, which, due to its high density, concentrates low above the ground. He knew: this gas causes severe swelling of the mucous membranes, coughing, suffocation and ultimately leads to death. In addition, the poison was cheap: chlorine is found in waste from the chemical industry.

“Haber’s motto was “In peace for humanity, in war for the fatherland,” Ernst Peter Fischer quotes the then head of the chemical department of the Prussian War Ministry. “Times were different then. Everyone was trying to find a poison gas that they could use in war.” And only the Germans succeeded."

The attack at Ypres was a war crime - already in 1915. After all, the Hague Convention of 1907 prohibited the use of poison and poisoned weapons for military purposes.

German soldiers were also subjected to gas attacks. Colorized photograph: 1917 gas attack in Flanders

Arms race

The "success" of Fritz Haber's military innovation became contagious, and not only for the Germans. Simultaneously with the war of states, the “war of chemists” began. Scientists were given the task of creating chemical weapons that would be ready for use as soon as possible. “People abroad looked at Haber with envy,” says Ernst Peter Fischer. “Many wanted to have such a scientist in their country.” In 1918 Fritz Haber received Nobel Prize in chemistry. True, not for the discovery of poisonous gas, but for his contribution to the implementation of ammonia synthesis.

The French and British also experimented with poisonous gases. The use of phosgene and mustard gas, often in combination with each other, became widespread in the war. And yet, poisonous gases did not play a decisive role in the outcome of the war: these weapons could only be used with favorable weather.

Scary mechanism

Nevertheless, a terrible mechanism was launched in the First World War, and Germany became its engine.

The chemist Fritz Haber not only laid the foundation for the use of chlorine for military purposes, but also, thanks to his good connections in the industrial sector, contributed to the establishment mass production this chemical weapon. Thus, the German chemical concern BASF in large quantities produced poisonous substances during the First World War.

After the war, with the creation of the IG Farben concern in 1925, Haber joined its supervisory board. Later, during National Socialism, a subsidiary of IG Farben produced Zyklon B, which was used in the gas chambers of concentration camps.

Context

Fritz Haber himself could not have foreseen this. "He's a tragic figure," says Fisher. In 1933, Haber, a Jew by birth, emigrated to England, expelled from his country, to the service of which he had put his scientific knowledge.

Red line

In total, more than 90 thousand soldiers died from the use of poisonous gases on the fronts of the First World War. Many died from complications several years after the end of the war. In 1905, members of the League of Nations, which included Germany, pledged under the Geneva Protocol not to use chemical weapons. Meanwhile Scientific research on the use of poisonous gases were continued, mainly under the guise of developing means to combat harmful insects.

"Cyclone B" - hydrocyanic acid - insecticidal agent. "Agent Orange" is a substance used to defoliate plants. Americans used defoliant during the Vietnam War to thin out dense vegetation. The consequence is poisoned soil, numerous diseases and genetic mutations in the population. The latest example of the use of chemical weapons is Syria.

“You can do whatever you want with poisonous gases, but they cannot be used as targeted weapons,” emphasizes science historian Fisher. “Everyone who is nearby becomes victims.” The fact that the use of poisonous gas today is “a red line that cannot be crossed,” he considers correct: “Otherwise the war becomes even more inhumane than it already is.”

Chemical weapons are one of the three types weapons of mass destruction (the other 2 types are bacteriological and nuclear weapon). Kills people using toxins contained in gas cylinders.

History of chemical weapons

Chemical weapons began to be used by humans a very long time ago - long before the Copper Age. Back then people used bows with poisoned arrows. After all, it is much easier to use poison, which will surely slowly kill the animal, than to run after it.

The first toxins were extracted from plants - humans obtained them from varieties of the acocanthera plant. This poison causes cardiac arrest.

With the advent of civilizations, bans on the use of the first chemical weapons began, but these bans were violated - Alexander the Great used all chemicals known at that time in the war against India. His soldiers poisoned water wells and food warehouses. IN ancient Greece used the roots of the earthen grass to poison wells.

In the second half of the Middle Ages, alchemy, the predecessor of chemistry, began to develop rapidly. Acrid smoke began to appear, driving away the enemy.

First use of chemical weapons

The French were the first to use chemical weapons. This happened at the beginning of the First World War. They say that safety rules are written in blood. Safety rules for using chemical weapons are no exception. At first there were no rules, there was only one piece of advice - when throwing grenades filled with poisonous gases, you must take into account the direction of the wind. Also, there have been no specific, tested substances that kill people 100% of the time. There were gases that did not kill, but simply caused hallucinations or mild suffocation.

April 22, 1915 German armed forces used mustard gas. This substance is very toxic: it severely injures the mucous membrane of the eye and respiratory organs. After using mustard gas, the French and Germans lost approximately 100-120 thousand people. And throughout the First World War, 1.5 million people died from chemical weapons.

In the first 50 years of the 20th century, chemical weapons were used everywhere - against uprisings, riots and civilians.

Main toxic substances

Sarin. Sarin was discovered in 1937. The discovery of sarin happened by accident - German chemist Gerhard Schrader was trying to create a stronger chemical against pests. agriculture. Sarin is a liquid. Valid on nervous system.

Soman. In 1944, Richard Kunn discovered soman. Very similar to sarin, but more poisonous - two and a half times more poisonous than sarin.

After World War II, the research and production of chemical weapons by the Germans became known. All research classified as “secret” became known to the allies.

VX. VX was discovered in England in 1955. The most poisonous chemical weapon created artificially.

At the first signs of poisoning, you need to act quickly, otherwise death will occur in about a quarter of an hour. Protective means are a gas mask, OZK (combined arms protective kit).

VR. Developed in 1964 in the USSR, it is an analogue of VX.

In addition to highly toxic gases, they also produced gases to disperse rioting crowds. These are tear and pepper gases.

In the second half of the twentieth century, more precisely from the beginning of 1960 to the end of the 1970s, there was a heyday of discoveries and development of chemical weapons. During this period, gases began to be invented that had a short-term effect on the human psyche.

Chemical weapons in our time

Currently most of chemical weapons is prohibited by the 1993 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.

The classification of poisons depends on the danger that the chemical poses:

• The first group includes all poisons that have ever been in the arsenal of countries. Countries are prohibited from storing any chemicals from this group in excess of 1 ton. If the weight is more than 100g, the control committee must be notified.
• The second group is substances that can be used for both military purposes and peaceful production.
• The third group includes substances that are used in large quantities in production. If the production produces more than thirty tons per year, it must be registered in the control register.

First aid for poisoning with chemically hazardous substances

Chemical weapons are a type of weapon of mass destruction, the main principle of which is the effect of toxic substances on environment and man. Types of chemical weapons are divided according to the type of damage to biological organisms.

Chemical weapons - history of creation (briefly)

The first semblance of chemical weapons was used before our era, by the Greeks, Romans and Macedonians. Most often it was used during sieges of fortresses, which forced the enemy to surrender or die.

In the 15th century Turkish army used a kind of chemical weapon on the battlefield, which consisted of sulfur and oil. The resulting substance disabled enemy armies and provided a significant advantage. Further in the 18th century in Europe, artillery shells were created, which, after hitting the target, emitted toxic smoke that affected human body like poison.

Since the mid-19th century, many countries began to produce chemical weapons, the types of which became an integral part of army ammunition, in industrial scale. After the use of chemical weapons by the British Admiral Gokhran T., which included sulfur dioxide, caused a wave of indignation and the leadership of more than 20 countries massively condemned such an act. The consequences of using such weapons were catastrophic.

In 1899, the Hague Convention was held, which prohibited the use of any chemical weapons. But during the First World War, the German army used chemical weapons en masse, which led to many deaths.

After which the production of gas masks began, which could provide protection from exposure to chemicals. Gas masks were used not only for people, but also for dogs and horses.

From 1914 to 1917, German scientists worked to improve the means of delivering chemicals to the enemy and methods of protecting the population from their effects. After the end of the First World War, all projects were curtailed, but protective equipment continued to be manufactured and distributed.

this year at the Geneva Convention a pact was signed banning the use of any toxic substances

The Geneva Convention took place in 1925 , at which all parties signed a pact banning the use of any toxic substances. But in short, the history of chemical weapons continued with new strength and work on creating chemical weapons only intensified. Scientists around the world created many types of chemical weapons in laboratories, which had many types of effects on living organisms.

During World War II, neither side dared to use chemical substances. The only ones who distinguished themselves were the Germans, who actively “Zyklon B” in the concentration camps.

Zyklon B was developed by German scientists in 1922. This substance consisted of hydrocyanic acid and other additional substances, 4 kg of such a substance was enough to destroy up to 1 thousand people.

After the end of World War II and the condemnation of all actions of the German army and command, countries around the world continued to develop different kinds chemical weapons.

A striking example of the use of chemical weapons is the United States, which used Agent Orange in Vietnam. The action of chemical weapons is based on dioxin, which was stuffed into bombs; it is extremely toxic and mutagenic.

The effects of chemical weapons were demonstrated by the United States in Vietnam.

According to the US government, their target was not people, but vegetation. The consequences of using such a substance were catastrophic in terms of deaths and mutations of the civilian population. These types of chemical weapons have caused mutations in people that occur at the genetic level and are passed on from generation to generation.

Before the signing of the convention banning the use and storage of chemical weapons, the United States and the USSR were actively producing and storing these substances. But even after the signing of the ban agreement, repeated evidence of the use of chemicals in the Middle East was revealed.

Types of chemical weapons and names

Modern chemical weapons have many types, which differ in purpose, speed and effect on the human body.

Chemical weapons can be divided into several types according to the speed at which their destructive abilities are retained:

• persistent– substances containing lewisite and mustard gas. The effectiveness after using such substances can last up to several days;
• volatile– substances containing phosgene and hydrocyanic acid. The effectiveness after using such substances is up to half an hour.

There are also types of poisonous gases, which are divided according to their use:

• combat– used for the rapid or slow destruction of manpower;
• psychotropic (non-lethal)– used for temporary failure of the human body.

There are six types of chemicals, the division of which is based on the effects on the human body:

Nerve weapons

This type of weapon is one of the most dangerous in terms of its impact on the human body. A type of such weapon is a gas that affects the nervous system and leads to death in any concentration. The composition of nerve weapons includes gases:

• soman;
• V – gas;
• sarin;
• herd.

The gas is odorless and colorless, making it very dangerous.

Poison weapon

This type of weapon poisons the human body through exposure to the skin, after which it enters the body and destroys the lungs. It is impossible to protect yourself from this type of weapon with conventional protection. The composition of poisonous weapons includes gases:

• lewisite;
• mustard gas.

General poison weapons

They are deadly substances that act quickly on the body. Toxic substances, after use, immediately affect red blood cells and block the supply of oxygen to the body. Contains toxic substances general action gases included:

• cyanogen chloride;
• hydrocyanic acid.

Choking weapon

Asphyxiating weapons are gases that, after use, instantly reduce and block the supply of oxygen to the body, which contributes to prolonged and painful death. Gases used in asphyxiating weapons include:

• chlorine;
• phosgene;
• diphosgene.

Psychochemical weapon

This type of weapon is a substance that has a psychotropic and psychochemical effect on the body. After use, the gas affects the nervous system, which causes short-term disturbances and incapacitation. Psychochemical weapons are endowed with a damaging effect, as a result of which a person develops:

• blindness;
• deafness;
• incapacity of the vestibular apparatus;
• mental insanity;
• disorientation;
• hallucinations.

The composition of psychochemical weapons mainly includes a substance - quinuclidyl-3-benzilate.

Poisonous irritant weapon

This type of weapon is a gas that, after use, causes nausea, coughing, sneezing and eye irritation. Such a gas is volatile and fast-acting. Often, poisonous weapons or tear guns are used by law enforcement agencies.

The composition of poisonous-irritant weapons includes gases:

• chlorine;
• sulfur dioxide;
• hydrogen sulfide;
• nitrogen;
• ammonia.

Military conflicts using chemical weapons

The history of the creation of chemical weapons is briefly noted by the facts of its combat use on the battlefield and against civilians.

Types of chemical weapons for self-defense

There is a psychochemical type of weapon that can be used for self-defense. Such gas causes minimal harm to the human body and can disable it for some time.

Today we will discuss cases of the use of chemical weapons against people on our planet.

Chemical weapon- a now prohibited means of warfare. It has a detrimental effect on all systems of the human body: it leads to paralysis of the limbs, blindness, deafness and quick and painful death. In the 20th century international conventions the use of chemical weapons was prohibited. However, during the period of its existence, it caused a lot of troubles to humanity. History knows a lot of cases of the use of chemical warfare agents during wars, local conflicts and terrorist attacks.

From time immemorial, humanity has tried to invent new methods of warfare that would provide an advantage to one side without big losses from my side. The idea of ​​using poisonous substances, smoke and gases against enemies was thought of even before our era: for example, the Spartans in the 5th century BC used sulfur fumes during the siege of the cities of Plataea and Belium. They soaked the trees with resin and sulfur and burned them right under the fortress gates. The Middle Ages were marked by the invention of shells with asphyxiating gases, made like Molotov cocktails: they were thrown at the enemy, and when the army began to cough and sneeze, the opponents went on the attack.

During Crimean War in 1855, the British proposed to take Sevastopol by storm using the same sulfur fumes. However, the British rejected this project as unworthy of a fair war.

World War I

The day the “chemical arms race” began is considered to be April 22, 1915, but before that, many armies of the world conducted experiments on the effects of gases on their enemies. In 1914, the German army sent several shells with toxic substances to the French units, but the damage from them was so small that no one mistook it for the new kind weapons. In 1915, in Poland, the Germans tested their new development - tear gas, but did not take into account the direction and strength of the wind, and the attempt to throw the enemy into panic again failed.

For the first time, chemical weapons were tested on a horrifying scale by the French army during the First World War. This happened in Belgium on the Ypres River, after which the toxic substance was named - mustard gas. On April 22, 1915, a battle took place between the German and French army, during which chlorine was sprayed. The soldiers could not protect themselves from the harmful chlorine; they suffocated and died from pulmonary edema.

On that day, 15,000 people were attacked, of whom more than 5,000 died on the battlefield and subsequently in the hospital. Intelligence warned that the Germans were placing cylinders with unknown contents along the front lines, but the command considered them harmless. However, the Germans were unable to take advantage of their advantage: they did not expect such a damaging effect and were not ready for the offensive.

This episode was included in many films and books as one of the most terrifying and bloody pages of the First World War. A month later, on May 31, the Germans again sprayed chlorine during a battle on the Eastern Front in a battle against the Russian army - 1,200 people were killed, and more than 9,000 people received chemical poisoning.

But here, too, the resilience of the Russian soldiers became stronger than the power of the poisonous gases - the German offensive was stopped. On July 6, the Germans attacked the Russians in the Sukha-Vola-Shidlovskaya sector. The exact number of casualties is unknown, but the two regiments alone lost approximately 4,000 men. Despite the terrible damaging effect, it was after this incident that chemical weapons began to be used more and more often.

Scientists from all countries began hastily equipping armies with gas masks, but one property of chlorine became clear: its effect is greatly weakened by a wet bandage on the mouth and nose. However, the chemical industry did not stand still.

And so in 1915, the Germans introduced into their arsenal bromine and benzyl bromide: they produced a suffocating and tear-producing effect.

At the end of 1915, the Germans tested their new achievement on the Italians: phosgene. It was an extremely poisonous gas that caused irreversible changes in the mucous membranes of the body. Moreover, it had a delayed effect: often symptoms of poisoning appeared 10-12 hours after inhalation. In 1916, at the Battle of Verdun, the Germans fired more than 100 thousand chemical shells at the Italians.

A special place was occupied by the so-called scalding gases, which, when sprayed onto outdoors remained active for a long time and caused incredible suffering to a person: they penetrated under clothing onto the skin and mucous membranes, leaving bloody burns there. This was mustard gas, which the German inventors called the “king of gases.”

Only by rough estimates, More than 800 thousand people died from gases in the First World War. 125 thousand tons of toxic substances of various effects were used in different parts of the front. The numbers are impressive and far from conclusive. The number of victims and then deaths in hospitals and at home after a short illness was not clear - meat grinder world war captured all countries, and losses were not taken into account.

Italo-Ethiopian War

In 1935, the government of Benito Mussolini ordered the use of mustard gas in Ethiopia. At this time, the Italo-Ethiopian war was being waged, and although the Geneva Convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons was adopted 10 years ago, mustard gas in Ethiopia More than 100 thousand people died.

And not all of them were military - the civilian population also suffered losses. The Italians claimed that they sprayed a substance that could not kill anyone, but the number of victims speaks for itself.

Sino-Japanese War

The Second World War was not without the participation of nerve gases. During this global conflict, there was a confrontation between China and Japan, in which the latter actively used chemical weapons.

The imperial troops put the baiting of enemy soldiers with harmful substances on a routine basis: special combat units were created that were engaged in the development of new destructive weapons.

In 1927, Japan built its first chemical warfare agent plant. When the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Japanese authorities purchased equipment and technology for producing mustard gas from them and began producing it in large quantities.

The scale was impressive: they worked for the military industry research institutes, factories for the production of chemical weapons, schools for training specialists in their use. Since many aspects of the influence of gases on the human body were not clear, the Japanese tested the effects of their gases on prisoners and prisoners of war.

To practice imperial japan transferred in 1937. In total, during the history of this conflict, chemical weapons were used from 530 to 2000. According to the most rough estimates, more than 60 thousand people died - most likely the numbers are much higher.

For example, in 1938, Japan dropped 1,000 chemical aerial bombs on the city of Woqu, and during the Battle of Wuhan, the Japanese used 48 thousand shells with military substances.

Despite obvious successes in the war, Japan capitulated under pressure Soviet troops and did not even try to use its arsenal of gases against the Soviets. Moreover, she hastily hid chemical weapons, although before that she had not hidden the fact of their use in military operations. To this day, buried chemicals have caused illness and death among many Chinese and Japanese.

The water and soil have been poisoned, and many burial sites of war materials have not yet been discovered. Like many countries in the world, Japan has joined the convention banning the production and use of chemical weapons.

Tests in Nazi Germany

Germany, as the founder of the chemical arms race, continued to work on new types of chemical weapons, but did not apply its developments on the fields of the Great Patriotic War. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the “space for living”, cleared of Soviet people, was supposed to be settled by Aryans, and the poisonous gases seriously harmed crops, soil fertility and the general ecology.

Therefore, all the developments of the fascists moved to concentration camps, but here the scale of their work became unprecedented in its cruelty: hundreds of thousands of people died in gas chambers from pesticides under the code “Cyclone-B” - Jews, Poles, Gypsies, Soviet prisoners of war, children, women and the elderly ...

The Germans did not make distinctions or allowances for gender and age. The scale of war crimes in Nazi Germany is still difficult to assess.

Vietnam War

The United States also contributed to the development of the chemical weapons industry. They actively used harmful substances during vietnam war, since 1963. It was difficult for the Americans to fight in hot Vietnam with its humid forests.

Our Vietnamese partisans found shelter there, and the United States began spraying defoliants over the territory of the country - substances for the destruction of vegetation. They contained the strongest gas dioxin, which tends to accumulate in the body and leads to genetic mutations. In addition, dioxin poisoning leads to diseases of the liver, kidneys, and blood. Just above the forests and settlements 72 million liters of defoliants were dumped. The civilian population had no chance to escape: there was no talk of any personal protective equipment.

There are about 5 million victims, and the effects of chemical weapons are still affecting Vietnam to this day.

Even in the 21st century, children are born here with gross genetic abnormalities and deformities. The effect of toxic substances on nature is still difficult to assess: relict mangrove forests, 140 species of birds disappeared from the face of the earth, the water was poisoned, almost all the fish in it died, and the survivors could not be eaten. Throughout the country, the number of plague-carrying rats has sharply increased, and infected ticks have appeared.

Tokyo subway attack

The next time the toxic substances were used in Peaceful time against an unsuspecting population. The terrorist attack using sarin, a highly potent nerve gas, was carried out by the Japanese religious sect Aum Senrikyo.

In 1994, a truck with a vaporizer coated with sarin drove onto the streets of Matsumoto. When sarin evaporated, it turned into a toxic cloud, the vapors of which penetrated the bodies of passers-by and paralyzed their nervous systems.

The attack was short-lived as the fog emanating from the truck was visible. However, a few minutes were enough to kill 7 people and injure 200. Encouraged by their success, sect activists repeated their attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. On March 20, five people with bags of sarin descended into the subway. The bags were opened in different compositions, and the gas began to penetrate into the surrounding air in the closed room.

Sarin is an extremely toxic gas, and one drop is enough to kill an adult. The terrorists had a total of 10 liters with them. As a result of the attack, 12 people died and more than 5,000 were seriously poisoned. If terrorists had used spray guns, the casualties would have been in the thousands.

Aum Senrikyo is now officially banned throughout the world. The organizers of the subway attack were detained in 2012. They admitted that they carried out large-scale work on the use of chemical weapons in their terrorist attacks: experiments were carried out with phosgene, soman, tabun, and the production of sarin was put on stream.

Conflict in Iraq

During the Iraq War, both sides did not hesitate to use chemical warfare agents. Terrorists detonated chlorine bombs in Iraq's Anbar province, and later a chlorine gas bomb was used.

As a result, civilians suffered - chlorine and its compounds cause fatal injuries respiratory system, and at low concentrations they leave burns on the skin.

The Americans did not stand aside: in 2004 they dropped white phosphorus bombs on Iraq. This substance literally burns out all living things within a radius of 150 km and is extremely dangerous if inhaled. The Americans tried to justify themselves and denied the use white phosphorus, however, they then stated that they consider this method of warfare to be completely acceptable and will continue to drop similar shells.

It is typical that when attacking incendiary bombs With white phosphorus, it was mainly the civilian population who suffered.

War in Syria

Recent history can also name several cases of the use of chemical weapons. Here, however, not everything is clear - the conflicting parties deny their guilt, presenting their own evidence and accusing the enemy of falsifying evidence. At the same time, all means of information warfare are used: forgeries, fake photographs, false witnesses, massive propaganda and even staging attacks.

For example, March 19, 2013 Syrian militants used a rocket filled with chemicals in the battle in Aleppo. As a result, 100 people were poisoned and hospitalized, and 12 people died. It is unclear what kind of gas was used - most likely it was a substance from a series of asphyxiants, since it affected the respiratory organs, causing their failure and convulsions.

Until now, the Syrian opposition has not admitted its guilt, claiming that the missile belonged to government forces. Independent investigation there was no such thing, since the UN’s work in this region was hampered by the authorities. In April 2013, Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, was attacked with surface-to-surface missiles containing sarin.

As a result, according to various estimates between 280 and 1,700 people died.

On April 4, 2017 took place chemical attack against the city of Idlib, for which no one took the blame. The US authorities declared the Syrian authorities and President Bashar al-Assad personally to be the culprit and took advantage of this opportunity to inflict missile strike at Shayrat airbase. After poisoning with an unknown gas, 70 people died and more than 500 were injured.

Despite scary experience humanity in terms of the use of chemical weapons, colossal losses throughout the 20th century and a delayed period of action of toxic substances, due to which children with genetic abnormalities are still born in countries under attack, the risk of cancer is increased and even the environmental situation, it is obvious that chemical weapons will be produced and used again and again. This is a cheap type of weapon - it is quickly synthesized on an industrial scale, and for a developed industrial economy it is not difficult to put its production on stream.

Chemical weapons are amazing in their effectiveness - sometimes a very small concentration of gas is enough to cause the death of a person, not to mention the complete loss of their combat effectiveness. And although chemical weapons are clearly not an honest method of warfare and are prohibited from production and use in the world, no one can prohibit their use by terrorists. Poisonous substances are easy to bring into the establishment Catering or an entertainment center where it is guaranteed a large number of victims. Such attacks take people by surprise; few would even think of putting a handkerchief to their face, and panic will only increase the number of victims. Unfortunately, terrorists know about all the advantages and properties of chemical weapons, which means that new attacks using chemicals are not excluded.

Now, after yet another case of the use of prohibited weapons, the culprit country is threatened with unspecified sanctions. But if the country has big influence in the world, such as the USA, she can afford to ignore mild reproaches international organizations. Tension in the world is constantly growing, military experts have long been talking about the Third World War, which is in full swing on the planet, and chemical weapons may yet reach the forefront of the battles of modern times. The task of humanity is to bring the world to stability and prevent the sad experience of past wars, which was so quickly forgotten, despite the colossal losses and tragedies.