The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1918-07-27

t~'t W. StcNth
Hun ingenuity In producing gas with
which to overwhelm the enemy has
not always worked out as intended or
wholly to the advantage of those EN-
ploying 1t. In the recent offensive the
which the Hun precedes his attacks
has had occasionally unforeseen after
effects upon the Germans themselves.
For the purpose of the offensive the
enemy employs a shell containing a
double-purpose chemical, affecting first
the eyes and then the skin. 1t is a
modification of the normal "tear gas
shell, and the usual distinctive odor is
very much reduced, SO that the gas Is
not so easily detected. Men who suf-
fer from its effects are temporarily
blinded, and close contact with the
fumes produces an unpleasant skin
Irritation. For the average case eight
or ten days hospital treatment Is
necessary, but the gas is neither fatal
nor does 1t inrict permanent injuries,
for our men are not exposed to II long.
So much for u side of the question.
New Weapon Two Edged.
From the Hun point of view the
weapon has proved decidedly double
edged. This was especially the case
on the Somme during the last offensive.
The chemical vas so concentrated hat
1t was markedly less volatile than the
usual gas shell content, and wherever
a shell exploded n considerable proper
ton of the charge ~impregnated the
surrounding ground. The fumes sus-
pended In the air dispersed fairly rap
idly, but the actual site of the explo-
sion remained virulently poisonous. In
the usual way the spot where a gas
shell has burst is dangerous for As
hours or so, but this concentrated
chemical remained active for a much
longer period.
The result was decidedly comic. for
1t was evidently one of the many little
things that the "grosser general stab"
omitted in its calculations. The Hun
artillery lathcred the allied positions
with gas shells in the most lavish man.
ner. Every redoubt, support line, ruined
village and road center was plastered
with the stun. The great assault was
launched and the allied line yielded
ground. The Huns moved up and
occupied 1t. Their bombardment had
been miles deep; their advance was In
proportion.
Poisoned by Their Own Gas.
Thousands Of Hun troops poured
up into the gas-infected area, sat down
for In virulently poisoned shell
holes, billeted themselves In abandoned
hutments sprayed with their own gas
and only began to notice the effect
about six hours later During the
action our men had been exposed to
the fumes for a short period, but the
Huns came and I'm their ignorance lit
orally stepped themselves in 1t.
Exhausted men lay down In the dusk
on dew-wet ground where the stuff had
burst; they woke later to find the
enom actually corroding their bodies
through their clothes. Forward ma
chine gun units dug emplacements In
innocent-looking shell holes. Two
HUNTS iuttI tnc iHtH WtIt NdiutIlhS
about blind and screaming In their
pain and terror.
A day or two Of wet weather seemed
to clear the infected areas; new troops
were marched up, the remnants of the
old divisions withdrawn and the terror
Of their W gas hushed up and for
gotten. Then came the blazing sun
drying up the clay and loan. heating
the earth surface inches deep. The
latent poison awoke again and for no
apparent reason shelters and dugouts
that had been safe and habitable for
days became deadly as pun adders.
The u~nsuspecting troops were over
whelmed.
The Huns are sorry that they ever
started gas still sorrier that they i'm
proved 1t. But one can feel no pity
for them. The effect on their morale
is bad, for no man can tell now what
terror Of their own sowing turks In
the ground that they occupy at the cost
Of thousands of lives.