In short I'm looking for a good book on gas warfare during WW1 and also trying to distinguish German and British gas masks from each other, I think the german masks tended to be wider around the eyes, Can anyone tell me the key visual differences between German and British gas masks
Here are two different and almost contemporary pics. may help you as per your interest. The first use of poison gas on the Western Front was on 22 April 1915, by the Germans at Ypres, against Canadian and French Colonial troops. The initial response was to equip troops with cotton mouth pads for protection. [Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-R52907,_Mannschaft_mit_Gasmasken_am_Fla-MG.jpg] The British small box respirator was first introduced to British soldiers in April 1916 - a few months before the Battle of the Somme.
Mustard gas was often used in WWI to incapacitate the enemy. I seem to recall it being used on both sides. After reading All Quiet on the Western Front, told from a German perspective, I remember a chapter where the German soldiers were gassed by the Americans, and I think the Germans were the ones that pioneered it in the first place.
I have recently done a bit of research into gas warfare (specifically mustard gas) in WWI. These are some sources I found useful: Butler, A G 1943, “Chapter 1 – Chemical Warfare” in Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914-1918: Volume III – Special Problems and Services, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, pp. 5-55. Lt Col Amos A Fries, CWS, US Army & Brig-General and Chief of CWS, AEF, “Gas in Attack and Gas in Defence,” reprinted from National Service Magazine, June/July, 1919. Good detail on the various types of gas during the war including mustard gas and how it can be used in attack and how to defend against it. Major-General C H Foulkes 1934, Gas! The Story of the Special Brigade, William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., London, pp. 258-261. Very comprehensive text on the use of, and defence against, gas by the Allies in WWI. http://science.howstuffworks.com/mustard-gas.htm An easy to digest guide to mustard gas during WW1 and beyond. http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/caj/documents/vol_05/iss_4/CAJ_vol5.4_09_e.pdf General history of gas in WWI. Credible source. The focus presented here is mustard gas specific but there is some great general detail here as well.
