There's one good reason Hitler didn't use gas. If he did use it, it would also be used against him.

I know this sounds rather simplistic, but true. Not that there wasn't thought of using it. You can look to see what accidentaly happened to the Italian city of Bari...

One more thing. Gas was not a very effective weapon. You know, the wind shifts and your screwed. As mentioned already, Hitler had first-hand experience with gas.

Steve

If Hitler was completely set against gas, why did the Germans manufacture several hundred tons of tabun and were well on the way to doing the same with soman? Not too much happened without Hitler, Speer, and Himmler having a hand and a say about its happening.
Besides tube artillery, there were the nebelwurfer battalions, and remember, as long as the wind was right, a barrage would leave a persistant dead zone that would take out the follow on units as well. Personally, I can think of better ways to die though, like jumping into a tank full of Great Whites

Blue---all the warring powers had huge stockpiles of "gas." We inadvertently used it when the Germans attacked the Italian harbor of Bari and hit the ship carrying mustard gas. Interesting story. I was in Alaska in 1991 and we had a heck of a time getting rid of the
WW II 25 pound practice chemical bombs still in ammunition bunkers in Adak. So, there was an abundance of it and everyone was ready to retaliate if it was used against them. Once again, the Germans had a very clear appreciation that the war was lost. Retribution for their past sins was fast approaching. I truly believe they said "things are bad enough, let's not make them worse by using the gas." As I indicated earlier, the sheer magnitude of the logistics involved would have been impossible for the Germans to pull off. If you ever take a course in Nuclear and Chemical Weapons employment the downwind prediction is a bear of a process to set up and use. Getting that crap to blow the right way becomes a SWAG. You limit the surprise factor because your guys have to be informed and in protective gear before you employ it. The other guy is watching you do this and unless they are terribly stupid (and the Russians were not) they can figure out what you are up to in a New York City second. I do not think that a person (namely Adolph) who murdered and brutalized millions of human beings had any compulsion any using it. I do believe those who saw it as worsening their situation hesitated from even suggesting it to him.
DJ

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Blue---all the warring powers had huge stockpiles of "gas." We inadvertently used it when the Germans attacked the Italian harbor of Bari and hit the ship carrying mustard gas. Interesting story. I was in Alaska in 1991 and we had a heck of a time getting rid of the
WW II 25 pound practice chemical bombs still in ammunition bunkers in Adak. So, there was an abundance of it and everyone was ready to retaliate if it was used against them. Once again, the Germans had a very clear appreciation that the war was lost. Retribution for their past sins was fast approaching. I truly believe they said "things are bad enough, let's not make them worse by using the gas." As I indicated earlier, the sheer magnitude of the logistics involved would have been impossible for the Germans to pull off. If you ever take a course in Nuclear and Chemical Weapons employment the downwind prediction is a bear of a process to set up and use. Getting that crap to blow the right way becomes a SWAG. You limit the surprise factor because your guys have to be informed and in protective gear before you employ it. The other guy is watching you do this and unless they are terribly stupid (and the Russians were not) they can figure out what you are up to in a New York City second. I do not think that a person (namely Adolph) who murdered and brutalized millions of human beings had any compulsion any using it. I do believe those who saw it as worsening their situation hesitated from even suggesting it to him.
DJ

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DJ,
I'm not sure I agree with your assessment of Herr Hitler's feelings on the use of gas. Don't underestimate the fact that he served in the trenches in WWI. Even if he was never gassed, he undoubtedly knew soldiers who were. That experience could have had an influence on his decision to refrain from opening that bag of worms again. Additionally, many of his senior staff officers must have had similar experiences. Same goes for the Allied leadership. I'm more surprised that the Russians and the Japanese didn't use gas. Stalin doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would give darn if his own troops were gassed as long as a bunch of Germans died too. And the Japanese had no seminal event i. e. WWI to instill a culture of fear about gas in their military. Not my area of expertise, just some general observations about people and organizations.
v/r,
Cob

DJ,

The thing that is a mystery to me is why not use chemicals in the last gasp when Berlin was being attacked. Certainly, hitler knew he was a dead man. Maybe it would have bought him a few days.

I mean, they had 14 year olds with panzerfaust. Why not try to gas the Russians?

Could this have something to do with the fact that there were no chemical weapons available at the time or no way to deploy them.

Maybe someone can speak to this.

Steve

Steve--I can only re state what I said in my earlier response. Namely, the Germans at this "end of the world" phase of the war were logistically and tactically incapable of employing chemical weapons. I think also that "letting the genie" out of the bottle was an unwritten no-no among the warring powers. Combatant that you so correctly identify as having few qualms about doing some nasty things.
DJ
Ps--are you in the City (Canal Street)?

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Steve--I can only re state what I said in my earlier response. Namely, the Germans at this "end of the world" phase of the war were logistically and tactically incapable of employing chemical weapons. I think also that "letting the genie" out of the bottle was an unwritten no-no among the warring powers. Combatant that you so correctly identify as having few qualms about doing some nasty things.
DJ
Ps--are you in the City (Canal Street)?

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DJ,

I asked this question of a very well respected history professor. He seemed to laugh it off and give the 'gentlemans agreement' answer.

Maybe as savage as things got, there still were some 'laws of warefare' in place.

Now, I might be very simplistic but it's hard to understand how savage the Nazis could be when it came to something like the Final Solution, yet feel that chemical weapons were a no-no. Certainly not at the start of the conflict when they were doing well, but at the bitter end when it was scorched earth and a 'let's bring them down with us' attitude.

I would think the logistic and tactical reasons are valid here. Maybe I'm completely wrong...

Steve

PS - No, I live upstate now. I try to spend as much time in the city as possible. It's changed a lot in the last 10 years. I love the Lower East Side, Little Italy, China Town area. Always something going on.

...

Still root for my Giants.

...

DJ

I think we have determined that all the major powers had access to large amounts of gas. We have to question what good would come of using gas? Both sides would use it, so you have to think similar casualties on either side, even if the Germans struck first. I don't see gas as being quite as powerful as an atom bomb. I don't think you could snatch victory from immanent defeat by using it. Of course, if it was like an atom bomb, since all the powers involved had it, it would be like the Mutually Assured Destruction of the Cold War. As controversial as that is, there was no nuclear war.

Nic

Did anyone besides Germany have nerve gas though? Mustard, Phosgene and Chlorine are nasty things, but the combatants from the First World War had experience with them and knew how to operate in a contaminated environment. This stuff kills on contact with the droplets.

From what I've read, nerve gas was a German invention

I think a few folks here have already put most of the nails in this coffin. Would this be an accurate summary;

*Most, if not all, major powers had some type of gas agents available.
*All, at least on the surface, appear to see its use only as a retalitory weapon.
*The use of gas entails a logistic tail that makes its use a tremendous burden that may be in the long run simply not worth it.
*When the tide had well and truly turned against Germany they were, or would have been, logistically unable to employ gas in even a marginally effective manner.

Some other thoughts that I had; with no particular reference to back me up, just me rambling, Germany, and specifically Hitler, held out an unreasonable hope in "wonder weapons" that would miraculously turn the tide. We all know examples of these weapons, with that in mind wouldn't Germany have been more likely to refrain from employing gas awaiting the miracle cure that would stop the red horde without the worry of Russian gas retaliation? Remember, another hairbrained German idea was that the Western Allies would see the error of their ways and come to the aid of Germany against communist Russia. This would also seem to put a halt to any thought of using gas, after all they were in their minds now waging at least a limited PR campaign in hoping for an 11th hour reprieve from the West.

Rick Cooper