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- Victor Lefebure
- The Riddle of the Rhine: Chemical Strategy in Peace and War
audiobook
The Riddle of the Rhine: Chemical Strategy in Peace and War
Chapters
14 total"Emphasis" italics have a * mark.
BY
CHAPTER II-THE GERMAN SURPRISE The First Cloud Gas Attack-The Element of Surprise -Lord Kitchener's Protest-German Preparations— Research-Production-Field Preparations-German Opinion of Results-Germany Prompted by Production Monopoly-Standard Uses for Gas-Gas Shell-Further German Cloud Attacks-Hill 60-Origin of German Gas Shell-Early German Gas Shell-A Successful Experiment-Lachrymators at Loos, 1915-The Flammenwerfer-German Phosgene Clouds-Gas and the Eastern Theatre-Conclusion. 31 - CHAPTER III-THE ALLIED REACTION The Need of Retaliation-First Signs-The Loos Attack, September, 1915-The Somme Battle, 1916—Reasons for British Cloud Gas Success-Our Casualties-Exhausting Preparations for Cloud Attack-The Livens Projector-British Gas Shell-German Gas Shell Development, 1916-Main Features of the Period. 48 - CHAPTER IV-INTENSIVE CHEMICAL WARFARE The Mustard Gas Surprise-Blue Cross-German Emphasis on Gas Shell-The German Projector-German Projector Improvements-Dyes in Gas Shell—German Flame Projectors-Their Origin-Further Flame Development-The 1918 Offensive-Ludendorff's Testimony-Preparations for Assault-Gas Defensive Flank at Armentieres-Fixed Gas Barrage at Kemmel-Percentage of Chemical Shell-Gas Re-Contents
CHAPTER VI-THE STRUGGLE FOR THE INITIATIVE Meaning of the Chemical Initiative-Controlling Factors—Rapid Manufacture Rapid Identification Essential-Propaganda and Morale-Peculiar Peace-time Danger-War Fluctuations of Initiative-The Tense Protective Struggle-The German Mask-Enforced German Modifications-Shortage of Rubber-Gas Discipline-Summary-New German Attempts-Yellow and Blue Cross-Yellow Cross-Blue Cross-"Particulate" Clouds-Potential Production and Peace. lit
CHAPTER VIII-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENTS Special Attention justified-Special Value of American Opinion-Early American Activities-Field Activities -Special Difficulties-Edgewood Arsenal-Research—Production-Post-Armistice Developments-Views of General Fries-The Gas Cloud Inescapable-Importance of Smoke-Casualty Percent ages-Short Range Projectors-Vast Expansion in Personnel. 173
CHAPTER X-LINES OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENT The Element of Speculation-Chemical Tactics and Strategy-New War Chemicals—"Camouflage" Chemicals-Functions Hitherto Immune-Chemical Constitution and Physiological Action-Unsolved Prob-
CHAPTER XI-HUMANE OR INHUMANE? Nature of Gas Casualties-Sargent's Picture-Need for Safeguards. 238 - CHAPTER XII-CHEMICAL WARFARE AND DISARMAMENT The Treaty of Versailles-German Information-Limitation of Armament-Report of the Hartley Mission -New Conceptions in Chemical Disarmament-Limitation Mechanical and Chemical-Tank Disarmament -Chemical Limitation-Research-Production-Mechanical and Chemical Preparations for War-Recent Disarmament Proposals-The Covenant of the League Need for Guarantees-Viscount Grey, "Germany must disarm first'~— Suggested Methods—"Vested Interests"—"Handing Over" Inventions-Neglect of Chemical Disarmament in the Treaty. 242 - CONCLUSION-THE TREATY OF THE FUTURE. 264 - ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE TYPICAL GAS SHELL BURSTING. 30 - THE LIVENS PROJECTOR-II 61
SMOKE BARRAGE. 181
THE GERMAN SURPRISE
Description
This work offers a detailed look at the clash over chemical power that shaped the final months of the Great War and the uneasy peace that followed. Drawing on the author’s firsthand experience as a frontline gas officer and later as a liaison on Versailles‑era negotiations, it explains how a handful of factories along the Rhine became pivotal to both warmaking and the push for disarmament. The narrative follows the scramble to develop and counter poison‑gas tactics, the rise of aerial delivery methods, and the political stakes that turned chemistry into a matter of national security.
Beyond battlefield anecdotes, the book examines the broader question of how industrial chemistry should be controlled in a post‑war world. It argues that a balanced global distribution of organic‑chemical production could curb the temptation to weaponise civilian plants, while highlighting the challenges faced by policymakers trying to keep peace without stifling industrial progress. Listeners will come away with a clearer sense of why the “chemical question” mattered then—and why its legacy still echoes today.
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Language
en
Duration
~8 hours (468K characters)
Release date
1998-04-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
About the author
Victor Lefebure
A chemist, wartime adviser, and sharp-eyed commentator on modern conflict, he wrote about chemical warfare with unusual authority. His work blends scientific knowledge with firsthand insight into how technology can reshape war and peace.
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