![]() ![]() The first chlorine gas attack, which hit French Colonial and Canadian troops, appeared as a yellowish-green cloud. Introduced during World War I, the French Army used the ARS 1917 until 1935. And while the gas actually killed very few combatants when compared to the vast numbers who gave their lives in the war (according to some sources, as many as 93 percent of gas casualties returned to duty within a few weeks), it was quite a success as a psychological weapon. But it was that calm April day that marked how truly devious gas could be as a weapon of war. While the first widespread use of poison gas occurred on April 22, 1915, near Ypres, Belgium, there had been previous small experiments by the Germans in the weeks prior to the attack. For soldiers on both sides, the horrific effects of the new weapon added another vital piece of equipment to the soldiers’ needs-the gas mask. In a conflict that already was infamous for reaching new depths in the shameful chronicle of man’s inhumanity to man, the new weapon proved to be so heinous that it was never used again on such a massive scale. “As part of the great Red Cross army of mercy, he is beyond price.With World War I in a seeming stalemate, German forces in late April 1915 introduced a horrific new weapon to the fighting. knows that medical assistance cannot be far away, and will be summoned by every means in the dog’s power. "Here at last is help, here is first aid. “To the forlorn and despairing wounded soldier, the coming of the Red Cross dog is that of a messenger of hope. Not many people will have come across Oliver Hyde’s book, 'The Work of the Red Cross Dog on the Battlefield', written in 1915.īut in this long-forgotten book, a paean to the bravery of the daring canines, the author captures perfectly the value of the First World War's most unlikely group of heroes. It is purely a matter of their instinct, far more effective than man’s reasoning powers.” One surgeon recalled: “They sometimes lead us to bodies we think have no life in them, but when we bring them back to the doctors…always find a spark. Their heightened senses brought another priceless benefit. They were especially useful when working with search parties in hostile territory, because their keen noses would locate wounded soldiers in thickets and bushes who otherwise might have been missed. (Each hound was taught to ‘freeze’ on the ground if hostile fire lit up the sky.)Īccording to war medics, the Red Cross dogs saved many lives. The resourceful pooch would then silently lead a stretcher party straight back to the victim, still in pitch darkness, right under the enemy’s collective nose. If a soldier was unconscious or unable to move, however, the dog would run back to its handler carrying a cap, glove or torn scrap of clothing as evidence. Lightly injured men could then treat their own injuries and be guided back to their own trench. ![]() Carrying harnesses filled with medical supplies and small canteens of water, they searched out their own troops. Because once the dogs were fully trained, what they achieved on the battlefield was incredible.Īs soldiers lay injured or dying out in no man’s land, the dogs were sent out under cover of darkness. ![]() It was a long and exhaustive process, but worth it. (After all, nobody wanted them leading a search party to an injured but still-armed German soldier.) They uncomplainingly wore restrictive gas masks.Ĭritically, they were also taught to distinguish between British military uniforms and those of the enemy. They could understand a huge range of hand signals. The level of sophistication in the dogs’ training was jaw-dropping.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |