Word: mustard
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...should a clot of mustard lodged in the digestive apparatus of one splenetic old gentleman affect the well-being of millions...
...compounds but of manufacturing known compounds on a great scale. With their splendidly developed chemical industry, the Germans had the edge throughout and Allied gas warfare was largely a series of belated retaliations. In their March 1918 offensive against the British the Germans fired half a million "Yellow Cross" (mustard gas) shells in ten days. In July gas shells constituted half of all German projectiles fired. Their factories could not keep up with this ravenous demand and a shortage ensued which greatly facilitated the victorious advance of the Entente armies. When the Armistice was signed. German ammunition dumps were found...
Vesicants are blister-producers. Mustard gas, which is really an oily liquid, was called "the king of battle gases" although it was seldom fatal unless its vapor was inhaled. Masks were of little use, since mustard gas penetrated ordinary clothing and shoes easily, raising huge red welts which sometimes ulcerated and always laid the soldier low for a month or more. When splashed around by shells it contaminates everything it touches for days. It is therefore more valuable for defense than offense, since it is impracticable for attackers to move forward through a mustard-shelled area. Mustard was not introduced...
...Mustard was far & away the most important vesicant in the European arena. In 1918, however, the U. S. was manufacturing a powerful blister-liquid called Lewisite, none of which reached the front. Because of its arsenic content, Lewisite may poison the blisters it produces. Author Prentiss declares that 30 drops of Lewisite splashed on a man's skin would be fatal. It is more volatile and less persistent than mustard gas, however, and if no arsenic poison sets in, its wounds heal more quickly. Author Prentiss believes that under favorable" conditions Lewisite would prove superior to mustard. British experts...
Some experts believe that the enemy would be content to smear parts of New York with mustard and Lewisite. Mustard gas is not hard to neutralize (chloride of lime) but it is hard to find and hangs on for a long time. Without protective clothing it would be dangerous for civilians to venture into the streets, and the enemy would presumably be content with the resultant paralysis of the city...