 29 June > 14 November 2010
Gas! Gas! Gas!
Chemical Warfare, 1914-1918
The history of chemical weapons during the First World War is marked by
a paradox. If poison gases are inevitably associated with this
conflict, we have to admit that very little is known about this ‘war
within the war’. The unprecedented sufferings endured by the combatants
on both sides are constantly emphasised, as are the ravages provoked by
the gases. At the same time, however, a careful examination of the
French losses caused by poison gas on the entire front between February
and October 1916 brings out the fact that they represented only 0.2
percent of the total casualties. Beyond the myth or the stereotype, it
thus seems legitimate to question the military reality of these weapons
and their impact on the battlefields of the Great War.
 Not the least of the controversies which continue
to this day is the identity of the real initiator of chemical warfare.
Obviously, the appearance of chemical weapons on the battlefield of the
First World War cannot be considered a simple technical innovation. But
does this permit us to conclude that its use marks the advent of the
total war? Were chemical weapons the first ones conceived not to
conquer enemy territory but to annihilate the adversary physically? The
objective here is thus to bring out the impact of chemical weapons on
the course of the hostilities, in human, industrial, tactical and
strategic terms alike.
150 objects and original documents on show.
Outreach tools:
Trilingual exhibition (French, English, German), visitor’s
guide IN ENGLISH, exhibition catalogue (in French only).
Curator: Olivier Lepick
(associate researcher in history and international politics at the
Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, Paris) & International
research centre
Exhibition catalogue
Gaz! Gaz! Gaz!: La Guerre chimique, 1914-1918. (In French only)
Essays by Olivier Lepick, Stéphane Audoin-Rouzeau, Sophie Delaporte, Annette Becker and others.
Ed. 5 Continents, 112 pages, 55 colour illustrations, 25 €.
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