“‘Suppose that the Malakoff and Redan are the objects
to be assailed it might be judicious merely to obscure
the Redan (by the smoke of coal and tar kindled in ‘The
Quarries’), so that it could not annoy the Mamelon,
where the sulphur fire would be placed to expel
the garrison from the Malakoff, which ought to have
all the cannon that can be turned towards its ramparts
employed in overthrowing its undefended ramparts.
“‘There is no doubt but that the fumes will envelop all
the defenses from the Malakoff to the Barracks, and
even to the line of battleship, the Twelve Apostles, at
anchor in the harbour.
“‘The two outer batteries, on each side of the Port,
ought to be smoked, sulphured, and blown down by
explosion vessels, and their destruction completed by a
few ships of war anchored under cover of the smoke.’
“That was Lord Dundonald’s plan in 1855, improperly
published in 1908, and by the Germans, who thus learnt
it, ruthlessly put into practise in 1915.
“Lord Dundonald’s memoranda, together with further
elucidatory notes, were submitted by the English
government of that day to a committee and subsequently
to another committee in which Lord Playfair took
leading part. These committees, with Lord Dundonald’s
plans fully and in detail before them, both reported
that the plans were perfectly feasible; that the
effects expected from them would undoubtedly be
produced; but that those effects were so horrible that
no honorable combatant could use the means required to
produce them. The committee therefore recommended that
the scheme should not be adopted; that Lord Dundonald’s
account of it should be destroyed. How the records
were obtained and preserved by those who so improperly
published them in 1908 we do not know. Presumably they
were found among Lord Panmure’s papers. Admiral Lord
Dundonald himself was certainly no party to their
publication.”
One of the early, if not the earliest suggestion as to the use of
poison gas in shell is found in an article on “Greek Fire,” by B. W.
Richardson.[2]
[Footnote 2: _Popular Science Review_, =3=, 176 (1864).]
He says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account