Answer :
Final answer:
Germany was the first country to use poison gas in WWI, starting with chlorine gas in 1914 against Russian troops. The deployment of gases like mustard gas and phosgene claimed over 1.3 million casualties and added to the horrors of trench warfare without changing the stalemate of the battles.
Explanation:
The first country to use poison gas in WWI was Germany. German troops deployed chlorine gas against Russian units in 1914, marking the grim debut of chemical warfare on the battlefields. Notoriously, mustard gas and phosgene were later introduced, causing catastrophic injuries and deaths, estimated by historians to account for 85 percent of fatalities due to gassing effects. Fritz Haber, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist, oversaw the development and first use of these poisonous gases for Germany.
Poison gas became yet another lethal component of trench warfare, alongside other innovations such as flame throwers and airplanes. However, the introduction of gas did not significantly change the outcome of the prolonged battles but only added to the brutal toll of the war. The widespread use of gas attacks by all sides inflicted over 1.3 million casualties and symbolized the ethical dilemmas faced by scientists in wartime, exemplified by Fritz Haber's controversial stance on chemical warfare.
