A Pale Horse

AUTHOR’S NOTE

It is a fact that most of the gas stockpiled until the 1950s was based on the World War I models. But in World War II the Germans were on the brink of new types of poison gas that were far more lethal than anything used in the trenches. And the Allies were quick to scoop them up and see where they led. We’ve been cursed with variations of them ever since.

Was it possible, scientifically, to be close to the same formulas as early as 1917? The answer is yes, that a clever mind accustomed to playing with poisons from around the world could have stumbled over something that didn’t disable armies, it killed them fast and in great numbers. The amazing thing is not that it was possible then but that it took thirty years, once the can of worms was opened at Ypres.

Of course, early attempts might also have led to another dead end. Who can say?

The what-ifs of history can be fascinating.