xylyl bromide

A man wearing an early gas mask. Its long tube and the purification system that was strapped to the chest made it very cumbersome and almost impossible to use in action.

Chemical weapon of World War I; a lachrymatory (tear) gas, first used by the Germans at Bolimov 31 January 1915 under the name T-Stoff. It was highly effective and relatively non-lethal, but was found to corrode its containers and was not very effective at low temperatures.

It was also readily absorbed by the charcoal used in gas-mask canisters and thus by 1917 had been replaced by more powerful agents. About 500 tons were used in artillery shells by the Germans and although this caused no serious casualties, it demonstrated the tactical possibilities of gas shells and paved the way for more effective chemical agents.