在第一次世界大战中,首次大规模使用化学武器是从伊普雷开始的。在大战爆发后的第二年,西线的英法联军倾注全力终于顶住了德军的凶猛进攻势头,战线呈现对峙状态。在西部战场的北端有一座叫伊普雷的古老城镇,英法联军的防线就在这座城镇的前面弯曲地延伸着。1914年晚秋以来,德军不断发起突击,但在协约国军队的顽强抵抗下,几个月都没能获得大的进展。双方掘壕固守,对峙达数月之久。这种战而不决的对峙令双方都感到,在没有大威力的重炮和能够摧毁对方防御体系的新兵器投入使用的情况下很难将对方置于死地。“你们为什么不用化学武器来解决这个问题呢?”在德国最高统帅部会议上,德国化学工业联合企业巨头卡尔·杜伊斯贝向军界提出了建议。在大战初期,他为了在战争中获取利润,曾生产了一些刺激性化学武器——“喷嚏弹”给军队试用。随着战争进程,他的胃口也越来越大。 The first large-scale use of chemical weapons in World War I began with Ypres. In the second year after the outbreak of the war, the allied forces of the British and French troops on the western front were finally able to withstand the fiercely offensive momentum of the German troops and showed a confrontational front. At the northern end of the western battlefield there is an ancient town called Ypres, where the line of defense of the British and French coalition forces curved in the forefront of the town. Since the fall of 1914, the Germans have been constantly assaulting, but in the months and months they failed to make any significant progress despite the staunch resistance of the Allies. Both sides hold the trenches, confrontation for months. This warlike and undeclared confrontation has made it felt that it is difficult for both parties to put their death to death without the use of heavy artillery and new weapons capable of destroying each other's defenses. “Why do not you use chemical weapons to solve this problem?” At the German Supreme Command, Karl Duisberg, the German conglomerate of chemical industry, made a proposal to the military. In the early days of the war, in order to make a profit during the war, he had produced some stimulating chemical weapons - the “sneeze bomb” to the military trial. As the war progressed, his appetite was also growing.