It might be worth mentioning that cold temperatures substantially reduce the impact of most tear gasses. In fact the first time the Germans used a poisonous gas in combat on a large scale in WWI it was tear gas in winter on the Eastern front and the Russians barely noticed it.
I genuinely cannot imagine this kind of scale and this suddenness being my first experience with tear gas. I am pretty astounded at the crowd's discipline, that no one panicked or trampled each other in that massive cloud.
Feb 3, 2026 17:00The Russians didn't even tell the other Entente members it had happened. The next time the Germans used poison gas they went with chlorine gas and used it in the West (near Ypres in Belgium) and their opponents were totally unprepared.
For that matter even the Germans were pretty shocked at what happened. It was the only time in the war poison gas broke open enemy lines and they were unprepared to take advantage of it. Btw they had signed a treaty that they would never use poison gas or tear gas in war.
Of course the British had signed a treaty that made their blockade of food flagrantly illegal and that was an atrocity that killed and maimed far more people, and most of them were civilians, particularly children. It was a horrible time.
And despite their persistent violations those combatants were actually generally noticeably better about following the legal rules than say Trump or Netanyahu have been. If Trump starts a substantial war it's going to be incredibly ugly.
