Medicine and OB (toxic substances)

April 22, 1915, the day of the first gas balloon attack, can be considered a date not only in the history of military affairs, but also in medicine. On this day, the means of military equipment turned out to be largely untenable. The achieved balance between the means of attack and the means of defense, the powerful achievements of military engineering structures designed to resist the destructive power of the energy of elastic gases of explosives-turned out to be violated, as if bypassed. Moreover, these deep structures, usually located below the level of the earth's surface, could not be better impressed by the new combat weapons-chemical weapons. Due to the physical properties of the new order, it was these fortifications-lowlands, hollows, trenches, ravines - that turned out to be the most vulnerable object of exposure to toxic substances. On the same day, the means of medical care also proved to be untenable. The last word of military medicine-rich equipment and tools and an individual package-could not cope with the new demands presented by life. The distraught tens of thousands of people who turned to the legal authority-the doctor-for help could not get it because of complete surprise, unpreparedness and ignorance of the essence of suffering.