Holding Their Breath: How the Allies Confronted the Threat of Chemical Warfare in World War II

Author/Contributor(s):	Dorsey, Marion Girard
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Date:	03/15/2024
Binding:	Paperback
Condition:	NEW

"Holding Their Breath uncovers just how close Britain, the United States, and Canada came to crossing the red line that restrained chemical weapon use during World War II. Unlike in World War I, belligerents did not release poison gas regularly during the Second World War. The looming threat of chemical warfare significantly affected the actions and attitudes of these three nations as they prepared their populations for war. M. Girard Dorsey reveal that although the Allies did not release poison gas on the battlefield in World War II, experts as well as lay people dedicated significant time and energy to the weapon's potential use; they did not view chemical warfare as obsolete or taboo. Poison gas was an influential weapon in World War II, even if not deployed in a traditional way, and arms control, for various reasons, worked. Thus, what did not happen is just as important as what did. Holding Their Breath provides insight into these potentialities by untangling World War II diplomacy and chemical weapons use in a new way."--