Figure 1.--The only country in Europe to have developed a substsantisal offensive capability to deliver chemical weapons at the onset of World War II was the Soviet Union. Here we see Young Pioners with gas masks (1937). We do not know to what extent Soviet authorities ininiated civil defense precautions and planning. This looks more like a propaganda photograph than evidence of wide-spread Soviet civil defense preparation. Soviet propagandists seem to added an ominous looking sky. Put your cursor on the image for a closeup.

No country suffered more as aesult of chemicl weaoons during World War I than Ryssia. There are believed ti habeen more than 0.5 million Russian caualties as a result of German use of chemical agents. The Germans used chemical agents extensively in the Eastern Front ancd he Russians unlike the Western Allies had no response. As is the case in other areas, the countries suffering from a particular weapo focused resarch and development on it after the War. The Soviets as a result develoopment a major chemical asnd biological weaons program after the War. The Soviets with initial German assistance developed a massive cheical weapons industry. Much of the pre-War development was based on German-Soviet military Rapollo cooperation during the 1920s. Becauuse if the horrors of Wirkld war I, the allies very closely mionitired tge German chemical industry . So the Gernman needed faciklities outside of Hermasny to work on chemival weapos. Andc this privided the Sioviets the technologyb they needed tio jump startv their prigram. [Jphnsom] Very limited information, however, is available on the Soviet industry. Unlike Western World War II archives, Soviet archives on many sensitive matters are still closed to researchers, especially Western researchers. The Soviet chemical weapon industry appears to have been based primarily on Yperite and Lewisite. Yperite was a World War I agent, named after the battle of Ypers where the Germans introduced the agent. Presumably the Soviets obtained the technology to produce Yperite as a result of Rapollo cooperation with the Germans during the 1920s. Lewisite is an agent developed in America the end of the War. We are not sure how the Soviets obtained Lewisite technology and why they chose to produce this particulasr agent. Thirty Soviet plants produced Yperite. They had the capacity to produce 35,000 tons annually. Thirteen plants produced Lewisite. [Note: We are not sure if the plant and capacity data is based on the situation before or after the German invasion.] We are not sure yet just where the plants were located. Nothing in the Soviet arsenal were nearly as potent as the Tabun and Sarin developed by the Germans. Much of the Soviet chemical weapon industry was built after German-Soviet cooperation was ended after Hitler seized power. The Soviet Union was the only country in Europe to have developed a substsantial offensive capability to deliver chemical weapons at the onset of World War II (September 1939). [Dear and Foot] The Red Air Force was the largest in the world. Agents can also be delivered by arillery shells as was the principal method during World War I, but air delvery is a much more effective method, improving both range and accuracy. The Germans had a substantial stockpile og chemical agents (about 2,900 tons), but had not yet developed effective means of delivering the agents. Hitler had banned their offensive use and thus delivery methods had not been developed. We do not know to what extent Soviet authorities ininiated civil defense precautions and planning.

Sources

Johnson, Ian. Faustian Brgain: The Soviet-German Partnership and the Origins of the Second World (Oxford University Press: 2021), 384p.