ABSTRACT
On July 12, 1917, Allied troops on a battlefield near Ypres, Belgium, began
noticing redness on their skin and some redness in and irritation of their eyes.
At first they thought they had contacted a disease, but when the skin erythema
began turning to blisters they realized that the Germans had used a new
chemical agent. Because of its odor, this agent was called “mustard” by the
Allies, a name that is still used 85 years later.
