Battle of Britian: Skull and bones?

Good f***ing luck trying to get any work out of a horse wearing a gasmask, assuming you can even get it on the horse in the first place.


I guess armies on both sides of WW1's Western Front trench line had huge amounts of that good f***ing luck then because horses and other animals were routinely masked.

If you'd bothered image googling the phrase "WW1 horses", the second image would have shown you a masked horse. There's even a masked dog on the first page.
 
British civil preparedness was not bad, although they would suffer heavy casualties in the "first" strike due to people panicking and applying their masks incorrectly or being complacent

The problem comes when they come out. The German 1937 version of mustard gas, (which they produced in considerable quantities) could poison right through most clothing AND it had the consistancy of tar (plus its water solubility was a lot less than previous versions)

So the big issue would be when the bombers leave, and the all clear alarm rings, people return to their homes; however their homes, lawns, steps and streets have poison on them (and poison that could easily still be quite potent for at least two weeks in the fall even with occassional rain)

My TL the sword unsheathed with explore a lot of this
 
Wouldn't mustard gas be a problem for horses though? Seeing as all it needs is contact with the skin?

It was a problem for the troops too seeing as military grade HAZMAT suiting was about 40 years in the future. The troops used primitive smocks and horses were gowned in a similar fashion. The war not only saw the return of protective helmets, it saw the return of barding too.

And, simply because masks were of little use against mustard gas doesn't mean masks were of no use at all.
 
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Then His Majesty's Government orders retaliatory strikes on German population centers, and the vicious cycle gets more vicious. The war goes on, and Hitler orders preparations for the invasion of Russia the following summer.

Churchill had the scientists at Gruinard Island work on a program of biological warfare IIRC, with the idea of targeting German cities. So, the Germans drop Sarin on London, the Brits drop anthrax bombs on German targets, both sides take increasingly desperate measures, and pretty soon WW2 stops, as society collapses in belligerent and occupied countries.
 
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