Napoleonic Wars with chemical weapons?

Was the use of any kind of chemical weapon feasible during the Napoleonic wars? Modern chemistry had already gotten started in the 18th century, so there was already some rudimentary understanding of certain compounds and processes. Could, for example, poison gases be feasibly used? And was the technology there to deploy such gases, assuming they could be synthesized?

Or would chemical warfare in this era only be feasibly accomplished in traditional ways, e.g. poisoning wells?
 
While yes, I would assume chemical weapons could be used, 2 primary problems come with it: Gas masks did not yet exist in a mass-producible form, and the means of dispersal. The aerosol can wasn't invented until around 1920s, and airplanes didn't exist during the napoleonic wars. I guess artillery shells could be used, but the amount of chemical that could be help in each would probably be too small. The only method I can think of would be congreve rockets, but even that seems unlikely, given their inaccuracy.
 

Wallet

Banned
Biological warfare is much more feasible. It's been used since ancient times. For example, if a deadly illness spreads though your troops, use the dead bodies as ammo to infect the other troops.

But ethically this isn't going to happen in Christian Europe
 

Ramontxo

Donor
AFAIK they were first used ( by the Germans in WWI ) by opening containers in favourable (for them of course) wind conditions. A good time line would have Lavoisier survive the Terror and develop something for the Emperor to use in the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig only for the wind to change at the wrong moment....
 
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Schnozzberry

Gone Fishin'
Donor
It would be pretty tricky, because the technology to produce what would be considered a chemical weapon by modern standards didn't exist in the early 1800s. The only chemical weapons available were materials which could be either burned to produce toxic fumes, or powders that would irritate the skin and eyes, which weren't practical for large-scale use. The exception to this might be shells filled with sulphur, antimony, or some other chemical that produces thick smoke when burnt. They could be used to blind the enemy, and cause issues with poisonous fumes from their smoke.
 

samcster94

Banned
Artillery using sulfur compounds is possible. AFAIK, there are unconfirmed rumors saying Napoleon's forces used sulfur to make proto-gas chambers to kill slaves. Even if they are false, the fact they are theoretically possible shows something.
 
What about clay jars filled with sulfur gas and some sort of smokescreen fired from artillery? Would that work? It could have been used as a fear weapon and a distraction, as well as an irritant and poison in the most ideal of conditions. It wouldn't work extremely well, but its use and a desire to come up with a more potent version could definitely lead tool' Nappy ordering work on something.
 
Chlorine (and derived gases) at least is impossible before the large scale production of electricity, due to the fact that it is made by passing electricity through brine or molten salt. That probably limits us to about 1880 at the earliest.

- BNC
 
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