ORIGINAL WWI AEF U.S. SOLDIER TRENCH GAS ALARM RATTLE USED IN WWII NORMANDY

WWI model gas alarm rattle.  This A.E.F. trench gas rattles were also used in WWII in Normandy by American paratroopers.  This particular rattle was found on a farm in France at Amfreville, near the 507th CP.  

This WWI wooden gas rattle is fully operational and still works. This A.E.F. trench gas rattles were also used in WWII.   This is a larger model of the wooden gas alarms and produces a heavy, very loud,  'CRACK'.

“Gas!” This lone word could strike fear and panic into the most stoic doughboy in the American sector of the Western Front. By the time that the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) arrived in France, the use of poison gas was commonplace by the Allies and Central Powers alike. By war’s end, an estimated 1.2 million gas casualties had been suffered on all sides – over 90,000 of these were fatal.

Soldiers developed several ways to warn their fellow soldiers of inbound gas. Whenever the hiss of a gas cylinder or explosion of a shell was heard, a lookout would yell “gas!” to everyone in earshot. To communicate the warning up and down the lines, everything from church bells to air horns was used. Eventually, the men found that klaxon horns and wooden alarm rattles worked best. Alarm rattles were preferable because they were lightweight, easy to carry, and had a simple design. The rattle worked by whirling the device overhead, which caused a loud whirring sound.