Come with C.O.A.

This WWI wooden gas rattle is fully operational and still works. This A.E.F. trench gas rattle shows extensive use and where and even a rare soldier’s repair job from a split wood piece on the bottom bar. The rattle still maintains the original “FOR USE AS GAS ALARM ONLY”.

“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.

When gas was introduced onto the battlefield in 1915, it was common to use large cylinders that would send billowing clouds of gasses like Xylyl bromide and chlorine towards the enemy lines. This was a risky endeavor, as a sudden shift in the wind could result in friendly casualties. To mitigate this risk, the preferred method of delivery for gas by the time the AEF took the field was an artillery shell that could safely carry the dreaded menace out of friendly lines before exploding.

Soldiers developed several ways to warn their fellow doughboys 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.