Page 70 - All About History - Issue 09-14
P. 70
10 dirty tricks of World War II Soldiers wearing gas masks
in the trenches during WWI
851 604 CA classified
Itching powder
t sounds like the stuff of comics, but itching
powder was seen as a powerful, nonlethal
tool of war that would leave the opposition
scratching themselves like mad due to the
I frustrating distraction.
The SOE was instrumental in its production. 851 605 CA
Made up of small seed hairs and disguised in classified
foot powder tins so it could be shipped without
detection, agents would attempt to apply the
powder to clothing. Archived instructions suggest: Bad smells
“The greatest effect is produced by applying the
powder to the inside of the underclothing.” That
would have meant much itching in the most
embarrassing of places. substance called ‘Who me?’ was so
In Norway in 1941, members of the resistance stinky that it earned itself an entry in
movement spread it on bedding and clothing used A
the Guinness Book of Records for being
by German soldiers in a military laundry. Members the smelliest substance on Earth. It was
of the Durham organisation set up by resistance created by the United States Office of
member Erik-Ørn Gjems-Onstad to conduct Strategic Services with the intention of allowing
psychological warfare in 1944, used itching powder French Resistance fighters to force German
in contraceptives in military brothels. In one case, occupiers to hold their noses not only in disbelief at
it resulted in scores of Germans being admitted the smell but in sheer disgust.
to Tronheim Hospital in Norway where it was It is believed the smell was made up of white
believed they had fallen prey to a particularly nasty mineral oil, skatole, n-butanoic acid, n-pentanoic
sexually transmitted disease. acid, n-hexanoic acid and pentanethiol. Shipped to
Itching powder also had a more sinister side. Paris, this sulphurous, putrid-smelling compound
Reports suggest an itching powder developed by was designed to humiliate. It was distributed in
scientists early in the war was incredibly strong and pocket atomisers and all a Resistance member had
had the potential to make victims blind if it got into to do was get close enough to a German officer
their eyes, although this version didn’t appear to and spray him. Others would then reel away from
have been used to a great extent. the victim, horrified by the smell, which was akin
to faecal matter. Unfortunately, due to the way the
Devised by: Britain smell was distributed, it was easy enough for the
Resistance member to be accidentally sprayed as
Did it work? In some quarters, well, which meant the plan didn’t always go quite
very much so, causing irritation and as well as hoped.
discomfort among the opposition troops Stink bombs were commonly used during World
and amusement among the perpetrators War II. US soldiers in Italy would pretend there was
in an almost childish fashion. 16 -- 30853 --4 poison gas around buildings that had been bombed
to deter looters and they would sometimes back
Warning this up with stink bombs to make entering such
premises far less appealing. Norwegian resistance
Erik-Ørn Gjems-Onstad,
Norwegian resistance fighter fighters would throw them in public places where
the occupiers tended to congregate.
Devised by: United States
Did it work? m:KR PH"n ZRUNHG LQ
the sense that it made the capital of
)UDQFH VPHOO ZRUVH WKDQ WKH VHZHUV
that ran beneath the beautiful city. The
H[SHULPHQW XOWLPDWHO\ HQGHG DIWHU WZR
ZHHNV DQG ZDV GHHPHG D IDLOXUH
Warning
16 -- 30853 --5
Disclosing this information will result in Court Martial
70
