Why didn't Hitler use chemical weapons against the British? Is this an example of MAD?

by [deleted]

In the blitz for example why didn't Hitler use chemical weapons against the civilian population? Is it because he feared the British doing the same thing and was concerned this would lead to mutually assured destruction?

Georgy_K_Zhukov

This older answer touches on the topic in the larger discussion of post-wwi chemical warfare.

AncientHistory

Hey there,

Just to let you know, your question is fine, and we're letting it stand. However, you should be aware that questions framed as 'Why didn't X do Y' relatively often don't get an answer that meets our standards (in our experience as moderators). There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, it often can be difficult to prove the counterfactual: historians know much more about what happened than what might have happened. Secondly, 'why didn't X do Y' questions are sometimes phrased in an ahistorical way. It's worth remembering that people in the past couldn't see into the future, and they generally didn't have all the information we now have about their situations; things that look obvious now didn't necessarily look that way at the time.

If you end up not getting a response after a day or two, consider asking a new question focusing instead on why what happened did happen (rather than why what didn't happen didn't happen) - this kind of question is more likely to get a response in our experience. Hope this helps!