Disaster at Bari

New York: The Macmillan Company, 1971. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xii, [2], 301, [5] pages. Illustrations. Appendix. Bibliography. Index. DJ is in a plastic sleeve. Glenn B. Infield wrote nine books and 300 articles dealing with aviation and the Germany of World War II. Mr. Infield was best known for ''Eva and Adolf,'' published in 1974. Mr. Infield also wrote ''Disaster at Bari,'' an account of a poison gas incident during World War II, and ''Unarmed and Unafraid,'' a history of aerial reconnaissance. Mr. Infield was a bomber pilot in World War II. Through a tragic coincidence intended by neither of the opposing sides in World War II, Bari gained the unwelcome distinction of being the only European city to experience chemical warfare in the course of that war. On the night of December 2, 1943, German Junkers Ju 88 bombers attacked the port of Bari, which was a key supply centre for Allied forces fighting their way up the Italian Peninsula. Several Allied ships were sunk in the overcrowded harbor, including the U.S. Liberty ship John Harvey, which was carrying mustard gas; mustard gas was also reported to have been stacked on the quayside awaiting transport. The chemical agent was intended for use if German forces initiated chemical warfare. The presence of the gas was highly classified, and authorities ashore had no knowledge of it. This increased the number of fatalities, since physicians-who had no idea that they were dealing with the effects of mustard gas-prescribed treatment proper for those suffering from exposure and immersion, which proved fatal in many cases. Because rescuers were unaware they were dealing with gas casualties, many additional casualties were caused among the rescuers through contact with the contaminated skin and clothing of those more directly exposed to the gas. By the end of the month, 83 of the 628 hospitalized military victims had died. The number of civilian casualties, thought to have been even greater, could not be accurately gauged since most had left the city to seek shelter with relatives.