Swedish soldiers of the German Corps of Scandinavian Fishermen, picture from 1915-1916.

Swedish soldiers of the German Corps of Scandinavian Fishermen, picture from 1915-1916.

The action of the so-called German Scandinavian Fishermen Corps (Skandinavisches Fischerkorps), deployed on the Western Front in 1916, is one of the somewhat forgotten chapters in the history of the "Great War."

By 1915, the Western Front had been stuck at a dead-spot in the trench war, with neither side being able to change course. To break the stagnation, the Germans began developing poisonous gases for use in combat.

On April 25, 1915, the Germans first deployed chlorine gas through cylinders in French and Canadian positions, marking the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres.

While the gas strike was a success, the Germans acknowledged how dependent the gas cylinders were on wind direction. Instead, it was decided to use gas grenades, which would be placed on fishing rods and thrown through no man's land from German trenches directly to Allied lines.

This task required experience, so the Germans decided to form an elite unit for this purpose, recruiting as members fishermen who knew the trajectory of fishing rods better than anyone else. The Germans considered that the most skillful fishermen were of Scandinavian descent from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, all countries that were season neutral.

By offering an adventure and a respectable pay, the Germans dedicated themselves to recruiting Scandinavian fishermen, forming the Scandinovian Fishermen Corps. By the end of 1915, the Germans had recruited more than 10,000 fishermen, most of them from Sweden.

The Scandinavian Fishermen Corps was deployed for the first time on April 27, 1916 at Hulluch in Flanders. About 3,000 Swedish, Danish and Norwegian fishermen gathered in German frontline trenches versus British positions.

At exactly 3 in the morning, the Scandinavians began placing phosphorus gas and chlorine grenades on their fishing rods and threw them into the British trenches with the greatest precision and devastation.

Usually, the gas could be detected before it got to British trenches, and soldiers could prepare and put on their old-fashioned masks in time.

This time, however, gas grenades attacked with such speed from fishing rods, that British frontline troops were taken entirely by surprise.

A British officer described the scene: "... We looked above the window and, in horror, saw hundreds of grenades falling from above, releasing their deadly contents upon impact. Many had taken off their masks. It was a mess."

During the Hulluch gas attack, the British suffered about 1,260 casualties from the gas, and more than 338 succumbed to it. The British had responded with artillery fire, which had caused about 600 casualties to the Scandinavian Fishermen Corps.

However, the losses suffered by the Scandinavian Fishermen Corps in Hulluch, as well as the cries of British soldiers in opposite trenches, had had a severe impact on the Scandinavians.

As a result, the Scandinavians began to mobilize, demanding their exit from the war and their return to Scandinavia. Under international pressure from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, the Germans retreated and dissolved the Scandinavian Fishermen Corps shortly after.