Why didn't Hitler use chemical weapons?

[David1819]

Germany had stock piles of various munitions such as sarin, tabun and cyanide however refused to resort to using them.

Stockpiles totalled a combined estimate 78,000 tons of chemical weapons "Delivery systems for the nerve agents included 105 mm and 150 mm artillery shells, a 250 kg bomb and a 150 mm rocket" Such weapons could have been useful in Stalingrad, was it ever considered to unleash this arsenal in 1945 as a final throw of the dice?

[steverodgers801]

The allies also had chemical weapons and Hitler, having experienced being gassed did not want to risk Germany being hit in retaliation.

[Niklas68]

The consequences of the air raid on Bari in late 1943 revealed the Allies had chemical weapons (mustard gas), possibly kept as precaution in case germany used them. Still interesting Hitler never considered using them, not even when the soviets were closing in on Germany and at a time defeat was very imminent. Speaks in his favour imo.

[toque]

My father was at Bari and was actually on the quayside when the ship was hit. He was burned with mustard gas and bore the scars until he died. He told me that the he, and the other wounded, were taken to military hospital and kept apart from everyone else. There were armed guards on the doors. Later, everyone there was threatened into silence.

It was his opinion that the gas was going to be used at Monte Cassino.

[pintere]

It is a bit strange, especially when you consider Hitler condemned the German people in the last days of the war. You would think he'd do it as a last resort. I guess by the very last stages of the war, chemical weapons had been avoided for so long that Hitler forgot all about them :roll: .

[Knouterer]

If I remember correctly, Hitler DID order a few million defenceless civilians to be gassed, so it seems a TINY bit unlikely that he abstained from the use of gas as a weapon of war for "humanitarian reasons", doesn't it?
More likely, the reason was that in a war of movement good opportunities occurred very seldom. In WWI there usually was time to stockpile gas shells (or other means of delivery) and the enemy could generally be relied upon to stay where he was and take his dose. In WWII, by the time chemical weapons could be delivered to the front in quantity, the front line might well have moved, apart from changes of wind and weather that made the planned operation hazardous or impossible.
It might also happen that own troops would have to cross an area that had recently been saturated with gas. Given the choice, German artillery commanders - who were always short of transport anyway - would certainly have much preferred to carry HE shells rather than the same weight in gas shells that they might never be able to use effectively.

[steverodgers801]

I wonder how much was left of the stockpiles in those last days and if the troops were available who knew how to deploy them

[ROLAND1369]

The best possible answer is most likely because, of the allied leaders, he was the only one who had actually experienced and seen the effects of gas during the first world war.

[wm]

More likely, the reason was that in a war of movement good opportunities occurred very seldom. In WWI there usually was time to stockpile gas shells (or other means of delivery) and the enemy could generally be relied upon to stay where he was and take his dose.

They didn't use gas shells in that manner even in WWI, and they could be used in a war of movement without a problem.
Basically persistent gas agents were used as area denial weapons, they were "stinky" minefields laid by artillery. Or for example they were used to attack railheads or supply depots. Non-persistent gas shells mixed with conventional ones were used to provide fire support.

[BDV]

Some primary sources would be nice... the above is more or less speculative.

[wm]

Well, some random cites:

Germany believed in using surprise and high concentrations of gas against the Allies. They also fired both chemical and high explosive shells during an attack so that the result was even more deadly than either of the attacks by themselves. Persistent agents often served as gas barriers in both the offence and the defence.

The use of gas barriers and gas pockets to limit the advance of troops through certain areas and channelise them into kill zones also changed the battlefield.
Brian Blodgett, Germany's Use of Chemical Warfare in World War I

From Chemical warfare in World War I : the American experience, 1917-1918, by Charles E. Heller:

[Germans] were, for example, the first to use gas as an adjunct to maneuver in support of an infantry attack.

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