phosphorus basically eats away at the skin and feels like a 3rd degree burn. In WW2 it was used and at the time the only way to stop it was to amputate the limb. It was basically likened to be burned alive except you do not die and the pain stays.
Still in use, AFAIK. I know, against signed conventions; but still out there. In the mid-80s we faced Syrian troops in Lebanon who had phosphorus shells and grenades. I never treated any injuries from it, but we sure trained on how to! I knew medics who had treated phosphorus burns in earlier Arab-Israeli conflicts. Locally, it was referred to as 'white smoke' munitions. Some of the Syrian tanks carried chemical warfare shells, based on Soviet doctrine.
