THE USE OF CHEMICAL AGENTS IN WORLD WAR History has proven the use of chemical weapons for decades. From the Greeks of ancient Europe using Greek fire to South American tribes using a form of tear gas made from ground hot peppers to scare away enemy tribes. As well as dipping the tips of the spear points with a poisonous toxin. Toxic toxins used from living reptiles such as frogs and venom from snakes found in any region with venom strong enough to be exterminated. The past has proven that for armies to survive and win, they must engage the enemy. New technologies and advancements in weaponry were left to the brightest minds of those eras to develop. As we enter the 20th century, the similarities are almost identical. World War I not only shaped modern warfare, but even focused worldwide attention on the brutal and inhumane toll of war. As stipulated in the Geneva Protocol, signed in 1925, prohibiting the use of chemical weapons in war? While a welcome step, the Protocol had a number of significant gaps, including that it did not prohibit the development, production or stockpiling of chemical weapons. A look back at how chemical weapons developed from the start of World War 1, it all started with tear gas used by the French in August 1914. These techniques were used in ancient times. After eight months of war, the Germans studied the development of chemical weapons in depth due to their first use by the French and witnessed their great effectiveness and were the first to use them on a large scale. i...... middle of paper ......usion The First World War introduced new combat tactics with trench warfare and the use of chemical weapons. With America's entry into the war, leaders failed to prepare by not studying German gas tactics and the application of their doctrine. America did not ignore the fact that the gas war proved inhumane, but it will not be left unprepared, the threat was real to the country's civilians. Banning the use of chemicals in warfare was a big step in the right direction. . (1925). Geneva, France: Government of the French Republic.B”Heller, CE (1984). Leavenworth Papers No. 10. Chemical Warfare in World War I. Institute for Combat Studies.C » CDC | Sulfur mustard facts. (May 2, 2013). Accessed May 20, 2014, from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/sulfurmustard/basics/facts.asp