Chemical warfare in World War IWorld War I was beginning to invent new ways to inflict more casualties on enemy forces and reduce the likelihood of losing soldiers from their own defensive or offensive line. They achieved this by conducting extensive research into chemical warfare. At the same time, it would motivate the troops and win the hearts and minds of their country's citizens if they found new ways to end the war quickly. Chemical warfare affected warfare tactics and techniques and almost changed the outcome of World War I. (LTG Carl E. Vuono) The French were the first to experiment with chemical agents in 1912. They first used them on their people to combat riots. capture the criminals who had robbed a bank. They used 26 millimeter grenades filled with chemical agents at the center of the group of criminals they were trying to apprehend. It was not said whether it was effective, but the possibility of using it for other purposes continued to be investigated. However, at that time the Germans were not interested in producing chemical weapons. On July 28, 1914, the war began with the Allies and the Central Powers in Europe. The Allied Powers consisted mainly of Great Britain, France, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and then the United States and Italy. The Central Powers consisted of Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. No one in Europe wanted this war to last because they believed and shared the common belief that the economies of European nations would not be able to survive a war. of this scale. (MAJ (P) Charles E. Heller, USAR) Germany therefore began to study the use of gas as a weapon, bearing in mind the Declaration on the Use of Projectiles for the Diffusion of Asphyxiating or Asphyxiating Gases. deleterious; Ju...... middle of paper ......d was mustard gas and it is still produced today in third world countries. Today there are more and more deadly chemical weapons and each country in the world continues to produce, in secret, a more powerful chemical or biological weapon for its own use. At the same time, we continually try to improve our protective posture and equipment to deal with any situation or mission assigned to us for the greater good of our nation. Works CitedClark, DK (1959). Effectiveness of chemical weapons during the First World War. Bethesda, Maryland: Office of Operations Research, Johns Hopkins University. Fries, A. A. and West, C. J. (1921). Chemical warfare,. New York [etc. : McGraw-Hill book company, inc. Heller, C.E. (1985). Chemical Warfare in World War I: The American Experience, 1917-1918. Fort Leavenworth, Kan. : Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College ;.