Chemical Weapons

Chemical weapons are certainly not the same as conventional weapons since they deal with the use of toxic characteristics of certain chemical materials and are not as concerned about exploding things as is the case with conventional weapons. The aim of using chemical weapons is to destroy the enemy physically and also physiologically. In addition, it would be wrong to think about chemical weapons as a modern manmade invention because it has in fact been used from antiquity as well, though today’s such weapons are far more lethal than anything known to man till date.

In fact, World War I certainly saw extensive use of chemical weapons and it even had a decided influence on the outcome of many battles, and in the process many casualties were inflicted on the opposing armies. That is why the Geneva Protocol made it unlawful to use chemical weapons in war and this Protocol was signed by almost every country in the year 1925.

However, the use of chemical weapons has not been abolished because countries such as Italy have used them in wars in Ethiopia while the Japanese also used them against the Manchurians and also the Chinese despite having signed the Geneva Convention. Nevertheless, the Allies foreswore from deliberately using such weapons during the Second World War despite owning vast amounts of chemical weapons.

Also, the chemicals used in the making of chemical weapons has also undergone many changes from the time of the First World War at which time the chemicals used consisted mainly of simple materials that were nothing worse than chemicals used in industrial use and those that were derived from such chemicals and these weapons were termed as classic chemical weapons.

Of course, in more recent times, things such as mustard and phosgene as well as other agents have been used in making chemical weapons, and this was especially the case during the Second World War though thankfully such weapons were not used despite being amassed in huge quantities. There are also nerve gases used in chemical weapons whose action is much like that of pesticides and thus they are very lethal as well.