Call for Papers: GAS! The influence of chemical warfare agents. Past and present

22 April 1915 marked the first use on a massive scale of gas as
a warfare combat method in history. Although gas was never
fully integrated into combined arms warfare, its use led to the
development of new offensive techniques, spurred advances
in protective measures, and prompted changes in the law of
armed conflict. Moreover, these weapons’ physical and
psychological impacts changed the way people viewed war.

111 years later the War Heritage Institute and the Royal Military
Academy organise a conference about chemical agents used
during military operations. The conference intends to address
several topics. It will examine the historical use of gas and
focus on its contemporary traces and material remnants.
The types of agents and their medical, psychological and
environmental impacts can also be addressed. Lastly, we will
concentrate on the modern-day use of these chemical agents.

We encourage researchers, academics and professionals,
both within and beyond the discipline of history, to submit
their proposals for insights, studies and articles regarding
the topics listed above. All submissions will be evaluated
by a panel of experts. Each submission will be evaluated
(rated) according to the criteria shown below:
• Appropriateness and importance of the topic
• Originality of the topic
• Organization and clarity of the abstract
• Geographical distribution of speakers
Selected candidates will be invited to present their
contributions at the event. Papers are to be submitted
and presented in English. Selected and presented papers
will be published in the congress proceedings.

The conference will take place in Brussels on 23 and
24 April 2026.

The submission has to include an abstract (with
provisional title) of minimum 400 and maximum
500 words and a short résumé of the CV of the
author(s) (both as pdf e-mail attachments). The
deadline for proposal submissions is 15 November
2025. Acceptance notifications will be sent out not
later than 20 January 2026

Submissions and queries are to be addressed to
congressgas2026@warheritage.be