Chennault, Claire (1890–1958) Japanese chemical warfare research was German in inspiration and origin, including testing on prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates By the early 1930s all Japanese Army divisions deployed chemical warfare specialists called “gas personnel.” Japan used chemical weapons extensively in China, although this was denied by its military leaders Lewisite and mustard gas shells were used to bombard Chinese defenders on numerous occasions—the decision was left to local commanders The main reason for extensive battlefield use of gas weapons on the Asian mainland by the Japanese was that they had no fear of Chinese or Mongolian retaliation in kind Other lethal weapons actually used by the Japanese Army included toxic “special smokes,” prussic acid grenades and bombs, and poison gas issued from “candles” into Chinese strongpoints, pill boxes, and tunnels However, from 1942 the Japanese feared U.S chemical retaliation and therefore abjured from use of chemical weapons in the Pacific, even though some island garrisons had chemical capabilities in their arsenal On rare occasions, Japanese troops in the Pacific used a “chibi-dan” bomb: a glass ball fi lled with liquid poison that gasified on contact with air The Western Allies reciprocated nonuse of lethal chemical weapons, even though they had a significant advantage in quantity and delivery systems The source of restraint was Franklin Roosevelt, who publicly renounced “first use” and personally vetoed proposed use of gas to winnow the Japanese out of caves on Iwo Jima, despite the inability of the Japanese Army to massively retaliate on that island or elsewhere There is evidence that, were the Japanese home islands invaded in 1945–1946, each side was prepared to use chemical weapons in all-out fighting The Allies would also have used atomic weapons behind the battlefield See also Badoglio, Pietro; Italian Air Force; nerve agents; white phosphorus CHENNAULT, CLAIRE (1890–1958) American general Chennault was a retired U.S pilot and fighter tactician He served as a colonel in the Chinese Air Force and as adviser to Jiang Jieshi while the United States was still neutral He learned much from observing Soviet pilots of the VVS flying for Jiang against the Japanese, thereafter developing disciplined tactics that used team and formation fighting to counter initial Japanese advantages in speedier and more agile aircraft In 1940 Chennault organized a volunteer pilot scheme that led to creation of the American Volunteer Group, or “Flying Tigers.” He was recalled to the USAAF and promoted to general in April 1942 He was named commander of the China Air Task Force, later redesignated the 14th Air Force, in July Based at first in India, the 14th flew supplies “over the Hump” to Jiang’s forces in Chongqing From October 1942, Chennault organized efforts to bomb Japan with long-range aircraft based in southern China The project was not a success, but provoked the Japanese Ichi-Goˉ campaign that was hugely damaging to the Guomindang in 1944 Unlike his superior Joseph Stilwell, Chennault got along well with Jiang, but the intense personal frictions that dominated the CBI theater led him to resign in July 1945 By that time his air bases had been overrun by the Japanese Army, the USAAF had long since lost faith in the China route for bombing Japan, and B-29s had already ravaged Japan’s cities from bases in the Central Pacific 223