during the entire war, the icrc monitored warring parties' compliance with the geneva conventions of the 1907 revision and forwarded complaints about violations to the respective country. when chemical weapons were used in this war for the first time in history, the icrc vigorously protested against this new type of warfare. even without having a mandate from the geneva conventions, the icrc tried to ameliorate the suffering of civil populations. in territories that were officially designated as "occupied territories," the icrc could assist the civilian population on the basis of the hague convention's "laws and customs of war on land" of 1907. this convention was also the legal basis for the icrc's work for prisoners of war. in addition to the work of the international prisoner-of-war agency as described above this included inspection visits to pow camps. a total of 524 camps throughout europe were visited by 41 delegates from the icrc until the end of the war.