World war one weapons new technology

Yasmeen KallaWorld war one weapons new technology

Machine gunsMachine guns were first used in the American Civil War to an overwhelming result. However, when World War One had occurred these machine guns got out of control and their effectiveness reached frightening new levels. Firing up to 600 bullets a minute (equivalent of 250 men with rifles). Machine Guns were then deemed to be weapons of mass destruction.

This weaponries were the new and upgraded versions of cannon back in World War One. For four years the British had been using artillery and firing 170 million shells in that time. However, Germany had a plan. For years, German Scientists were conducting and developing the biggest artillery known to man-kind. It was called the Big Bertha. This extraordinary weapon could fire at the heart of Paris from 120 kilometers away. This was practical and effective as the artillery fire killed hundreds and thousands of men and blew ground thus, made hiding much more difficult.Artillery

These were highly poisonous, and very effective during war. The Germans had invented 3 main gas grenades. The first was Chlorine gas, which was used at the battle of Ypres in 1915. Second was Phosgene gas and third was Mustard gas. They burned the lungs of the inhaler leaving them to die. Gas masks were mandatory for usage but they werent as useful which resulted in the death of many innocent people. Gas grenades

Transportation had increased as more troops were needed at battlefields. British forces used a variety of transportation methods such as trains, lorries, and even taxis. They had transported 500 men in 1914; 250 taxis took the reserve troops to the Battle of Marne and thousands of lorries were used to transport troops to Verdun in 1916. transportation

Columns of troops travelling by motor lorry Tanks were known as The Chariots of God at first, they were simply giant blocks of metal that could carry 1-2 personnel and traveled at about 5 kilometers per hour. However, Scientists kept making and improving tanks that by 1918 the Anglo-American Mark 8th could carry up to 8 men and at the same time fire 208 shells and up to 13,000 bullets. Despite the fact that they were powerful they werent as reliable. Most broke down during warfare.

Tanks

There were new types of weapons used in advanced technological warfare. They had everything from mini scout planes to huge blimp like bombers called Zeppelins. Air warfare was not seen as important as any other type so it did not have its own category.

Planes

The Scout C WW1 plane, flown by Lanoe Hawker on 25 July 1915

Naval ships were considered extremely important for some of the war. The British specialized in ships such as Battleships whereas the Germans specialized in Submarines.

Naval Units