Weapons of World War I Militarism: Belief in Having/Building a strong Military Europe was in an Arms Races to see who could build the biggest Army and Navy. The Ruling Class felt that only through a war could you become a world power

Britain Vs. Germany The growing European divide over colonial empires had led to an arms race between the main countries. There was fierce competition between Britain and Germany for mastery of the seas. –This led to the arms race, where both countries were in a sort if race to build the most Dreadnoughts. (most heavily- armed ship in history)

U-Boats Germany Also Countered the Dreadnought with a new weapon the submarine or U-Boat became a lethal weapon of war Used primarily by Germans Was considered a cowardly weapon Mainly Used against merchant Ships to block supplies from reaching the Allied powers

Artillery Shells Artillery was the great leveler. Nobody could stand more than three hours of sustained shelling caused many soldiers to start feeling sleepy and numb. Sometimes shelling could last up to 8 days, after which then enemy would attack the tired and weak enemy. Artillery cannons could easily destroy an entire town, forests, or trench.

French Soldiers with a Typical Artillery Gun

Long Range Guns

A French Village Before Artillery Fire… …and After the Shells Hit

Aftermath of Artillery Fire, One of the British “ Men With Broken Faces ”

Chemical Weapons Effects of poison gas ranged from asphyxiation (Choking) by Chlorine Gas. to painful blistering all over the body caused by Mustard Gas.

Chemical Weapons and Poison Gas "The vapor settled to the ground like a swamp mist and drifted toward the French trenches on a brisk wind. Its effect on the French was a violent nausea and faintness, followed by an utter collapse.” If you were unfortunate to breath in this noxious chlorine gas, which had a distinctive smell of pepper and pineapple, your lungs essentially melted in your chest

French Soldiers Loading a Gas Weapon Launcher

Gas Canisters Exploding over Trenches During the Battle of Verdun

Early gas masks were made of canvas with charcoal filters. While not comfortable, the masks provided some protection from poison gases. Rubber masks were not manufactured until late in the war.

An Early Gas Mask Drill of British soldiers

Tanks and Armored Cars The tank was developed by the British during World War I as a solution to the stalemate “trench warfare” The idea of a bullet-proof machine had an obvious appeal but the early models were extremely unreliable. They were clumsy slow metal death traps. With a Top speed of at About 4 mph

An Early French Two-Man Tank

View of a British Tank Going “ Over the Top ” –Top speed of at About 4 mph

As tanks proved their effectiveness, Allied Assembly line production of the armored vehicles increased rapidly. This is a view of a British tank factory.

Armored cars were used by both sides at the rear of the trenches. Note the machine gun turret and armored wheels.

Aircraft Zeppelins were huge blimps that were filled with the Hydrogen. The main Purpose of the zeppelin was as a scout ship and sometimes to drop bombs

A German Zeppelin, the Early Form of Aircraft Used in War

WWI was the 1st time Airplanes were used in Battle

An Allied Fighter Plane

A German Fighter Plane

Repairing Damage to a Bomber

Lee Enfield Rifle The Lee-Enfield was first Clip loaded Riffle introduced in 1907 And was the British Army's main infantry weapon. A well trained soldier were able to fire 15 rounds per minute. The Lee-Enfield could be aimed accurately over about 600 meters

Vickers Machine gun It fired around 450 rounds per minute After some 10,000 rounds had been fired the gun barrel required replacement. Very Heavy and hard to transport from site to site without great effort. The gun itself was usually operated by a team of six men.

War Totals 8,300, Estimated combatants killed 1,200, Austro-Hungarian military killed in the Great War 1,385, French military killed in the Great War 1,700, Russian military killed in the Great War 1,808, German military killed in the Great War 116, American military killed, all causes 325, Turkish military killed in the Great War 460, Italian military killed in the Great War 529, British and Commonwealth military killed: neither identified nor found 584, British and Commonwealth military killed: identified and buried 7,000, Estimated combatants maimed for life, all nations 8,000, Est. civilians killed in Great War: Non-influenza