WW1 New and Improved Weapons!

Artillery Caused between 60% and 70% of the casualties in WW1 Longer range and faster firing than in 1800s Could fire High explosive shells, poison gas or smoke shells Used to kill/wound, destroy trenches, break up enemy attacks and cut “pathways” through barbed wire

Trenches

Machine Guns Machine Gun: can fire up to 800 bullets per minute, took 3 men to carry, set up and fire it and reload it, fed by long ammunition belts of bullets, It’s use, along with better artillery, caused armies to dig long lines of protective trenches First one invented by Hiram Maxim* (cool story!) At start of WW1(1914) British didn’t think it was “honorable” only bought 800, Germans LOVED it, bought 10,000

Airplane: Bi planes and Tri planes, flimsy, light construction, made of wood, wires and often covered over with paper! (flammable!) 1 or two seat versions >First used for recon, then “dog fights” developed between enemy planes, pilots 1st carried pistols, rifles to shoot at other pilots, >later machine guns added directly to planes thanks to “interrupter” mechanism >dropped bombs and grenades by hand then developed racks…

Anti Aircraft gun: First ones were simplyMachine guns, Germans began to first used heavy cannons mounted on trucks, Brits and French copy put in place around airfields, HQs, and artillery sites

Poison Gas: first used by Germans, deployed in glass canisters, steel canisters later 1 in every 4 artillery shells fired in WW1! 3 main types: 1. Tearing agents (Lachrymator) Tear Gas! Used to scare troops into putting on masks, disrupt aim, also sent in first to “MASK” other more deadly gasses to follow, 2. Asphyxiant: poison gas! Includes chlorine, phosgene and diphosgene, chlorine forms hydrochloric acid when it comes in contact with moisture (like lung tissue or in eyes!) no way to treat infected once dose is in 3. Blistering Agent: Mustard Gas! Acts on all exposed moist skin such as eyes, groin and armpits ect. Gas mask could offer very little protection! PROBLEM with gas in war: blows with the winds, can hurt own troops…

TANKS; Invented by British, ( Mark IV) named after water tanks to disguise invention from German spies, Germans and French copied and made own tanks (A7 for Germans) > first used by Brits in 1916 Battle of Somme (ineffectively); had machine guns and small cannons, crew of 4-8 moved across trenches, barbed wire and machine gun nests with ease! Needed infantry with them to protect them from gas bombs, artillery fire, VERY heavy, could move over some bridges, VERY slow 4-8 MPH Weak armor, bullets could splash through seams, cannons could wreck them

U Boats German name for submarine (unterseeboot) Used to sink Allied merchant ships halt /slow the flow of supplies coming across the seas Became primary sea weapon once German surface fleet was pushed back at Battle of Jutland Fired deck gun or (more rarely) used torpedoes to sink a vessel… Could only stay submerged for a few hours, 24 in emergency Allies had to create sonar detection devices to find them and used CONVOYS to gather merchants together for protection by a few warships U-boats were sunk by depth charges