Weapons of World War I – Part Two Other weapons being used during WWI were considered unconventional These weapons were designed to not only kill but to inflict serious pain Some were considered unfair or unethical Many were also very dangerous for the person using the weapon

# 6 The Flame Thrower Was first used by the Germans but used later by British & French Spreads fire by launching burning fuel A cylinder containing the device & fuel was carried on your back Advantage: could easily destroy large amounts of territory Disadvantage: unethical to burn people alive, very dangerous to the person carrying the device if it explodes

#7 Grenade Launchers Developed by the French, it was a handheld device that could launch grenades a long distance At first, they were sort of like a sling shot Later, they could be fired out of an air rifle Advantage: launched grenades further than a person could throw Disadvantage: could fall off sling shot or get stuck in rifle and blow up

#8 Trench Mortars A mortar is a short, wide tube that fires a missile/bomb at a steep angle so that it falls straight down on the enemy – like an cannon pointed up Germans used this weapons at first much to the surprise of the Allies Advantage: could be fired from inside the trench, took out machine gun posts, destroyed trenches Disadvantage: hard to aim, could explode inside trench

#9 Poison Gas The French were the first to use tear gas to disable an enemy Later, Germany develops mustard gas and ammonia based poison gas Germany widely used poison gas against allied troops. Later both sides use poison gas as a weapon Soldiers and animals would need to use gas masks – some don’t work well Gas caused choking, blindness, severe blisters and death Advantage: fairly undetectable, enemy doesn’t see it coming Disadvantage: seen as a very unethical weapon. Treaties were signed after WWI that bans poison gas warfare

Nearly 90,000 of the 9.7 million casualties were due to poison gas Country Total Casualties Gas Death Austria-Hungary 1.2 million 3,000 British Empire 908,371 8,109 France 1.4 million 8,000 Germany 1.8 million 9,000 Italy 650,000 4,627 Russia 1.7 million 56,000 USA 116,708 1,462 Ottoman Empire 800,000 1,000