1. New Weapons in World War I

2. World War I has been called the “first modern war” because it saw the introduction of MANY new and devastating weapons.

3. WEAPON #1: Trench warfare

4. WEAPON #1: Trench warfare
●Throughout much of the war, Allied troops and Germany fought each other from trenches—or large holes in the ground.

5. WEAPON #1: Trench warfare
●Throughout much of the war, Allied troops and Germany fought each other from trenches—or large holes in the ground.
●Soldiers would dig holes and lay barbed wire on top of them.

6. WEAPON #1: Trench warfare
●Throughout much of the war, Allied troops and Germany fought each other from trenches—or large holes in the ground.
●Soldiers would dig holes and lay barbed wire on top of them.
●Both sides would fire weapons into the other sides’ trenches. Because each side was underground, they could not escape the fire, and many, many, many men lost their lives.

15. ●However, neither side was usually able to capture the other side’s trench.

16. ●However, neither side was usually able to capture the other side’s trench.
● For most of the war, Allies and the Germans sat in their trenches, firing their weapons and killing each other without making any progress.

17. WEAPON #2: MUSTARD GAS

18. WEAPON #2: MUSTARD GAS
●In 1917, the German army began using bombs filled with mustard gas against the Allies.

19. WEAPON #1: MUSTARD GAS ●Blisters all over the body
●In 1917, the German army began using bombs filled with mustard gas against the Allies.
●The poisonous gas causes the following:
●Blisters all over the body
●Damage to the lungs
●Temporary or permanent blindness.

26. Many American (and Allied) soldiers were killed or injured by mustard gas.

27. WEAPON #3: MACHINE GUNS
●The British Army introduced machine guns in World War I and shared them with their French and American allies.

28. WEAPON #3: MACHINE GUNS
●The British Army introduced machine guns in World War I and shared them with their French and American allies.
●For the first time, soldiers could fire hundreds of bullets at a time without reloading.

29. WEAPON #3: MACHINE GUNS
●The British Army introduced machine guns in World War I and shared them with their French and American allies.
● For the first time, soldiers could fire hundreds of bullets at a time without reloading.
● The German Army soon developed its own machine gun, so both sides had them.

33. More bullets fired into the trenches meant more dead soldiers…always.

34. WEAPON #4: Submarines

35. WEAPON #4: Submarines
●During World War I, the German Navy used submarines for the first time.

36. WEAPON #4: Submarines
●During World War I, the German Navy used submarines for the first time.
●Submarines could go underwater and sink any other ship—military or regular—without warning.

38. The constant threat of submarines made people riding on ships afraid to cross the seas.

41. WEAPON #5: Airplanes
World War I was the first armed conflict in which airplanes played a major role. 
When the war began, it was fought largely between ground forces, but as it progressed, the airplane began playing a larger and larger role. 
As the Allies amassed great air strength, they so ably disrupted  German ground forces that the war quickly came to an end.