Lee Enfield Rifle

Next in the development of machine guns came the Maxim, the machine gun with only one barrel. This gun with a belt of bullets that fed in one side and the empty belt came out the other side. It used the explosion from the bullets firing to load the next bullet. With the use of different

Chemical warfare, while horrible, proved to be unwieldy and unpredictable, and relatively easy to counter. After some limited successes against unprepared opponents, the use of chemical gas had very little tactical benefit; the recognition of this limited utility is that after widespread use in 1915 - except for the short-lived effects of the introduction of mustard gas in 1917 - gas was abandoned by both sides as an effective tactic.

The machine gun is perhaps the signature weapon of trench warfare, with the image of ranks of advancing infantry being scythed down by the withering hail of bullets. The Germans embraced the machine gun from the outset - in 1904, every regiment was equipped with one machine gun - and the machine gun crews were the elite infantry units. After 1915, the MG 08/15 was the standard-issue German machine gun. Its number entered the German language as an idiomatic expression for "dead plain". At Gallipoli and in Palestine the Turks provided the infantry, but it was usually Germans who manned the machine guns.

The first World War has been reported to be one of the most brutal wars in the history of time for many reasons. One of those reasons was strategic usage of chemical warfare. Chemical gas was used on both sides of the line, which turned out to be fatal for many. World War I was mostly fought in the trenches, where soldiers lived in deep, v-shaped holes or underground bunkers. Both sides would occupy these trenches in order to escape from the constant stream of bullets. These battles often ended in a standoff, or tie, which helped the introduction of a different, brand new style of fighting that included the use of chemicals. These chemicals had a range of

Frist of all, in the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans introduced the first use of poisonous gas. When poison gas first introduced it was a popular weapon choice and would be the weapon to change the outcome of the war. The Germans surprisingly attack the Allies, where the used lethal chloride gas against them. The gas was deadly and killed over one thousand soldiers. (1) It also allowed a significant advanced for the Germans in the war. The gas usage continued to grow throughout the war. In the end, many Allied countries started chemical weapons research. Gas warfare became common but effective actions were used to protect the troops. After World War 1, poison was use for a while but in today’s war it is no longer allowed. Instead of poisonous gas, chemical warfare is used. Chemical weapons come in a variety of forms and are used for several different techniques.

In 1848, a French army officer named Claude Minié invented a cone-shaped lead bullet with a diameter smaller than that of the rifle barrel. Soldiers could load these “Minié balls” quickly, without the aid of ramrods or mallets. Rifles with Minié bullets were more accurate, and therefore deadlier, than muskets were, which forced infantries to change the way they fought: Even troops who were far from the line of fire had to protect themselves by building elaborate trenches and other fortifications.

The most common weapon used in the trenches by the British were rifles. The rifles that the British used were robust and were ideal for the harsh conditions in the trenches. This rifle was called the bold action rifle which could fire 15 rounds per minute and could kill a person from 1400 meters away. Machine guns in WW1 needed approximately 4-6 men to work it, they also had to be on a flat surface. The machine guns had roughly the firepower of 100 guns. The artillery

The Mauser T-Gewehr was an anti-tank rifle, the first of its kind, created by Germany late in the war to combat against British and French tanks.

In the early 1900s there was not very much technology behind weaponry and transportation to help the soldiers fight. A typical soldier would have been issued a standard rifle called the Krag Jorgensen M1896 Carbine.

Another gun which branches from the rifle is the machine gun. The Germans were mainly the ones who would take the credit for the invention of the machine

The gun was given the nickname "Potato Digger" because it was so powerful that the arm of dug into the ground while firing. It was also had a gas-operated and air-cooled design. (Colt Browning M1895) This belt-fed gun could fire from a closed bolt with a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. The Colt-Browning M1895 was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to enter the service. Once redesigned by Colt from Browning's ideas, it weighed thirty-five pounds. Along with being the first gas-operated machine gun, it was the first machine gun adopted by the United States military. Colt ceased production of the gun in 1916 after it became obsolete when the US entered World War I. Before entering the war the gun was used for training in the United States. (M1895 Colt-Browning)

Mass charges and their ability to stun and shock a fixed defensive position could be marginalized or halted altogether by mass suppressive firepower that could be provided by the Gatlin Gun. Although its use was limited in the civil war, the changes would be felt in all future wars as these guns would lead to more modern machine guns’. 4

The BAR was a LMG (Light Machine Gun) with Anti Air capabilities. The flamethrower was, as the name suggests, used to burn buildings and clear trenches. It could also be used to block off infantry and destroy ammo reserves/ caches. The flamethrower was used by both sides of the war.

Weaponry plays a very large role in the war. While the soldiers were on their last legs, the nation decided to set foot and make a decision to improve the industry. The most common problem faced by all soldiers was the loading of guns. Soldiers typically carried guns that held one bullet at a time. A soldier who was trying to aim and shoot the target would have to stand much closer, as the weapon’s range was only about 80 yards. Hence, battles were fought relatively at a closer range. Rifles, were used for long range shooting, and were very accurate as the bullet could travel up to 1,000 yards. However, it was impossible to use the guns in battle since it took a very long time to load. Fed up with the trouble caused with the guns, Captain Henri Gustave Delvigne and Claude Etienee Minnie developed a cone shaped lead bullet called, “Minnie Balls”. When fired, the bullet expanded, and the lead would grip tightly against spiraled rifling groves. This would take a spin on the elongated bullet, leaving the muzzle at a higher velocity and following an accurate trajectory causing it to travel three-four times farther. The innovation of the rifle and Minnie Ball were just a few of the hundreds of weaponry inventions. Weapons fell under three categories—small arms, artillery, and edged weapons. These were developed after the society wanted to see a difference in the nation. They were placed under these categories based on their caliber (size of the

By World War I the line infantry strategy, which evolved into the “over the top” charge into no-man’s land, was completely redundant and saw massive casualties. The development of the Gatling Gun (1862) (9) and the Maxim Gun (1886) (12) (13) - both heavy rapid-fire weapons