How did the advanced technology of World War I influence how war was fought?
Stacy Shaw
Word Count: Stacy Shaw
Historical Investigation Paper
2/26/17
For my research paper I have chosen to research how the advanced technology of WWI influenced how war was fought. In this paper I will analyze how wars were fought before WWI and how during the war, new advancements changed the future of warfare. Themes about WWI the paper will include are weapons, vehicles, aircraft, ships, the frontline and support. For my first source I used information from an online source. The article, “12 Technological Advancements of World War I” includes some weapons, vehicles and support used during WWI. It is relevant because it provides detailed
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The use of trench warfare, primarily along the Western Front, protected the soldiers from small arms fire and moderately from artillery. It introduced one of the most important weapons of the war, the machine gun. Before WWI, one of the most advanced weapons was the gating gun. It was hand-cranked and could deliver hundreds of rounds per minute. However, not every soldier was gifted this gun; it needed to be rolled around and required multiple riflemen to operate it. By the beginning of the war in 1914, practical machine guns were already in production since their invention by Hiram Maxim in 1884. The “Maxim gun,” was self-powered, using the recoil power of the previously fired shot to reload rather than being hand-powered. This enabled a much higher rate of fire and made the battlefield much more deadly. The machine gun was most commonly used in conjunction with poison gas, most commonly, mustard gas. World War I was the first war that saw the use of large-scale chemical weapons. There were many, different gases that had different reactions onto he body. Chlorine would cause the lungs to break down and choke its victim to death; mustard gas would blind its victims. This left the enemy open for machine gunners; the guns would be strategically mounted and provided the first defense against the enemy. Another tool used with the machine gun was barbed wire. Originally created for herding cattle, barbed wire ran for miles along the front of the
As most of us know, machine-guns inflicted appalling casualties during the First World War. Thousands of men, charging towards the enemy line, were mown down by the rapid fire of these devastating weapons.
It was felt that it is important that manufacturing science should consider equipping the soldiers with guns which could make a bigger impact for the enemies. The armies have come a long way since they fought with spears, bows and arrows. Undoubtedly, the greatest technological reform came in the field artillery. (WORLD HISTORY OF WARFARE Archer, Christon I., 1940-; Ferris, John Robert, 1956-; Herwig, Holger H.; Travers, Timothy., c2002. Armed forces are one of biggest resource used in warfare and weapons are their tools provided, to help maneuver them in the fields. These weapons are designed to make maximum impact on enemies in terms of harm or kill or making them disabled, so that infantry soldiers can make inroads to enemy’s territory. Technological advancement in weapons is just not only attributed to change in physical form of weapon, but there is lot of physics, chemistry, mechanics are involved in development of weapons. Previously, guns had been cast in individual molds and hence been much too heavy to drag across battlefields. Starting in eighteen century and until World War 1 various types of artillery guns were developed and used in war, however each one of these had their limitations. For example, prior to World War 1, Gatling gun was the most popular automatic rapid fire weapon, however it was quite heavy which limited its use in warfare. Later British developed Vickers gun, however it required six- man team to operate his gun. Subsequently Americans invented Lewis gun, an automatic machine gun. This gun was gas powered and just weighted 28lbs. It could fire 500-600 rounds per minute with maximum muzzle velocity of 2,440 feet per seconds. The machine gun was an effective addition to arsenals during this time of
Technology greatly affected the way in which wars were fought, especially in World War I. The inventions of the repeating machine gun, the development of poison gas, and the introduction of the first tanks caused armies to fight using the bunkering method. This allowed men to huddle in trenches along what are called skirmish lines and throw, lob, and fire by other means weapons to cause damage while men were protected by about 4 to 5 feet deep earth. This caused men to fight in rear or echelon columns behind tanks can basically caused defensive fighting tactics resulting in drawn out protracted battles.
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
The technology of World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, was a big part of the determination of the outcome of the war. Much of the technology was developed during the interwar years. Some of it was developed because of failure and hindrance in war progression, obviously because of inefficient technology. Still some was in the beginning stages of development as the war ended. Though earlier war greatly utilized science, mathematics, and innovation, World War II had the largest impact on the innovation in technology of the current lives of Americans. Furthermore, no war, preceeding or succeeding, was as profoundly affected by science, mathematics, and technology as World War II. Science and technology have always made
Soon the machine gun became a defensive weapon rather than an offensive weapon, as it was used to stop offensive enemy troops across this no man’s land. Gas was used infinitely by both sides in an effort to triumph over the trenches. If any trench was taken by an opposing force, a succeeding trench was dug just meters behind the one taken, making advancements longstanding and difficult. In this process many troops lost their lives, more so than any other war.
Field artillery was often used to bring down and tire out the large groups of soldiers. These weapons include; Winans steam gun, calcium floodlights, landmines, machine guns, and canons. “Winans steam gun was a massive automatic weapon that sat in an armored train carriage and used steam to fire projectiles—supposedly at a rate of 200 a minute” (Evan Andrews). Floodlights were not only used to help the soldiers see their opponents, but was used to blind the opponents.
Technology has existed before world war one, be as it may the technology during that time was not high technology. However after the world war, one technology and science astoundingly stormed after which helped speed up the process. The number of death and motilities are the main reason for why technology needed to improve. Technology developed rapidly because Canada was in need of efficient weapons. Especially in the flight, wireless communication, accurate engineering, and application of electric wire and gas. A man born in Edinburgh, Scotland Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in Branford, Ontario, which indeed change the lives of Canadians. The machine brought Canadians closer to each other and became part of their daily lives.
In Washington D.C., 1917 is when president Woodrow Wilson called to be in the military. The new weapon inventions that helped us win, the effects on woman when I got back home,and my health .I was sad when I had to leave my family. I had a four year old son and a six year old daughter.
that the first submarine was named after the man who created it, CSS H. L.
A gruesome and horrifying war, World War I led to great advancements in technology. Both sides of the war began trying to outdo one another in terms of crafting the best killing machines. With each side developing new weapons to gain the upper hand in the war, war technology became extremely important. New technology assisted soldiers in fighting the enemy in numerous different ways. Important advancements in war technology that helped define the Great War were tanks, machine guns, and flamethrowers.
Poisonous gas was so devastating that after World War One all chemical weapons were completely banned from use during wars. The main use for poisonous gas during World War One was during trench warfare, the gas could be thrown into the trench where a large group of enemies were in a small area, and then they would be forced out because of the gas. Frequently though, most of the enemy soldiers died before making it out. There were multiple types of poison gas used during World War One, and each of the types were used for different purposes. First was mustard gas and tear gas which were mainly used to make enemy soldiers incapable of fighting back and although tear gas doesn’t kill people, mustard gas could kill you but it took weeks and is extremely agonizing. The other two types of gas, chlorine and phosgene, were used with the intention to kill the enemy. Chlorine gas mainly affects your lungs by mixing with the mucous in them and turning into hydrochloric acid. Phosgene is a much more deadly gas than chlorine and most deaths from chemical weapons in World War One were caused by it. Not only was phosgene more toxic than chlorine, it was also harder to detect because it doesn’t really have a color and its smell isn’t very strong. Poisonous gases are another extremely deadly weapon invented during World War One and were extremely painful and
There were many new weapons during WWI, and one of them was poisonous gas. Poisonous gas was a powerful weapon that could burn blind and kill a person that was exposed to it. Tanks were another big weapon in WWI. A tank was able to cross barbed wire, they could make a lot of damage and could cross enemy territory. Automatic guns such as machine guns were used in WWI. They were used to spend less tie loading and more time shooting. These guns are still used
American army officer Omar Bradley once said,“If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.” The meaning of this quote lies in the destruction and devastation of humanity and geography during war. If we do not stop advancing in ways of killing and causing suffering, we will soon face the consequences of these technologies. Throughout World War I and World War II, there was a ginormous technological boom in which countries were competing to invent new weapons or vehicles used in warfare. Specifically, World War I could be blamed for the start of the creating of new technologies used in warfare even today. These technologies were often invented or created during World War I,