ww1Advancement

  WORLD WAR I: A War to End All Wars Introduction | Triple Alliance | Triple Entente | Advancement | US Involvement

**ADVANCEMENT** World War I gave huge growth to weaponry. During WWI, many weapons were developed and advanced, including machine guns, tanks, gas, grenades, mortars, rifles, and flamethrowers.

Rifle
Even with such large technological advances, the rifle remained the key weapon on the battlefield because of its accuracy and low weight. Surprisingly, though, the rifle underwent the lowest amount of development during the war, instead the focus was primarily on production. Rifles were also commonly equipped with bayonets, though by this time they were used more for psychological effect then physical attack.

Grenade
Many types of grenades -over 50- were designed during the war, but one that endured and was most popular was the Mills, or Fragmentation, grenade. When the pin was pulled and the strike lever released, a four-second fuse lit, then the grenade burst into lethal fragments. Other grenades, called rifle grenades, were fired directly from the rifle, but its inaccuracy made them quite unpopular.

Tank
Tanks, developed by not one but many men, was unveiled by the British in Delville Wood and later at an attack on Flers. The early tanks were 12-14 feet long and weighed about 14 tons, and was able to carry 3 people (one driver, two machine-gunners) and go 2-3 mph. The tanks quickly became the most powerful resource for its ability to drive over trenches and its immunity to small-arms fire.

Flamethrower
The basic idea of a flamethrower was to spread fire by launching burning fuel. The Germans were the main users of flamethrowers, and developed two models - one small, one large. The smaller was able to be carried by one man, and shot flame up to 18 meters. The larger was able to shoot at twice the range for up to 40 seconds, but was expensive and required two men to operate.

Gas
Gas was developed by both the German and French during the Great War, and had many forms, such as tear gas, "white star" phosgene, and the infamous mustard gas. Though when gas was first used it was extremely devastating, once the initial surprise wore off, it became much less dangerous through protection developments such as the cotton soda pad and the filter respirator.

Machine Gun
When the war started, machine guns were primitive - they would overheat within 2 minutes and would often jam. Through design by Germans and Americans, however, machine guns were able to be mounted on planes, fire at 300rpm, would weigh as little as 12kg, were able to be operated and set by one person, and used as anti-aircraft.