These advances allowed for impressive defence systems, which out-of-date military tactics could not break through for most of the war. Barbed wire was a significant hindrance to massed infantry advances. Artillery, vastly more lethal than in the 1870s, coupled with machine guns, made crossing open ground extremely difficult. [45] Commanders on both sides failed to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, however, technology began to produce new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and the tank.
What technology came from the war and how was it used after the war? New technology changed warfare in World War 2. The change in technology has increased since the last big war WW1 such as the Atom bombs, improved sea and air warfare and weapons. Ever since the beginning of time weapons have always been around. From just knives and swords to nuclear weapons and missiles, weapons have evolved throughout the years.
By the end of 1918 there were several reasons why the stalemate was broken and allowed the Triple Entente to carry on gaining land. The first reason is they brought in new weapons and artillery; this helped us because it shocked the Germans and they knew they weren’t as well equipped as us. A new tank was developed which was much improved from the last one and it could cross trenches easily and could crush barbed wire instead of twisting it more and making it even harder to get through they were smashing obstructions’ so the infantry could advance. New technology made the tanks have a harder shell so no machine guns or grenades could penetrate its skin and the most pressing problem was how to ‘overcome the enemy’s machine guns’ which were responsible for the stalemate. For them to be effective they needed to be used in large quantities, and that’s what they did.
How important was Haig compared to Lloyd George in achieving Allied victory in World War One? General Haig was put in charge of Brittan’s army on December 1916 during the First World War. The coalition government formed but with David Lloyd George who became the Prime Minister during the First World War and was in charge of the munitions. Haig was in charge of some of the biggest battles during the war such as Passchendaele, and The Battle of the Somme. Lloyd George was highly popular amongst the British public.
This was much less than the Germans, who were much more aware of the effectiveness. Tanks had an interesting role in the First World War. The tank was mainly used at the little known Battle of Flers. It was soon after used with less success at the Battle of the Somme, similar to the machine gun. Although the tank was extremely unreliable, it was a great factor to deal with the horrors of trench warfare and rescued some of the mobility in the Western Front.
Although highly accurate, the machine gun had very little tactical advantage for its own soldiers due mainly to its cumbersome and heavy design; consequently, it was used mainly for holding troops back. Despite the machine guns lack of an offensive edge, its use and reliance grew experientially as the war progressed; only holding back advancing troops as opposed to punching a line through opposing lines. Dependence upon the machine gun grew on both German and British lines, this increased reliance lead to approximately one third of the total casualties during World War I. To compensate for the issue of manoeuvrability of the heavy machine gun, the development of a lighter, smaller handheld machine guns were introduced, allowing for a more offensive assault upon the enemy lines.
Poison Gas: Most of people assume that poison gas was used first by the German. It’s not really accurate. It was used by the French to stop the seemingly unstoppable German army advancing throughout Belgium and North-Eastern France. In one sense, it was an act of desperation but went against the 'rules' of war. However, while the French were the first to use a gas against an enemy, the Germans had been giving a great deal of thought to the use of poison gas as a way of defeating enemy.
The invention was a success although it was British troops, 20,000 were killed and 40,000 were injured. This is shocking because the technology was new, when you get something new you test it and wonder if it’s good or not just like the technology in WW1 who knew it would proceed this well the amount of people it injured was amazing. Adding to that the British Vickers machine gun crew WW1 was the first automatic guns had been used in large numbers in a European war, first time lucky they used it in the European war not knowing if it would work or not but surprisingly it was achieved well. Another reason England was so involved David Lloyd George was one of the big three this is shocking because England wasn’t involved at all it started with the Black Hand gang in Franz Ferdinand’s assassination. England hadn’t been attacked on their own territory for over 1000 years and unexpectedly the German airships bombed the south of England However 8,538315 million approximately were killed deaths are expected in war but not on this scale.
Tyler Rudolph Dr. Von Sturm-Day Composition 1 25 October 2009 The Effects of New Weapons on World War 1, 1914-1918 World War I signified the end of the era when civilians watched their champions on the battlefield. It became a war of knowledge and people, using the brains of scientists and inventors of the homeland. They created new weapons, which consumed awesome numbers of men and in time, led to a war on the ground, sea, and air. Differences in warfare became inevitable, and made thinking and ideas very important.
Many wars have been fought in history but not many were as great of a significance as the Great War. This war led to a big change for the future of the world. The Great War was on of the most prominent events of the 20th century. It was a model for military modernization, was the cause for many new military weapons, and was the reason for the rise of new technology. This war set a new high standard in military modernization.