Gas MasksA nefarious chemical weapon was introduced to the war by the German. It was called the "chemists' war" which is when German soldiers would release chlorine gas. French soldiers had no clue what was to come and when they saw yellow clouds they didn't know what to think and then they would suddenly collapse in extreme pain. The Germans used a cotton sake covered in glycerin and sodium thiosulphate to protect themselves from the gas.
“The chlorine seared their eyes and burned the lining of their bronchial tubes, causing blindness, coughing, violent nausea, splitting headache, and a stabbing pain in the chest,” writes historian Jonathan Tucker. As a result of the percussion's, United States and British forces created their own chemical ways and introduced the spread of gas masks for the troops and even every day people so that they could stay safe from these horrible gases. They created a new mask which was known as the canister style. It was a tin can filled with charcoal filter which was connected by a hose. The introduction of chemical gas resulted in more deaths in World War 1 then to previous wars that had happened before. Around 17 million people were killed between the time frame of 1914-1918. |
German AlbatrosThe first plane was used in the reconnaissance and was used to watch the enemy from above and figure out their next move. This allowed the Allied to gain control and split the German army and to be able to surround their enemy to push them back. As the war continued, both sides started to use aircraft to drop small bombs onto enemies ground. Eventually, they were built to carry heavier, larger bombs that would cause greater damage which allowed them to succeed in the war. As more planes were in the sky, enemies started to fight in the air with grenades and using their rifles to shoot at one another. However, this wasn't a great tactic so pilots figured out an efficient way to kill their enemies. They used machine guns. "An invention called an 'interpreter' was invented by the Germans that allowed the machine guns to be synchronized with the propeller". These fights that took place in the air were known as dogfights and the best pilots were known as aces. At first the planes didn't have anything to represent where each plane was from and so they would shoot at every plane without knowing if it was one of theirs or not. This made it so countries started to mark their planes under their wings so that they were able to be identified from the ground.
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Aerial PhotographyFormal ground and Aerial photography was introduced in 1914. It was taken by hand until they figured out other ways to get photos taken of the war for strategical ways to stop their enemies from moving forward. They were also able to find ways to dominant and push back their enemies. These cameras were known as “A silent enemy flyer pursued the individual wanderer, and French artillery shells accompanied his path. To run, stand still or lay down, it was all the same.” Aerial photography was soon placed onto aircraft for greater dominance in the war.
"On the morning of September 3, 1914, an aerial observer by the name of Lieutenant Watteau assigned to the Paris garrison rushed to the Deuxième Bureau, the French military intelligence agency, with urgent news. In the four weeks since the outbreak of World War I, German armies had advanced to within 30 kilometers of the center of Paris. The French government had fled the city and the British-Franco armies were retreating under the pressure of the German right flank. At the Paris headquarters, aerial observer Lieutenant Watteau reported a 48-kilometer gap between the First and Second German Armies on the far right flank of the advance. The following day, more Parisian airmen confirmed the German mistake, convincing French and British commanders to halt their retreat and to drive a wedge between the German armies." |
TrenchesTrenches were used to be a defensive tactic. However, the conditions were horrible. They were muddy, there were rats, and dead bodies were often buried in these trenches. The trenches protected troops from "No Mans Land", this is where everyone would die due to no protection from gun fire. Soldiers in the trenches were pron to disease because of the horrible conditions. Trenches were long narrow tunnel like things that were dug into the ground. Soldiers would use these for weeks at time. Since chemical gas was exposed in World War One, trenches helped to protect from exposure.
"When Union Army general William Tecumseh Sherman famously said “War is hell,” he was referring to war in general, but he could have been describing trench warfare, a military tactic that’s been traced to the Civil War. Trenches—long, deep ditches dug as protective defenses—are most often associated with World War I, and the results of trench warfare in that conflict were hellish indeed." |
Flame ThrowerIn 1914 the German introduced the flame thrower to World War One. Flamethrowers were mainly designed with two tanks on a soldiers back. One tank held propellant gas and the other was filled with flammable liquid. Flamethrowers could shot liquid up to 18 meters away.
"The first combat use of the flamethrower came on Feb. 26, 1915, against the French near Verdun. The usefulness of the weapon was limited by its short range and limited mobility. On July 30, 1915, flamethrowers were used effectively against British positions to flush soldiers out of their trenches and into the open." The use of flamethrowers was later also taken on by British and French Forces. Just like Poison Gas, The flamethrower was a terrifying weapon and traumatizing just to think about. The German used this weapon in over 300 battles just in World War One. They were designed to use as a shook effect. |