If there is one thing that has changed constantly then it has been the distance that has grown between enemy fighting. Warfare has been developed from hand-combat to missiles being shot from different continents, and World War I clearly shows how the aforementioned weapons affected the defensive First World War.
Particularly the initially offensive machine gun had been transformed into a weapon of “superior defensive warfare technology.” The machine gun was of such high calibre that it could shoot from a great distance and at such a high fire rate, it proved ultra deadly to attacking soldiers. Ultimately, the Germans used the machine gun, as well as many of their weapons, to their advantage before the British could. Because the British high command did not feel the need for an oil-cooled machine gun, they missed out on a war opportunity which could have given Great Britain a considerable head start. Instead Germany quickly realized and unlocked the machine gun’s potential. By 1914, Germany had allocated several machine gun companies to continue manufacture, whereas the British were so far behind that only two guns were allocated to each infantry battalion. In total, Germany had 12,000 machine guns by August, 1914.
Another modern trait of the First World War was the submergence in concocting poisonous gas, a very scientific matter. The gases would eventually be fired in canisters over the battlefield. The Germans especially experimented and delved into further production and intensification of these poisonous gases. Again, Germany had used the gases to their advantage, and used the element of surprise to take the Allied Powers by storm with the gases. On April 22, 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres, poison gas was introduced by the Germans, and the terrible effects that followed were strangely enough not reported to other French soldiers until quite a bit later in the war. Britain and France however reciprocated these attacks later with their own gases. However, this chemical warfare was highly condemned and led to severed diplomatic ties between Germany and U.S, as well as increased use of gas later in the war. Eventually, casualties and deaths ran rampant, and by the end of the war, with the Armistice, the use of poisonous gases was outlawed in 1925.
Tanks were yet another new development that had been based on the idea of an automobile, a very modern invention. These new armoured “cars” were intended to break the tension of defensive warfare and be used to attack the enemy head on. Due to their massive cannons, manoeuvrability (to a certain extent), and armour plating, they were formidable opponents to deal with. Oddly enough, Germany never took the development of tanks seriously, whereas Britain and France did, a mistake which Germany would not make again in World War II. However, in retrospect, this may have been a good thing, since tanks were not always as reliable in offensive manoeuvres. Many times, they broke down and became ditched in a muddy trench. However, at the Battle of Cambrai in France, General Haig created an offensive line with tanks to storm the enemy, and this happened with great success. Consequently, the tank’s potential had never been forgotten, which one of the reasons why it is still being manufactured today.
Another strong weapon, yet somewhat limited in its effectiveness, was the flamethrower. The flamethrower was a very German weapon, and as far as historical records go, it had never been used by any of the Allied Powers. It was by no means an inventive weapon though, since its first primitive use dates back to the 5th century B.C. Nevertheless, the flamethrower was used to the Germans advantage, especially because of the element of surprise that came with the weapon’s fiery delivery. In a surprise attack at Hooge in Flanders, the Germans used the weapon to a great extent, pushing back the British line and killing 30 officers and 751 other ranks in the process. Later its effectiveness was limited because of the fact that short-range combat was happened frequently in close-combat trench battles in World War I, and soldiers were likely to be blown up if there gas tank was hit by an enemy bullet.
Perhaps the most destructive and widespread weapon was the grenade. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, the German military once again became aware of the potential locked away in the grenade. Throughout the war, however, the British and Germans both pursued innovative means to perfect the grenade, and it was used to a massive extent in the First World War. Approximately, 105 million grenades were created by Britain, and the U.S also created approximately 50 million grenades. The key to the grenade’s effectiveness was its destructive power, and fairly safe implementation. Since enemies were often times dug away in trenches a safer means of attacking would be to throw grenades out of a defensive position without putting one self into a dangerous position. Its effect on modern warfare is still exhibited, since to this day production of the grenade has continued.
Alongside the grenades came a somewhat more sophisticated version in the form of a trench mortar. The trench mortar can be summarised as a more mechanised version of the grenade, with a much longer range and more firepower, therefore ideally suited for trench warfare, hence the term, trench mortar. Again, from the Russo-Japanese War, the Germans also walked away with the idea of mortars alongside grenades. Despite the Germans formidable head start, the British impressively caught up and improved upon the German’s initial design of the ‘minenwerfer.’ Although the mortar was effective in trench warfare, its initial element of surprise and attack as a whole disappeared as the firing positions were quickly prone to enemy fire. However, the mortar remained a highly mobile weapon, and was used to a great extent in the First World War.
In conclusion, the implementation of the following weapons without a doubt revolutionized warfare, and brought about an unprecedented new level of deaths and casualties in a war. In combination with a 19th century attack sentiment, dug away in trenches in large numbers, while operating 20th century weaponry; can be held accountable for the number of human casualties. The First World War can therefore be considered the first modern war, with the exception that it was fought with a 19th century sentiment. For it to be a completely modern war would require the weapons to be operated with 20th century battle tactics.
