New technologies and their effect on the stalemate on the Western Front.

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New technologies and their effect on the stalemate on the Western Front.

A stalemate had developed between the armies of the Central Powers and the Allies. This stalemate lasted for almost four years, taking millions of lives. But in 1918, for whatever reason, the stalemate ended after both armies made effective attacks on the other’s trenches. World War One was the testing arena for a number of new weapons. Some had been designed and made before the war, but not yet tested in combat conditions. Others were developed during the war. A number were to become fundamental to success in future wars. The plane, for example, was designed at the turn of the century and made its combat debut in world war one. The tank had not got beyond the drawing board before the war. Other weapons also saw their first use during World War One. Did the new weapons used contribute towards the ending of the stalemate?

One of these new weapons was the aeroplane. It had shocked the world when it appeared in 1901. Its first use was reconnaissance. They observed the opposition’s troop movements and artillery positions and photographed possible weak areas of defence, which could be exploited.

However the first planes of that time were, extremely flimsy and made of piano wires and the pilot was completely exposed to the elements around him. Some could be lifted by a couple of people and most would fall apart if put under pressure or extreme G forces. Also a pilot could not dive for too long, because the planes would disintegrate if the speed went above 100 knots. However, rapid technological advances were made. As both sides were using planes for reconnaissance, the observers began taking pistols, or even rifle’s to take pot shots at enemy planes. Others threw bricks or hand grenades at enemy planes. In September 1914 the RFC (Royal Flying Corps) put machine-guns that were angled to fire forwards clear of the propeller onto its planes. But it was not until October 1914 when the first aircraft was shot down by a machine-gun.

Development of the plane continued and in 1915 a French pilot, , attached deflector plates to his propeller blades. These were actually small wedges of toughened steel that diverted the passage of those bullets that struck the blades. It was now possible for a pilot in a single-seater aircraft to fire successfully a machine-gun at enemy aircraft. However this technology fell into German hands after Garrors was shot down, and then captured.

, a Dutch designer who had set up an aircraft factory in Schwerin, German, was informed of this development. He was another of the many trying to develop a  that could fire through rotating propeller blades. In autumn of 1915 Fokker was fitting his Eindecker planes with , therefore producing the first true fighter aircraft. Also called a synchronizing gear, the propeller was linked by a shaft to the trigger to block fire whenever they were in line. He fitted this synchronizing gear to his new range of  aircraft. These planes arrived on the  during the summer of 1915. This new technological advance gave the German pilots a considerable advantage over the Allied pilots. As a result of this  such as  and  became national heroes as their number of victories increased. This period of German domination of the skies was known as the ‘Fokker Scrouge’. However in 1916 this advantage was lost when Allied pilots received aircraft (like the  and the ), that were also armed with synchronized machine-guns. Nevertheless both sides made rapid advances in all areas of aircraft technology, but the balance of power was constantly changing, as each advance of one side was equalled or bettered by the other side. Thus it seems that at first the use of air power contributed to the continuation of the stalemate.

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Gases were first used during World War One was by the Germans on 22-April-1915 near Ypres. The attack was to become typical of gas use during World War One. Although it was an effective means in killing the enemy, it did not substantially break the stalemate. The Germans released a chlorine gas from 520 cylinders  (168 tons of the chemical was used). The cloud drifted over to the French and Algerian trenches where it caused wide spread panic and death. The French originally thought that the cloud was a smoke screen and orders were given to prepare for ...

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