Technological Advances In Ww1

World War I, started on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918, was a war that was a sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war pitted two sides against each other, the Central Powers and the Allied powers. Both sides had their strengths and weaknesses. On one hand, the Central powers launched their attack first against the Allies and possessed internal lines of communication. On the other hand, the allies had superior numbers, greater resources of finance, and overall better sea control. Considering these attributes of each side, the technological advancements during the time have definitely influenced the war greatly. Technologies such as tanks, machine guns, and poison gas were largely responsible for the deaths

of 8.5 million soldiers. The arising of many weapons and technologies during World War I influenced the war immensely; these tools not only gave the Allied Powers an advantage over the Central Powers, but they also shortened the war because of their powerful innovations.
The influence the new weapons had on the war caused a great number of soldier’s deaths.

Weapons like the machine gun, air support, tanks, and gas made it easier to take groups of soldiers out. Knowing that the Allies and the Central Powers both had access to these type of weapons, the number of casualties was unprecedented. The machine gun differed from the common semi-automatic rifles that were commonly used. The gun was a very good defensive weapon, shown through the British’s failed attempt of attack during the Somme Offensive. They gained 60,000 casualties, majority of which was from the machine gun. Furthermore, air support provided better access to the soldiers in the trenches. In the Battle of Ypres, the tactic of flying low was used to drop bombs on enemy trenches, causing a disturbance in the stalemate between the two opposing trenches. The tank also was also another weapon made to break the long stalemates in trench warfare. During The Battle of Flers-Courcelette, 49 tanks moved in position, 15 of which made it onto No Man’s Land, and destroyed the morale of the Germans. Lastly, the use of poisonous gas was first used by the Germans to shake the Allies. The gas burned the skin, eyes, and left the soldiers paralyzed leading to death. Along the western front the Germans fired 150 tons of chlorine gas which devastated the

Allies.
The side that was aided the most by these new technologies would be the Allied powers. Though the Central Powers had taken advantage of the use of chemical warfare, the Allies countered it by creating gas masks. The use of this type of warfare required the conditions to be just right to spread across the battlefield towards the enemy. Weapons such as the tank and machine gun provided the Allies greater leverage in the war. The tanks provided cover for the troops, and it also was used as a scare tactic against the Central Powers’ troops. Because the machine gun caused the sudden increase of trench warfare, the tanks had the ability to move through No Man’s Land and end the stalemate. Furthermore, the British air force developed tracer ammunition for their air support. Tracer ammunition enabled the pilot to see where they were firing, so the air support was stronger than the Central Powers. This tracer ammunition was also used to take down German zeppelins, for the flame that the tracer would cause could ignite the hydrogen inside the zeppelin.
The war was shortened due to the increase of the use of the machine gun in both sides. It was a devastating weapon that was unlike the traditional rifle that an average soldier had. Machine guns were able to fire at a constant rate, bullet after bullet, mowing down soldiers charging in groups. These guns were very prevalent on both opposing sides, indicating that the death of soldiers were very high due to this. Because of its devastating effects, it led the war into trench warfare, but this warfare was soon interrupted by the introduction of tanks and airplanes. Likewise, the most significant technologies during WWI were the machine gun as well as the sanitary napkin. When cotton was in demand but short on supply the Allied Powers looked for alternatives, and when the U.S. joined the war they brought Cellucotton. This was cheap to mass produce and was very absorbent. Because of this, medical supplies became very abundant for the soldiers and effective. Finally, the use of machine guns during the First World War made it very popular to use in armies in the next coming wars. The constant use of these guns throughout the years has made the weapon deadlier as well as more reliable. Though the gun was impractical as an offense weapon during the war, it was the foundation of how modern automatic rifles function.
World War I was greatly influenced by the sprout of new weapons and technologies; the technologies benefitted the Allied Powers more than the Central Powers, and shortened the war due to their lethal outcomes. The introduction these weapons into to the war caused the deaths of 8.5 million soldiers, for these weapons made it easy to kill many soldiers in a short period of time. Examples of these weapons include: the machine gun, poisonous gas, tanks, and airplanes. From these innovations, the Allies clearly advanced them to victory in the end. The Central Powers also had access to these new technologies, but the Allies came up with ways to combat that by making new innovations. Consequently, the new weapon, the machine gun, shortened the war, for it was able to take out groups of soldiers very quickly. It was one of the most significant innovations including the sanitary napkin. The sanitary napkin was more abundant and effective than regular field bandages, so treating the wounded was easier. Introducing the machine gun in the war not only introduced a revolutionary weapon, but introduced a design that would be used for decades.