technological innovations of wwi
- Machine Guns- With the introduction of the Maxim Machine gun that was proven very effective, Maxims were sold and tailored to any country willing to buy. But by being bought out buy Vickers, the Vickers Machine gun (an improved version of the Maxim) was issued solely to the British. Machine guns were set up at every corner and started to create "no mans land" in between trenches, causing a war attrition. So came forth the need to make lighter, more portable machine guns. The Chautchat (pronounced sho-shat and also metal piping with a broom handle), as effective as the second name B.A.R., was made.
- Tanks- Along with the new innovations in arms came the revolution in armor: the British MKI tank. This hot, noisy box filled with poisonous gasses was the first in a long line of tanks to come. While it posed dangers to the troopers inside, it was loved by them for their protection. Its 8 millimeter thick armor could withstand most small arms fire. It wasn't just a troop transport either, armed to the teeth with two 57 millimeter guns, and four .303 machine guns. Later on in history, tanks would become an important part of the battle field.
- Gas- While men were sitting in the trenches waiting for one another to run out of supplies, some men came up with a way to kill the enemies from afar. Germany first started the use of chlorine gas as a weapon. however it was rather in-effective as a weapons, due to its stench and high visibility. Further along in the war, more dangerous gases were employed into warfare.
- Anti personnel and Naval mines - Land mines a.k.a. anti personnel have been used sense 200 A.D. and are a great defensive weapon because of their ability to be buried. Circa 1912, the Imperial German Army created improved designs, and later in the war the British made chlorine gas mines. Mines saw an important role in WWI by helping create the "no mans land" in between trenches. These were also a psychological weapon because they could be virtually invisible. Naval mines did not play a major factor in World War I due to them being thought as purely defensive.
- Aircraft- WWI was first war to see the use of aircraft from a military aspect. with airplanes being still a rather new aspect of the world, at the beginning of the war they saw little use other than reconnaissance. from there on early attempts at "bombing" with small mortars was becoming popular. but a turning point in the war and wars to come happened when an Austro-Hungarian and a Siberian pilot during the battle of Cer started to fire upon each other with their pistols (they both missed). within weeks of this all Hungarian planes had been outfitted with machine guns, therefore Dog fighting became an average part of war.
- Uboats- the germans were the first to bring the submarine to war. the Underseeboot or Uboat was a rather effective weapon for stealth attacks, due to is ability to attack from underwater. U boats are actually one of the main reasons the US entered WWI, with the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.