Weapons of WWI

There have been many wars throughout history, but there was one war to end all wars.

WWI brought in a new slew of weapons to the battlegrounds. This was one war to first bring tanks onto the battlefields; it was one war to bring in rail guns such as the gigantic Big Bertha , but most of all it is the war to use one of the most deadly weapons ever to be used in warfare. Gas.

Gas warfare was first introduced during WWI. It was a deadly and silent killer. [The] vapor settled to the ground like a swamp mist and drifted toward the French trenches on a brisk wind. Its effect on the French was a violent nausea and faintness, followed by an utter collapse. It is believed that the Germans, who charged in behind the vapor met no resistance at all, the French at their front being virtually paralyzed.

There were a variety of different gases introduced into the war. One was Lachrymator, which is also known as today’s mace or tear gas. This kind of gas causes temporary blindness and inflammation of the nose; a gas mask was able to protect a person from this type of gas. The gas called Asphyxiate had gases known as chlorine, which affects moisture found in lungs and eyes.

One of the most deadly gases introduced during the war was known as Blistering Agent or Mustard Gas. It is one of the most dangerous gases because no gas mask can protect against this gas. It affects any exposed, moist skin. If it touches the skin it causes blistering and rashes.

Besides gas there were other weapons in the war. Of course there were guns, and even really big guns known as rail guns.

First of all there where the light machine guns that could be carried around. Then there were the heavy machine guns, which were stationary in order to be fired.

Besides these basic guns there were also canons a.k.a. railway guns. One of the most famous railway guns was Big Bertha. The Big Bertha was so big, that its shell weighed 2,052 pounds. This gun fired great distances such as 15,500 yards.

The kind of ammo they used in the war was a first. In some of the ammo they used for the railway guns, the soldiers had written messages for their enemies, such as This one’s for Willy. Also the ammo was also deadly after it had exploded, because some of the ammo was filled with poisonous gas. Which if didn t kill you the first time the bomb landed, it would kill you the second time.

The war didn t just have guns, and poisonous gas. This war also introduced a new weapon: Tanks.

The tanks in this war were quite clumsy. There were awkward to drive and the sometimes tipped over killing the drivers. Even though it had these cons, the tank was still a quite powerful weapon. The mini tank contained: 105-horsepower, six cylinder engine; One of four Lewis machine guns; One of two 57-mm pedestal mounted guns; Armor plating; Pressed-steel track plate; Driver and commander. The tank was designed to cross rough terrain and trenches while remaining invulnerable to enemy fire.

Another weapon used in the war were U-Boats/Submarines. These were used to launch a surprise attack on enemy ships. It introduced the first use of underwater missiles, which were very good on surprising enemies. Also it was because of the U-Boats that the United States entered the war. Various propagandas were sent out against the use of u-boats. Especially in the U.S. many Americans were angry with the Germans. But even though the u-boats had a bad reputation, they still were useful and deadly weapon.

As it was said in the beginning Gas was one of the most deadly weapons introduced into warfare. Even today in the modern warfare that exists, gas is still considered dangerous. Now with the fear of biological weapons which contain even deadlier gas that Mustard gas.

WWI will be remembered as one war to end wars. It would be remembered for the weapons it introduced and were used. It would be mainly remembered for the men who died from the use of the deadly weapons of WWI.