Weapons
One of the biggest and most powerful weapons on the battlefield at the time was the machine gun. It is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. The first machine guns brought to the battlefield though were wildly unreliable. Many of them would often jam causing the operator to stop and remove the round. Most of them would overheat after a few hundred rounds causing the metal to warp and bend rendering them useless. The problems were fixed quick with the addition of a tank of water around the barrel to help keep it cool under sustained fire.
One of the things that made the machine gun so deadly was how quickly and accurately these weapons could fire. It was said that one machine gun is the equivalent of sixty to one-hundred rifles. When one man can do the work of sixty the war grows, in this case into the First World War.
Another reason for it being so deadly was the use of trenches. This made moving across the battlefield very difficult. A huge wave of people was needed to get to an enemy's trenches, the machine gun made this extremely difficult when it was firing four-hundred to six-hundred rounds per minute at this wave. Generally the machine gunners would be hidden in the trenches making them hard to destroy or take out. Further increasing the death toll when taking an enemy position.
With the invention of the tracer round the accuracy of this weapon was greatly increased. The tracer is a special type of bullet that would burn producing light allowing the person firing to see where his rounds were going. They were used mainly in machine guns during World War I. Many planes were outfitted with this special ammunition to help pilots aim when firing. When loaded into a belt not all of the rounds would be tracers. They would be spaced out, for example 1 tracer for every 5 rounds. This type of round would be very helpful at night to the operator of the weapon, but also can highlight his position. For anyone not being fired at, it is as simple as following a rainbow back to the pot of gold.
One of the things that made the machine gun so deadly was how quickly and accurately these weapons could fire. It was said that one machine gun is the equivalent of sixty to one-hundred rifles. When one man can do the work of sixty the war grows, in this case into the First World War.
Another reason for it being so deadly was the use of trenches. This made moving across the battlefield very difficult. A huge wave of people was needed to get to an enemy's trenches, the machine gun made this extremely difficult when it was firing four-hundred to six-hundred rounds per minute at this wave. Generally the machine gunners would be hidden in the trenches making them hard to destroy or take out. Further increasing the death toll when taking an enemy position.
With the invention of the tracer round the accuracy of this weapon was greatly increased. The tracer is a special type of bullet that would burn producing light allowing the person firing to see where his rounds were going. They were used mainly in machine guns during World War I. Many planes were outfitted with this special ammunition to help pilots aim when firing. When loaded into a belt not all of the rounds would be tracers. They would be spaced out, for example 1 tracer for every 5 rounds. This type of round would be very helpful at night to the operator of the weapon, but also can highlight his position. For anyone not being fired at, it is as simple as following a rainbow back to the pot of gold.
Mustard gas. The Germans are notorious for their use of mustard gas in the First World War. Total deaths from mustard gas are "only" about 90,000 people. In the scope of the whole war where 8,528,831 people died as a direct result of the war it is a relatively small amount. The impact was not the deaths, but the fear it would instill upon the enemy. Having to fight wearing masks, suits or receiving massive burns on the skin was degrading to the enemy and took the will to fight from them.
Flamethrowers have been used hundreds of years before the 20th century. Through time the idea and design of the flamethrower grew and was updated. The German military first started using the flamethrower in small specialized units. With the ability to throw burning oil up to 60 feet, they were useful in trenches when the operator could get close to the enemy. Once Germany saw the usefulness of the flamethrower they issued it to the front lines. The one flaw with the design of the flamethrower was the operator had to wear the fuel and pressure tank on his back. Upon firing he would draw a big target on himself. Allied forces would fire in the direction of the flames and if a round hit one of the tanks they could explode. Not to mention that the tanks would combust on their own even when not in combat.