Summary:
In terms of weaponry and military technology, World War I set the precedent for the way all future wars have been fought. The war introduced controversial weapons such as poison gas, but it also introduced machine guns, military airplanes, high explosives, and other technological weaponry still in use today.
The Effects of New Technology and Strategies of The Great War
Wilson proudly declared WW1 as a "war to end all wars." However, ironically, the Great War was also the war where the newest and most lethal machines were experimented upon the newly mobilized troops. Only through these cold and logical experiments did strategists comprehend the bloodshed the weapons were capable of. When the weapons were unleashed, tens of thousands could be killed daily. Thus, countries adapted, copied, and utterly shattered the old ideals of warfare. The war of the past has become the war of the future through intoxicating and gunning down millions. Compare that to the atomic bombs that we have today. The weapons and strategies of the Napoleonic era were futile with these new inventions, chemical gas and the automatic weapon. This new technology forced generals to refute the strategies of old, and embrace a new, modern, tactic.
The Germans first used poison gas in the second battle of Ypres on September 22, 1915. "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." (Irwin A1). A month later Britain created their own chemical weapons because if they didn't then Germany would be the first country to win the war because of technology.
That tactic of duplicating others' weapons in wars has occurred many times in the past and now. In WW2, when the U.S. created the atomic bomb, other countries followed and created their own atomic bomb. Also the use of poison gas proved that Germany didn't care about honor and courage of the old wars and just wanted to win. This also occurred in the Second World War when the U.S. had used the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on a populated city because they wanted to win the war by any means possible.
When a country decides to use new technology other countries must adapt. When Germany released poison gas both countries began to adapt to new strategy. Thus, the respiratory filters were created. They offered little protection to mustard gas, but were still good at protecting from chlorine and phosgene gas. Their ability to adapt to new technology was inevitable since if they didn't they would lose the war. This has also been used in future wars; for example with high-powered guns nations made Kevlar vests (bulletproof vests). Although sometimes the way countries adapt is futile, it shows the potential of altering and the strategic purpose.
The machine gun also forced Allies and Central Powers to adapt. The machine gun was about as powerful as 80 soldiers with rifles and took four to six people to operate. Also with the development of the one-man 9-14 kilogram Bergmann M18 submachine gun the importance of the trench was intensified.
"The enemy started to advance in mass down the railway cutting, about 800 yards off, and Maurice Dease fired his two machine-guns into them and absolutely mowed them down. I should judge without exaggeration that he killed at least 500 in two minutes. The whole cutting was full of bodies and this cheered us all up." (Tower 10)
The quote shows that old strategies of rushing ranks would be met with automatic weapons. So a new tactic was developed: the trench. The trenches were developed into three lines: the front lines, the support, and the reserve lines. That strategy was used so that the trenches would not fall to the Allies because they could retreat. Also, because of the advancement in artillery, the three trenches made it harder for other countries to blow a continuous hole through their trench lines.
However, the trench was very inefficient. The smell of dried sweat, excrement, dead bodies, and poison gas made life nearly unbearable. Also, you couldn't look above the trench in fear of snipers on the other end. With every technology there is a weakness and so every country tries to exploit it. So when they figured out that poison gas could get into the trenches; they used it. One example is when the jet was built; heat-seeking missiles were designed mostly to combat enemy planes.
An additional invention used against the trench was the tank. Later tanks could run over trenches and barbed wire. They also had machine guns and a cannon mounted along the tank. Thus, they were dubbed "the land ship." The most famed battle was the Battle of Cambrai when 474 Allied tanks rumbled through 12 miles of Germany front lines on November 20, 1917. Again other countries copied this design to combat the British's tanks. The tank essentially made the trench worthless and eventually won the war for Britain.
The ever-evolving tactics of war will never stop. Each technology will be exploited for weaknesses and eventually crushed by new technology. The Great War introduced many controversies (poison gas) but most importantly the method of future war. WW1 has jump-started the way of major wars and has always provided the basis of the wars that we know of today; tanks, machine guns, military airplanes, and high explosives. As you can see, WW1 set the precedent for all future wars, and brought technology into a new age.
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