WWI Weapons and Tactics!
Poison Gas!
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Chemical warfare was an important aspect of the Great War. The
poison gas was among the most feared the weapons used in World
War I. The soldiers feared the deadly agony and long-drawn
suffering caused by poison gasses.!
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Tear gas grenades were initially used in August 1914 by the
French. By October 1914, the Germans had come up with their own
variations of gas ammunition.!
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In January 1915, Germany became the first country to employ the
use of lethal poison gasses such as chlorine. The use of
chlorine in Ypres caused significant damage to the Allied
lines.!
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Phosgene and mustard were much-feared gasses - phosgene for its
deceptively delayed effects and mustard gas for the violent
blisters and painful scalds it caused the internal and external
organs.!
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It is estimated that about 4 percent of the causalities of
World War I can be attributed to poison gas. In the course of
the war, some very effective gas masks and protective gear were
also fashioned.!
Poison gas canisters!
Poison gas attack!
Soldiers and their trained dogs
wearing gas masks to defend
themselves against poison gas
attacks!
The effects of poison gas!
Trench Warfare!
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The Western Front Trench line stretched from the North Sea to
the Franco-Swiss frontier!
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Death and disease were omnipresent in the trenches. Sniper’s
bullets, rapid artillery fires, and diseases took a heavy
toll on the trench soldiers.!
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Over 200,000 soldiers are estimated to have died in the
trenches of the Western Front. Though a good number of these
died in action, a significant number succumbed to disease and
infection too.!
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Diseases included trench fever caused by lice, trench foot
caused by the cold and unsanitary living conditions, plague
caused by rats, and shell shock.!
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The one striking feature of life in the trenches as narrated
by the troops is the stench that assaulted the senses. The
reek of decomposing carcasses from the shallow graves, the
stench from unhygienic cesspits, the smell of human sweat,
and rotting food, all mingled together, making life in the
trenches rather unbearable.!
Life in the trenches!
Trenches
flooding
from the
rain!
If a soldiers feet were submerged
in flooded trenches, they would
often develop ‘Trench Foot’!
Soldiers had to find creative ways
to sleep in the trenches!
Trenches were often infested with gigantic rats
Tanks!
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The initial tanks of World War I were devised to counter
the frustrating stalemate of trench warfare on the Western
Front.!
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Tanks were introduced by the British in 1916. Mobility of
the tanks through the rough terrains came up as one of the
primary issues concerned with the use of tanks. Soon,
however, the British developed sophisticated tanks that
eliminated the disadvantages of the initial tanks.!
• 
The Germans produced the A7V but concentrated their efforts
in the production of anti-tank guns. Special armor-piercing
ammunition was also devised by the Germans to combat the
menace of the tanks.!
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Toward the end of World War I the British and French troops
scored a significant victory over the Germans in the
Western Front due to their advanced tanks. !
Short video on the WWI Tank!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCsldbh9hAY!
Naval Warfare!
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The launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 made major headway in naval
technology. Britain was at an advantage with its large and wellequipped fleet.!
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The Battle of Jutland in 1916 between the Grand Fleet of the British
Royal Navy and the High Seas fleet of the Imperial German Navy was
the largest battle between the Allied and Central navies in World War
I.!
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Germany concentrated on building sophisticated submarines The German
U-boats hounded British merchant vessels. The First Battle of the
Atlantic recorded this struggle between the German submarine prowess
and British efforts to foil them.!
A German U-boat (submarine)
Dreadnought!
Guns, Riffles and Grenades!
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Machine guns dominated the trench warfare of the Western
Front and caused heavy causalities. The Vickers machine
gun was the early machine gun used by the British
troops. With the United States joining the war the Lewis
Gun, developed in 1911 was introduced. Besides being
much lighter, the Lewis Gun could be produced more
quickly.!
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Through World War I, a number of rifles were
manufactured by the warring nations and were the main
arms used by the infantry. !
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Hand grenades and flamethrowers were used to combat the
stalemate of the trench warfare. Flamethrowers could
incinerate a target 25 to 40 meters (or about 80 to 130
feet) away but were difficult to mobilize.!
Vickers Machine Gun!
The later Lewis Machine Gun!
Air Warfare!
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“The sky is about to become another battlefield no less
important than the battlefields on land and sea",
predicted Giulio Douhet, Italian general in 1909. He did
not need to wait long, since World War I was among the
earliest battles in history in which air warfare played
a significant role.!
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The Farman MF-7 and MF-II were early fighter planes
commonly used by the Allied Powers.!
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In 1915, the infamous Zeppelins raided London,
Sunderland, Edinburgh, and the neighboring areas leaving
over 550 civilian casualties. Designed by German officer
Count Ferdinand Zeppelin, the Zeppelin aircrafts were
feared bombers till Britain developed highly successful
anti-aircraft guns.!
MF-11 Plane!
Zeppelin!