Technology and Warfare in World War I: Weapons & Tactics

Introduction: Technology's Role in World War I

World War I demonstrated a striking transformation in how wars were fought. One of the most obvious technological developments of this period manifested in the weaponry used. Tanks and machine guns had a tremendous impact on the way soldiers engaged in warfare and influenced what it meant to be a soldier. Mass production and the development of flying machines also had a profound impact on modern warfare and the speed at which weapons and vehicles could be manufactured and replaced.

Machine Guns and the Rise of Trench Warfare

So much of World War I is connected to trench warfare: armies on all sides created trenches along the perimeter of the Western Front, stretching from the body of water dividing southern England and northern France all the way to Switzerland. These trenches were reinforced with barbed wire and stations for machine guns. Trench warfare was directly responsible for prolonging the war, because it easily created a stalemate: both sides kept their soldiers bunkered within heavily armed trenches. Leaving the trench to confront the enemy meant almost certain death, as machine guns could rain bullets down on any assailant. This created a war that seemed to go on endlessly, as soldiers had to deal with the monotony, filth, lack of hygiene, and imminent danger of trench life.¹ The monotony that shaped trench warfare for the average soldier was marked by great suffering and carried a deeply macabre quality:

"The typical trench dugout resembles catacombs more than anything else. A long gallery is cut in the ground with pick and shovel. Its dimensions are about those of the cages which Louis XI devised for those of his prisoners whom he wished especially to torture—that is, the height is not great enough to permit a man to stand up and the breadth does not allow him to stretch out. Down the length of one curving wall the soldiers sit huddled, pressed close, elbow to elbow. They are smoking, eating morsels of dry bread, or staring blankly at the wall in front of them. Their legs are wrapped in blankets, their heads in mufflers. Slung or piled about them, filling every inch of extra space, are rifles, sacks, cartridge belts, and other equipment. A villainous draught sweeps by. Tobacco smoke and steaming breath show how swiftly it drives through. The floors are covered with straw, in which vermin breed."²

This passage clearly demonstrates that the technological development of the machine gun caused life at war for the average soldier to be riddled with suffering and profound discomfort. At the same time, the machine gun that enabled this extreme monotony also enabled an immense number of wartime casualties. "Machineguns were modified during the war to be more mobile and to use the same ammunition as the infantry rifles. Most of these weapons fired approximately 500 rounds per minute, of about .30 caliber, with effective ranges out to 2,000 meters… The effect of these new weapons was devastating to the uninitiated and resulted in enormous numbers of casualties. The range and volume of fire created by machineguns in the defense increased the killing ground that an attacker needed to cover before reaching the defending enemy."³ Machine guns thus quickly transformed from primarily a defensive weapon into one centered on offensive assaults. The technological development of the light machine gun meant that in the later stages of the war, infantry units could reorganize to exploit this massive firepower when attacking.

Poison Gas and Psychological Warfare

Another technological aspect of the war connected to trench life was the development of poison gas. Despite the fact that poison gas did not cause a large number of casualties relative to other weapons, it can be viewed as a highly effective form of psychological weaponry. Soldiers knew that poison gas could be unleashed at any time, and it was something that had to be constantly guarded against. The fear of poison gas was immense, even though it proved an ineffective tool for killing large numbers of men.

Conclusion: Technology and the Modern Battlefield

Technology in America and around the world continued to make great strides during World War I. The advances made by technology meant that how wars were fought drastically changed, as did the life of the soldier and what it meant to exist within the battlefield. The machine gun increased the death toll of the war while simultaneously elongating it by enabling entrenched trench warfare. Developments in technology meant that weapons became more powerful and more lethal, and could be manufactured at unprecedented speed to meet the demands of modern warfare.

Bibliography

Lathrop, Daniel T. The Advancement in Weapons Technology Prior to World War One and Its Influence on the Rapid Evolution of German Infantry Tactics from 1914 to 1918. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2014.

Seeger, Alan. Letters and Diary of Alan Seeger. New York: Scribner, 1917. Last modified May 2017. http://www.gwpda.org/memoir/Seeger/Alan1.htm#III.

Tignor, Robert L. Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 4th ed. New York: Norton, 2014.