Ww1 Technology

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Pages: 3

Throughout World War I, also known as The War to End All Wars, came new military grade technologies that advanced combat and changed the way people fought. New weapons and tactics were created to help soldiers adapt to the modern battlefield. Many methods for new weapons did not begin until fifty years after the American Civil War and would be tested in smaller conflicts. While some new technology did not always work, there were three new ways of combat that impacted the war drastically; the use poison gas, the machine gun, and tank warfare. The use of toxic chemicals as weapons can date back more than 1,000 years. Poison gas was mainly used for injuring and killing soldiers defending in trenches. Over the years of the war, new poisonous …show more content…
The concentration of the tear gas was so small that when thrown it was barely noticed. Overtime, more lethal gasses were produced. A more lethal method called phosgene, was introduced by Victor Grignard in France of 1915 (“Chemical weapons in World War I”). Phosgene was colorless and had an odor that was hard to detect; leading to a more effective weapon. It was sometimes mixed with chlorine and when it was, the Allies called this combination White Star. More importantly, phosgene was a deadly killing agent because it could take up to twenty-four hours before symptoms were noticeable. Over the timespan of the war, over 36,000 pounds of phosgene were manufactured; making it second to chlorine in quantity manufactured (“Chemical weapons in World War I”). One of the last manufactured gasses of World War I was mustard gas. It was introduced by Germany in July of 1917 right before the Third Battle of Ypres. Mustard gas gave soldiers mustard-colored blisters and blind eyes while it made them fight for air until their throats would eventually close (“Chemical weapons in World War I”). While it was not great at killing soldiers instantly, the after effects were what made it so