The amount of change in the conditions on the Western Front was minor compared to the amount of continuity. The Industrial Revolution along with mass production may have led these changes in the technology of warfare to take place. Throughout the war, it had been incredibly difficult to attack the enemy without having a substantial number of casualties from your own side. This was made no easier with the cutting-edge inventions that had been introduced later on in the war. These modifications were made on bolt-action infantry rifles, machine guns, rifled artillery, and also zigzag trenches as oppose to straight line ones. As a result of these technological advances, new tactics were put into practice. Tactics which involved using explosives underground as an attack or as a distraction for men to cross enemy lines were used and so sensitive listening devices were crucial. The development of attacking mechanisms meant that defensive mechanisms would also need to progress; this was a continuous cycle. The short term effects of improved tactics were that the fighting and living conditions became worse than ever. Soldiers would constantly fear death, as new, unexpected tactics were put into place. With the enhancement of technology, came the introduction of aircraft, tanks and gas; each of which underwent major renovation through the duration of the war. Aircrafts began unarmed but soon had machine guns attached, allowing them to cause havoc at the enemy line. Planes had more than just one use; they were also used for reconnaissance and bombing supplies behind trench lines. A short term effect of the usage of aircrafts was that it gave both sides an observational advantage as well as a disadvantage because no advances could be made w... ... middle of paper ... ...ugh there may not have been any major short term effects of the changes like the introduction of new technology, the long term effects are still happening today. Technology such as tanks, aircrafts and weapons had the biggest impact on the conditions of both living and fighting. However, this was just one significant change, and much more stayed the same throughout the course of the war. This included mental illness, disease, hygiene and the awful weather and surface conditions which soldiers fought in. These were all small things, which had a substantial impact on the war; most of the short term effects were physical and included harming soldiers, whereas the long term effects included them being mentally and psychologically traumatized. Even though the changes were significant, they were very few made and so I believe there was more continuity between 1914 and 1918.
When we think of weapons that the soldiers used in War World I we think of them as defense. But what is sort of ironic is that the same weapons the soldiers used to protect them selves were the same weapons that killed them. "The development of poison gases took on a new urgency during 1914-18." (http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/index.htm) Poison gas was a lethal or incapacitating gas used as a weapon in warfare. It was used extremely between the years of 1914-1918 in order to torture enemies during war. Another major weapon used during the war was the machine gun. "The machine gun was a fairly primitive device when general war began in August 1914." (http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/index.htm) The machine gun is an automatic weapon that fires rapidly and repeatedly without requiring separate squeezes on the trigger each time. This weapon was one of the most affective weapons and murdered the most enemies. These weapons were similar to the weapons that Remarque described in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front.
In today’s world, the use of airplanes in wars or in everyday life has become a part of how we live as human beings. Removing the air forces of the world is like taking a step back in time when wars were only fought on land or sea. WWI began only eleven short years after the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 19031 and yet aircrafts were being used for surveillance and eventually combat purposes. It is understood that these aircrafts were primitive, but they laid down the foundation for what we know today as fighter jets. The Fokker Eindecker “revolutionized air combat by successfully employing a synchronized forward -firing machine gun mounted on the engine cowling”2. Because this airplane became the first to successfully use a synchronized machine gun, it allowed its pilots to become the first aerial combat tactitions3.
People did not expect the war to develop in the way it did. In 1914
New advances in technology changed warfare in WW2. The change in technology since WW1 has produced such things as Atom Bomb, and new and improved sea and air warfare. New techniques had to be used because of technology, techniques such as 'mouseholing'. More people were killed because of technology, as more people died in WW2 than WW1.The technological advances in WW2 changed the battlefield completely as more deadly auxiliary was introduced.
and the plan had failed, also as the French had no back up plan they
trying to obtain an hour or two of sleep. As well as being in the
World War Warfare was one of the greatest examples of technological advancement and strategic challenge, with the introduction of inventions such as the aircraft and the tank the battlefield transformed from attrition as scene in the early years of the war to decisive by the end of the war.
Life on the Western Front During World War One A dispassionate look at the numbers of the horrendous casualties sustained by the armies of the Allies and the Central Powers on the Western Front in WW1, clearly indicate that these casualties figures are far inferior to what might be anticipated if, indeed, total war had reigned in every location, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and along all the 475 miles of trenches that extended from the North Sea to Switzerland. A couple of simple examples will readily make the case. Imagine two front-line trenches separated by only 20 to 30 yards of ‘No Man’s Land’ (in some extraordinary situations, distances were even less). A determined and prolonged effort by a few hand-grenade bombers on either side could make any hope of a sustained tenancy quite impossible. Again, given the accuracy and rapidity which trench mortars could be deployed against routinely manned trenches (one battalion per 1,000 yards) and their associated dug-outs, a quite short, but determined, and mutually hostile, barrage could readily reduce both trench systems to total ruin.
Johnson, David E. Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917-1945. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998. Print.
During, and after World War I, there were lots of things that changed and advanced, some of the main, big changes and advances after World War I, was in the field of phycology and medicine. There were many different advances in the field of medicine after World War I, some of the main, medical advances, were in the field of surgery, development of new drugs, and in the field mental health and phycology.
Many new and improved weapons and artillery were brought out during the war. One example of this introduction of new weapons was the long-range rocket. Also during this time, the atomic bomb proved to have a big impact on the war. Along with these new and improved weapons, falls the infamous tanks of World War II (Military History 1). Although some weapons proved to be more important than others, every weapon played an important role in fighting this war.
One weapon or machine was created, and an even better one was made. New developments such as machine guns, poison gas, tanks, and new strategies to thwart trench warfare affected how WWI was fought and it came with catastrophic results. Poison gas is perhaps the most feared weapon out of all. Created to overcome the long stalemate style of trench warfare, its purpose was to draw out soldiers hiding in the trenches. One side would throw the poison gas into the enemy trenches and they would either wait for their enemy to come out into open fire or perish in the trenches.
Historians generally refer to WWI as the first 'total war'. It was the first conflict in which modern industrialized societies mobilized their complete economic, technological and psychological resources in order to wage war. Unlike earlier wars, which involved relatively small numbers of soldiers on the battlefield, it affected many aspects of the lives of civilian populations and demanded enormous sacrifices and support from them. Mobilization of the home front was crucial to achieving military victory. Some of the main aspects of Total War include conscription of men into the armed services, increased government control of the economy and daily lives of citizens and subsequent loss of personal liberty. Control of the labor force, physical safety and security of civilian populations threatene...
By December 1914 the First World War had reached a dilemma on the western front that neither the triple entente nor the triple alliance had expected. The war had reached a stalemate, a state where both sides are so evenly balanced that neither can breakthrough against the enemy. The advances in Technology played a big role in creating the stalemate through strong defensive weaponry such as Machine Guns and Artillery, this caused ‘trench warfare’ (BOOK 48). Trench war is when troops from both sides are protected from the enemy’s firepower through trenches. Many advances in technology also attempted to break the stalemate throughout the war with tanks, gas and aircraft, these however failed. Eventually the stalemate was broken through a combination of improved technology, new strategies and the blockading of the German ports.
Warfare was in a state of transition. Older commanders and generals in the French and British militaries were very cavalry and infantry focused. These commanders believed that cavalry, infantry, and artillery would assure victory in any circumstance, against any foe. They clung to the static tactics of the bygone World War I era. World War I had been fought primarily on French soil, and the military as well as the government never wanted that to happen again, therefore they wanted to reinforce their main border against any future German. Little did they know that only twenty two years later they would be bested by German forces in a way that would shock the world. This research will be analyzing many important assumptions, oversights,...