Weaponry and New Hazards The Great War 1914 – April 2010

Intro of New and Improved Weapons  Flamethrower 1 st adopted by the Germans and brought terror to the French and British Originally a small, light version strapped to a person Secondly a larger version that required several people to transport  Twice the range and shoot a burst of flame for 40 sec. Useful only at short-range By end of war, attached to tanks

Weaponry (cont’d)  Bayonets Affixed to the end of a rifle Purely for psychological reasons  Grenades Useful only at short-range More dangerous than the explosion is the shrapnel

Weaponry (cont’d)  Machine Gun Early guns heavy and ill-suited for transport Needed 4 – 6 men to operate Theoretically could fire 400 – 600 rounds/min. However, guns rapidly overheated and became inoperative  Short burst rather than sustained fire

Weaponry (cont’d)  Pistol Originally a cavalry weapon Traditionally issued to officers  Also issued to airmen, tank operators, and MP’s  Rifle Easy to carry compared to machine guns New tech. → small bore, bolt-action rifle  Able to fire multiple rounds from a spring-loaded clip

Weaponry (cont’d)  Tanks Used to break through trench defenses (i.e. barbed wire) Not reliable  Broke down frequently  Became stuck in muddy trenches 1 st developed by French and Brits, stuns the Germans Figures: UK – 2,500France – 4,100 Germany – 20Italy – 6U.S.A. - 84

Weaponry (cont’d)  Mortar Could be fired from a relatively safe location Lighter than larger artillery pieces Land almost straight down in/on enemy trench Negative:  Fired only one shot, then had to reload

New Technology  Airplanes Initially used for scouting purposes Early dogfights resembled duels  Shot at one another with pistols (Flyboys) Mount machine guns on the planes  Propeller in the way Dev. Interrupter gear → Allowed stream of bullets to avoid blades of the propeller Overtime, capable of flying faster and carrying heavy loads

New Technology (cont’d)  Airplanes Probably the most famous pilot of the Great War  A German, the “Red Baron”  Observation Balloons Zeppelins or blimps  Used for observation/scouting/reconnaissance

Hazards  “Shell Shock” A complete nervous and emotional collapse Term coined during this time period Many officers thought their men simply cowards and sent them back to the trenches Doctors referred to it as “neurosis”  Today: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder