World War I Technology

1. World War ITechnology How scientists would win the war

2. Weapons • Some of the significant inventions included: • Flame throwers • Poison gas • Tracer bullets • Depth charges & hydrophones • Tanks

3. Flame Throwers • Created in 1901 and first used by Germans in 1911 • The weapon was particularly effective during WW I as troops tended to hide in bunkers and dugouts within trenches • Further unlike grenades the flamethrower did not destroy the trench and bunkers allowing the attacking force to make use of them

4. Poison Gas • Was first used on the Russian front, however cold temperatures froze the poison in the shells limiting its effectiveness • Its first successful use was in 1915 around Ypres against French colonial troops and then Canadian troops, it wasn’t decisive however as the Germans were slow to follow up with troops • In the long run this was not a particularly effective weapon even as the gas became worse during the war as both sides developed gas masks

5. Tracer Bullets • At first night fighting in WW I was not very effective because you couldn’t see where you were shooting • First created in 1915 by the British it wasn’t very effective but another British design in 1916 resulted in the Tracer bullet we recognize today • One of the reasons they gained popularity was the fact that the same chemicals that made them visible also made them very effective against the Zeppelin balloons that were bombing London and Paris

6. Depth Charges • Submarines had been around since the American civil war however this was the first war where they were a significant weapon • Depth charges are effectively under water bombs set to go off at different depths as measured by water pressure (it also helps ensure the surface vessels isn’t damaged) • First designed in 1913 it wasn’t until 1916 that an effective model was created and by March 1916 it had sunk its first U boat

7. Hydrophones • A hydrophone is basically a microphone underwater that helps tell you approximately where something (like a U boat) is • First created by a Canadian to detect icebergs after the Titanic disaster and was improved upon by a Frenchman, the Americans would further improve it to the point where it could locate a U boat 25 miles away • It claimed its first U boat victim a month after the depth charge in April 1916

8. Tanks • Trenches, barb wire and machine guns had stopped all real movement during the war and generals looked for anything that could bring it back • The first real tank was designed in 1915 by the British • The tank saw its first action at the battle of the Somme in 1916 where it wasn’t particularly effective • The French would design the first tank with a top turret mount that we recognize today

9. Other inventions

10. Radios • By the outbreak of the war the military had access to true radios allowing for verbal communication and not just Morse code though this was heavily used as well • Radios required at minimum 2 pack mules to transport them they were also connected by wires which meant that communication was not always reliable during an enemy attack

11. Radios • This allowed the generals to be able to better control the flow of battle from a distance – which in turn resulted in the trench warfare as the defence was able to get into position quicker than the offense • It changed military tactics as now radio stations as well as telegraph lines were important military targets for the first time

12. Radios • Radios improved during the war to the point that ship to ship communication and even plane to plane communication was possible • Zeppelins used radio signals to hone in on their targets, until the various nations developed counter measures which would lead them into ambushes or off their main targets • Communication from the air would greatly improve artillery effectiveness • Communication amongst ships helped to decrease the effectiveness of submarines against merchant shipping

13. Radio Programming & Censorship • News and programs from home would improve or sustain troop moral • WWI was also the first war of public opinion as the home front was able to know what was happening very quickly even with censorship • One issue is that any news getting to the home front or to the soldiers was very heavily edited

14. Censorship Example • Censorship would lead to the influenza epidemic of 1918 being known as the Spanish Flu as Spain being a neutral country was one of the very few nations to broadcast the fact that they had the epidemic, all of the warring nations blocked this news to not appear weak at a vital time of the war • This was the first pandemic of H1N1 flu the next would be in 2009 • Infected 500 million people killing between 50 and 100 million people roughly 3-5% of the world population at that time • In fact the most commonly accepted theory is the flu broke out in France though it may have either originated or mutated in the US prior to coming to France • In comparison WWI casualties totaled a little of 37 million (17 million dead (10 million soldiers

15. Video Notes • Why did both sides dig trenches? • What hardships did the men face in the trenches? • What were some of the inventions to break the deadlock? • Why did the tanks fail at the Somme?