On the other hand, these huge guns were not easily movable, and had to be used from a single position, before dismantling and moving them to another location. These were very effective in stopping an infantry charge in its tracks. The Vickers machine gun, the Maxim heavy-machine gun, and its German counterpart, the MG 08 were extremely powerful, easily providing the firepower of around 100 guns, by shooting 400 – 500 bullets every minute. The MP18 sub-machine and the Lewis gun were easily portable, and found widespread use on both sides. However, pistols and revolvers were used mostly by officers, and were not available to all soldiers.īesides these, machine and sub-machine guns were also brought to use. Pistols such as the M1911 and the Luger were used by the American and German forces, respectively. These guns also came with varying bayonets and knives, that could be used in close-quarter combat. Some troops were also provided with carbine guns. The French used both, Lebel and Berthier rifles.
The Lee-Enfield rifles were the most used guns by the British, while the Gewehr 98 Mauser rifles were widely used by the Germans. However, there were also a few automatic versions available. Soldiers on both sides primarily made use of bolt action rifles, which could hold up to 15 rounds, and were capable of firing at targets located around 1 mile away. The Germans also used a rifle-propelled grenade, and the British responded with the stokes mortar that had an indirect firing system. On the other side, the Germans used an impact detonation discus/turtle shell grenade, and a timing detonation black powder hand grenade. Similarly, the French soldiers used the F1 defensive grenade. The most popular British grenades were the ball grenades, double-cylinder grenades, and the Mills bomb, all of which detonated over 5 – 9 seconds after ignition. This meant that by the end of the war, grenades which had timing fuses were preferred over those with impact fuses. However, these weapons were not suitable for trenches, as the soldiers would sometimes strike the sides of the trenches with the grenade while attempting to throw it, resulting in detonation and death of the user itself. Both sides started mostly with grenades that used impact fuses. This led to many changes and improvements throughout the duration of the war. The preferred fighting method for both sides in the conflict was trench warfare, due to which grenades were used more than ever before. Let’s check out the World War 1 weapons in some detail. Military development took place in several fields, like in personal weaponry, grenades, artillery, toxic gas, and new inventions such as tanks, warplanes, and submarines. With the advent of trench warfare, it became a long war of attrition, that lasted for more than 4 years, and took millions of lives. Everyone soon realized that this conflict would be more deadlier than any before it. However, in the hundred years of peace preceding the war, Europe had developed technologies to create sophisticated and destructive weapons of war. This British invention had an unexpected side effect of igniting hydrogen, which made it a weapon of choice for the British soldiers against the hydrogen-inflated German Zeppelins that were bombing England.Īt the beginning of the First World War, the great powers of Europe thought that the conflict would only be limited to cavalry battles and small-scale skirmishes, similar to wars in the past. 303 SPG Mark VIIG became very popular upon its inception in 1916. In this article, we shall look at the most used weapons in World War 1, with pictures for better understanding. This war brought in many new technologies and deadly weapons, that have influenced warfare strategies and weapons development till the present date.
World War 1 was one of the largest and most violent events of the conflict in the history of mankind.
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