The Development of technology in World War I- The use of large-scale artillery, tanks,

submarines, poison gas, aerial warfare and how these changed the nature of warfare.
How did these innovations make warfare more deadly?

Imchalong Longchari

The outcome of wars has often been shaped by military technology which in turn defined
how wars were fought. World War I was fought from 1914 to 1918 and during this period the
world witnessed the development of technology which led to mass-production of weapons
and a move towards industrialisation.
The late 18th and 19th centuries saw a rapid development in technology during the Industrial
Revolution. Starting in Europe, major developments transformed a wide range of industries.
Growing exploitation of minerals like coal and iron were especially important, as was the
advent of the steam engine – especially in ships and trains. The military soon started
harnessing these inventions.
The National Air and Space Museum reports that it was the first modern mechanized
industrial war in which material resources and manufacturing capability were as
consequential as the skill of the troops on the battlefield. It also says, heavy artillery, machine
guns, tanks, motorized transport vehicles, high explosives, chemical weapons, airplanes, field
radios and telephones, aerial reconnaissance cameras, and rapidly advancing medical
technology and science were just a few of the areas that reshaped twentieth century warfare
(source: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/technology-world-war-i).
World War I was less than one year old when British writer H. G. Wells lamented the fate of
humanity at the hands of "man's increasing power of destruction" (H. G. Wells, "Civilization
at the Breaking Point," New York Times, May 27, 1915, 2). Although considered a father of
science fiction, Wells was observing something all too real—technology had changed the face
of combat in World War I and ultimately accounted for an unprecedented loss of human life.
Infantry warfare had depended upon hand-to-hand combat. World War I popularized the use
of the machine gun—capable of bringing down row after row of soldiers from a distance on
the battlefield. This weapon, along with barbed wire and mines, made movement across open
land both difficult and dangerous. Thus, trench warfare was born. The British introduced
tanks in 1916; they were used with airplanes and artillery to advance the front. The advent of
chemical warfare added to the soldier's perils.
Sea and airborne weapons made killing from a distance more effective as well. Guns mounted
on ships were able to strike targets up to twenty miles inland. The stealth and speed of
German submarines gave Germany a considerable advantage in its dominance of the North
Sea. Although airplanes were technologically crude, they offered a psychological advantage.
Newspapers charted the public's reaction—horror and vengeance—to these technological
advancements. A few weeks after the Germans first used poison gas in Ypres, Belgium, on
April 22, 1915, a London newswire to the New York Times described the brutal details of the
attack and the immediate effects on the soldiers, concluding: "It is without doubt the most
awful form of scientific torture." Yet a Daily Chronicle [London] editorial urged Britain to
retaliate with poison gas use of its own (quoted in New York Times, May 7, 1915). In fact,
Germany claimed that the Allies were already using mines charged with poison gas. So
horrified were people by chemical warfare that the use of poison gases was banned for future
wars, although not until 1925.
When Germany's plan for a swift military victory went unrealized, the pace of war bogged
down. Both sides tried to break this stalemate through the use of force. In previous wars,
victory was achieved through territorial supremacy; in World War I it was accomplished by
simply outlasting the opponent—a "war of attrition." When fighting first broke out in August
1914, many hoped the war would be short-lived; few predicted a conflict that would last for
more than four years and scar an entire generation with its unprecedented brutality.
There was a large number of weapons that appeared in the Great War, all of which changed
the way the war was fought. Aeroplanes, aerial bombs, machine guns and light machine guns,
assault rifles, submarines, torpedoes, tanks, poison gases, and the Bangalore torpedoes to
name just a few were all new weapons to warfare. There was also the reintroduction of old
redundant weapons such as mortars and grenades, which also caused the reintroduction of
body and head armour. There was also the introduction of devices for the application of some
of these new weapons such as aircraft carriers, aircraft synchronised machine gun gear, aerial
bomb sights, anti-aircraft guns, bomb launchers and the Leaven’s projectors.
To try and explain how each of these weapons affected the war would take far too much time.
However, one example is the aeroplane.
The aeroplane was in its infancy, the first aeroplane had flown by Orville Wright on 17
December 1903, which was only eleven years before the start of the war in 1914. Aircraft had
been used in war before, by Italy in their war against the Turks 1911-12, for reconnaissance
and even an attempt at aerial bombing, but it was all in a rather haphazard and ad hoc way.
The development of the aircraft tactics therefore can be considered to start in August 1914
(mainly by the French and in a small part by the British, both having done some development
before the war, unlike the Germans who were more interested in airships.) In August 1914,
the French and the British utilised the aeroplane for reconnaissance and for liaison, something
the Germans did not utilise, and was one of the reason their master plan (Schlieffen plan)
failed! Aerial darts (flechettes) were also used at this early stage, but apparently without
effect. Arming aircraft by taking aboard small arms was the next stage in the development,
which led to the use of machine guns, first for the observer, followed for the pilot. Once the
forward firing machine gun was synchronised with the propeller, a whole new field of combat
was developed - air combat. This started in early to mid-1915. At the same time the first
aerial bombs were developed, initially by the observer dropping the bomb over the side of his
aircraft in a very haphazard way. This led to the development of the aerial bomb sights from
late 1915 early 1916. With these engineering developments, plus the improvement of the
aircraft and their engines, led to specialist squadrons being formed; reconnaissance, artillery
observation, fighter and bombing squadrons, along with the development of tactics for these
types of aircraft. With these new branches of the aviation services, cooperation began,
especially with the fighters protecting the reconnaissance and observation aircraft, and later
the bombers. Later in the war there began combined operation with ground attack aircraft
combining with tanks and infantry in attacking enemy positions and lines of communications.
Finally, three other aircraft specialisations were developed. The first in about 1915–16 was
the contact aircraft which provided a link between the attacking forces (infantry and tanks)
and the command team (GHQ and the General Staff). The second from about 1916–17 was
with the development of ground anti-aircraft gunnery and was developed mainly against
bombers. Thirdly, with the reintroduction in 1917 of submarine warfare, the anti-submarine
defense was developed with aspect of search and destroy by aircraft involved.
As seen this somewhat abridge history should a lot was developed in just over four years
which in any terms a very short time!
The first large-scale use of a traditional weapon of mass destruction (chemical, biological, or
nuclear) involved the successful deployment of chemical weapons during World War I.
Historians now refer to the Great War as the chemist’s war because of the scientific and
engineering mobilization efforts by the major belligerents. The development, production, and
deployment of war gases such as chlorine, phosgene, and mustard created a new and complex
public health threat that endangered not only soldiers and civilians on the battlefield but also
chemical workers on the home front involved in the large-scale manufacturing processes. The
story of chemical weapons research and development during that war provides useful insights
for current public health practitioners faced with a possible chemical weapons attack against
civilian or military populations.
Although chemical weapons killed proportionally few soldiers in World War I, the
psychological damage from “gas fright” and the exposure of large numbers of soldiers,
munitions workers, and civilians to chemical agents had significant public health
consequences. Understanding the origins of chemical warfare during World War I and its
emergence during that conflict as a physical and psychological threat to both military and
civilian populations can provide historical insight into possible contemporary medical
responses to this enduring and technologically pervasive threat.
All these technological advancements made warfare more deadly and violent. Most countries
spend a huge part of their budget on defences, which includes technology. The present war
between Russia and Ukraine shows how defence technology and warfare has advanced since
World War I. The world has become a much more violent and dangerous place to live in.

References:
https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/industrialisation-war-lessons-world-war-i

https://www.loc.gov/collections/world-war-i-rotogravures/articles-and-essays/military-
technology-in-world-war-i/
https://www.quora.com/How-did-new-technologies-used-in-WWI-change-warfare
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2376985/
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/technology-world-war-i