New Technologies of World War I

The Arms Race– building the biggest, newest and best

Four M.A.I.N. Causes of WWI

• Militarism: building up of a nation’s military and weaponry. All wanted the biggest

• Alliances: formed in case of a war. All quick to help out their friends

• Imperialism: Colonies all over world, esp. Africa/Asia, colonies had to fight their empire’s enemies. Contest for biggest empire

• Nationalism: Pride in one’s country (often taken too far) Same as patriotism

Militarism

• Building up of a nation’s military.• Mainly done to protect far off colonies from

enemies.• Once one country started building its armies,

all the nations started doing it (domino effect)• Armies and Navies were ready to go in case of

any trouble (created a nervous situation)– Any minor disagreement might start a war

Trench WarfareA new tactic developed for WWI

Involved digging trenches and fighting from the ditches

Brutal form of fighting that tests the mental toughness of any soldier

Fighting by attrition- grind it out until someone runs out of supplies and soldiers

A picture from the trenches in Northern France

Trenches in the movie “War Horse”

New Technologies- Tanks

The Renault Tank- used to cross rough terrains, tanks were first used by the British.Tanks could also clear a path for an infantry (men on foot)

Airplanes

Airplane from WWI, first war which planes were used in combat/recon. Didn’t use guns at first but later did and also used to drop bombs strategically on enemy factories, power stations and shipyards.

SubmarinesGerman U-Boats:Used to cut off supplyships between the USAnd Britain

SONAR Stands for: SOund Navigation AndRanging

Sonar developed to Fight for and againstSubmarines(radar in the water)

Poison Gases

Mustard Gases being released during WWI, wind conditions had to be just right to do so to the enemy

Gas Masks to combat Breathable poison Gases.

Masks were made for dogs and horses too.

But some gases, like Mustard Gas, couldn’t be stopped by gas masks alone. This chemical harmed the skin

Machine Guns

Used to mow downEnemy soldiers.

Only rifles were used before.

Destruction

Decomposing body near the trenches.

Wars before allowed forpeople to collect the dead at the end of eachFighting day, but WWI went all day and all night, 24/7

RehabilitationMasking injuries from the battlefield: new technology of cosmetics

This is a character on Boardwalk Empire, a WWI Veteran named Richard Harrow

Communication

-Telephones on the battlefield, first time in a major was that this was being done. -Reconnaissance also used to spy on enemies by air, and telephone

FoodCanned foods- a way to keep soldiers fed while they werestuck in the trenches