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Weapons of World War I

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Written by
Michael Ray
Michael Ray is an assistant managing editor who has worked at Britannica since 2003. In addition to leading the Geography and History team, he oversees coverage of European history and military affairs....
Michael Ray
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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
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  • Depth charge

    German activity at sea; another depth mine explodes; no year date on photo. (World War I)
    depth chargeBritish ship laying depth charges in the vicinity of a submerged German submarine during World War I.
    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

    Depth charges were first developed by the Royal Navy during World War I to combat German submarines.

  • Military aircraft

    England's army planes at Hendon, England, inspected by Major A.D. Carter; undated photo. (World War I)
    military aircraftBritish airfield at Hendon, outside London, England, during World War I.
    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

    World War I was a crucible for military aircraft development. Between 1914 and 1918, planes advanced from barely airworthy craft to effective weapons platforms.

  • Rifle

    The newly equipped Serbian army arriving at 4th Coy. With British boots and French rifles, near Salonika, Greece; April 1916. (World War I)
    World War ISerbian infantryman near Salonika (now Thessaloníki), Greece, April 1916.
    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

    Infantry weapons underwent a massive change in the late 19th century, as repeating rifles entered widespread use. The World War I infantryman could produce a volume of fire that dwarfed that of his mid-19th-century predecessors.

  • Zeppelin

    German Zeppelin flies over Kiel Bay, Germany during a World War I manuever.
    zeppelinA zeppelin flying over the harbour at Kiel, Germany, on maneuvers during World War I.
    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

    German airships achieved moderate success in long-range bombing operations, as Zeppelins could attain higher altitudes than the airplanes of the era.

  • Chemical weapons

    French front. In Alsace, in a village close the border and exposed to bombardment. Soldiers demonstrating to the women how they can adjust on themselves the masks to guard against the murderous gas. (World War I)
    chemical weapons in World War ISoldiers demonstrating the proper wearing of a gas mask to civilians near the front lines in the French region of Alsace.
    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

    Chemical weapons, such as diphosgene and mustard gas, were employed extensively on the Western Front.

  • Artillery

    Fourteen-inch railway gun, manned by American coast artillerymen, sends its projectiles 20 miles away upon a German railway and troop movement center, such, at least, is the report of the airplane observer working in liaison with the gunners.(World War I)
    World War I; artilleryAmerican 14-inch railway gun firing projectiles at a German railway and troop movement center some 20 miles (32 km) away.
    U.S. Signal Corps/National Archives, Washington, D.C.

    Artillery literally shaped the battlefield in World War I. It ranged in size from the French 75-mm field gun to the massive 420-mm Big Bertha and the 210-mm Paris Gun.

  • Cavalry

    W.A.S. Dunlop and three other soldiers from the 4th Light Horse Brigade at Giza, Egypt, approximately 1915.
    World War IMembers of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade at Giza, Egypt, during World War I.
    National Library of Australia, nla.obj-148034768

    Despite the advances in technology, cavalry retained a significant role in World War I, and horses died by the millions in the conflict.

  • Battleship

    Figure 30: HMS Orion, super dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. Heavier than HMS Dreadnought but just as fast, this ship mounted 10 13.5-inch guns of greater armour-piercing power in five turrets along the centreline of the vessel.The Orion was pre
    HMS Orion; dreadnoughtHMS Orion, super dreadnought battleship of the Royal Navy. Heavier than the HMS Dreadnought but just as fast, this ship mounted 10 13.5-inch guns of greater armour-piercing power in five turrets along the centreline of the vessel. The Orion was present at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and was scrapped under the Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty of 1922.
    The National Maritime Museum, London

    The age of the battleship reached its apotheosis in World War I, as even the Dreadnought, the archetypal “big-gun” ship, found itself outgunned. Super dreadnoughts, such as the HMS Orion, ruled the waves; their reign was short, however, as developments in naval aviation would soon render such ships obsolete.

  • Machine gun

    German machine gunners occupy a trench during World War I.
    trench warfareA German machine gun emplacement during World War I.
    Prints and Photographs Division/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (digital file no. LC-USZ62-136100)

    Machine guns were an exceptionally lethal addition to the battlefield in World War I. Heavy guns, such as the Maxim and Hotchkiss, made “no man's land” a killing zone, and Isaac Newton Lewis's light machine gun saw widespread use at the squad level and as an aircraft armament.

  • Tank

    Mark IV (Male) tank of H Battalion ditched in a German trench while supporting the 1st Battalion, 1st Leicestershire Regiment, one mile west of Ribecourt, northern France during the Battle of Cambrai, November 20, 1917.(World War I)
    tank in the Battle of CambraiBritish Mark IV (Male) tank ditched in a German trench during the Battle of Cambrai, November 20, 1917.
    Robert Hunt Library/Mary Evans Picture Library/age fotostock

    Tanks were used primarily in a supporting role. The armoured vehicle would not truly come into its own until the doctrines of J.F.C. Fuller and Basil Liddell Hart were more widely adopted in World War II.

  • Unexploded ordnance

    A French blind projectile sticking fast at a tree new, Avricourt, France. (World War I)
    World War IUnexploded shell lodged in a tree near Avricourt, France.
    Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

    The French government estimates that millions of unexploded shells from World War I remain buried or undiscovered in the French countryside. Every year, bomb-clearing units remove more than 40 tons of unexploded munitions from the Verdun area alone.