Technology of WWI essays

Technology of WWI essays World War I brought many new technological advancements to the battlefield, such as pill boxes, flamethrowers, and mustard gas. But with all this new technology there were no new tactics to use them. Soldiers fought a traditional styled war, but suffered many casualties due to the new technology. Flamethrowers were invented in 1900 by the German army, but werent used on the battlefield until World War I. Flamethrowers simply used some pressurized gas to shoot oil through a nozzle with a flame attached to it creating a jet stream of fire. The first flamethrowers were used by two-men to clear enemy trenches from a range of 25 meters. Later, flamethrowers were upgraded and had a range of up to 40 but still only had 40 seconds of fuel. On an extreme negative, the person using the flamethrower quickly became the target of gunfire and was killed. Pill boxes were small re-enforced concrete shacks with narrow slits in which machine guns would fire out of. The pill-boxes werent used for long due to labor costs, and generals feared that soldiers would become more defensive-minded. The machine-gun had been used foe years before, but new technology provided better guns, and many fell victim to machine gun fire. Another way to eradicate enemies in trenches was by tossing poison gas into their trenches and wait for them to either run out into open gunfire or die in the trench. Two types of poisonous gas were used: Chlorine Gas; and Mustard Gas. Chlorine gas left a yellow-green cloud in its path. The chemical in Chlorine Gas killed by a means of damaging the respiratory system by causing asphyxiation. The gas wasnt nearly as efficient as Mustard Gas though. Since it only took small amounts of Mustard Gas to kill it was easier to infect the enemy. Small amounts of mustard gas were put into artillery shells and fired at the opposing trench. The victims of mustard gas died an extremely slow painful death. Their eyes would clo...