Military Technology's Influence On The Triple Entente

The First World War was a time when all types of military technology underwent significant advancements and these had a major influence on the outcomes of battles, numbers of casualties and ultimately on the victory of the Triple Entente. Though both sides waged war on air, land and sea, some of these facets of military effort held more importance in the war and its outcomes, than others. Though aerial warfare caused more civilian casualties and destruction, it was naval warfare had the most significant impact on the outcomes of the war.
Naval warfare had been established long before the war and for this reason, its technology was more advanced in 1914 than that of aircraft, which were invented only eleven years prior to the outbreak of war.
The two-person crew of a surveillance aircraft comprised of a pilot and a passenger who held a camera to photograph the scenes below. Though this provided invaluable information for those planning attacks, such as the positions of U-Boats, minefields and trench systems, the use of aircraft in the First World War only helped to increase the accuracy of the attacks on the sea and on land. The extent of aircraft combat was restricted to ‘Dog Fights’, which were reconnaissance pilots trying to bring down other reconnaissance pilots by using pistols and rifles. Apart from this, the use of aircraft did not have a significant impact on the outcome of the war. Some may argue that without the information that reconnaissance planes brought, the outcome of battles may have been different. While this may be valid in some cases, power and ammunition were the major factors in most battles, rather than the planning. This is where the ‘might’ of the navy becomes of more importance than strategy. This correlates with the opinion of historian Charles Townshend, ‘Firepower replaced manpower as an instrument of victory’. This is demonstrated in the greatest naval battle of World War One: The Battle of
Many countries wanted to recruit soldiers to fight in the trenches or to join the navy. This was far more important as the navy served a greater purpose. Navies were more important because navies were invaluable to the countries with colonies. Ships were used to transport the recruits from one country to another. For example, ships were vital to transport Canadian recruits to the UK. They were also important so empires could monitor their overseas colonies and then even more so in the war to either create or overcome blockades, destroy enemy fleets and to gain control of key areas of sea. Countries encouraged people to join the navy rather than the air force. For example, posters were published in Britain that said ‘It’s better to be killed by bullets than by bombs at home’. This is an explicit advertisement to leave the Home Front and fight for the country overseas. This shows that the creators of this propaganda acknowledged the terror came with air raids and used this to persuade young men to recruit themselves. They took advantage of this to inflate numbers for the navy and the armies in the trenches. This proves that naval warfare was more important to countries because it was a stronger