Weapon Revolution WW1
HIST 1001
FATher ZEPS
Section 102 date
Revolution in weapons: initiated by machine guns and the trench warfare
Europe remained in peace for the whole century after Napoleonic invasion in 1814 mainly due to balance of power and principle of intervention, proposed by Metternich during a congress in Vienna 1815. By the end of 19th century however, high pressure and drive for conflicts were accumulated around major European powers, mainly due to sense of nationalism and universally appealing theory of Social Darwinism. On July 28, the First World War begins after assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian minister, from the browning pistol. Generally speaking, weapon initiated the war. WW1 has showed that quality of weapons is by far more important factor than the number of troops in possession of a state. The First World War showed the dark side of civilization and triggered the inventions of revolutionary new ways of utilizing earlier developed scientific concepts, which were adapted into a number of the killing mechanisms. Also new and more powerful weapons were developed. The innovations touched machine guns, poisonous gases, air warfare, and tanks.
The major influence on the World War I did the invention of a machine gun. That revolutionary Maxim-system gun, replaced the era of muzzle loaders, which had slow fire rate. Around 1-2 shots per minute guns were replaced with 600 bullets per minute fire rate. Such gun did not let the enemy get close to each other due to flat landscape occupied by Germany over a vast area of France. Such a position has led to development of trench warfare. Self-dogged canals used by both opposing forces in order to protect themselves from a fire rain of machine guns, while staying in relatively safe positions. Without trenches there would be more causality, because the attacking soldiers were literally moaned down by the fire of machine guns. British Army used Vickers machine gun, which could fire a million bullets without
FATher ZEPS
Section 102 date
Revolution in weapons: initiated by machine guns and the trench warfare
Europe remained in peace for the whole century after Napoleonic invasion in 1814 mainly due to balance of power and principle of intervention, proposed by Metternich during a congress in Vienna 1815. By the end of 19th century however, high pressure and drive for conflicts were accumulated around major European powers, mainly due to sense of nationalism and universally appealing theory of Social Darwinism. On July 28, the First World War begins after assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the Austrian minister, from the browning pistol. Generally speaking, weapon initiated the war. WW1 has showed that quality of weapons is by far more important factor than the number of troops in possession of a state. The First World War showed the dark side of civilization and triggered the inventions of revolutionary new ways of utilizing earlier developed scientific concepts, which were adapted into a number of the killing mechanisms. Also new and more powerful weapons were developed. The innovations touched machine guns, poisonous gases, air warfare, and tanks.
The major influence on the World War I did the invention of a machine gun. That revolutionary Maxim-system gun, replaced the era of muzzle loaders, which had slow fire rate. Around 1-2 shots per minute guns were replaced with 600 bullets per minute fire rate. Such gun did not let the enemy get close to each other due to flat landscape occupied by Germany over a vast area of France. Such a position has led to development of trench warfare. Self-dogged canals used by both opposing forces in order to protect themselves from a fire rain of machine guns, while staying in relatively safe positions. Without trenches there would be more causality, because the attacking soldiers were literally moaned down by the fire of machine guns. British Army used Vickers machine gun, which could fire a million bullets without