Question: By what means did WWI technological advancements and military strategies reconstruct the ways in which war was impetuously confronted and combatted?
The First World War, also known as the Great War, started in 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, and ended with the final surrender of the Triple Alliance. Throughout these years, many new militaristic inventions were created or were improved upon, and aided the many world powers fighting in the war. America, however, didn’t join the war efforts until 1917, and provided only foreign aid to the Triple Entente. America created new airplanes for reconnaissance, the French dug huge trenches for trench warfare in the Battle of Marne, and Germans developed new sea warfare. …show more content…
The massive and rapid increase in the use of airplanes for fighting, rather than just basic reconnaissance, changed the way war was fought immensely. It added new powerful war machines to the mix: firebombs, zeppelins, and fighter planes. Before this, airplanes were really only manufactured and used in war to locate enemy lines and help mobilize troops. But once they were loaded with bombs, then they made for effective tools in destroying cities and camps. Although many innocent cities and lives were decimated, firebombs created massive damage in cities like “Paris and Antwerp” (Collin 6). Christen Collin also said in his book, The War Against Wars, that even “one solitary aeroplane dropping grenades or incendiary bombs can spread terror in a town of a million people” (Collin 6). Creating this mass panic and destruction also created panic among the enemy military and prevented them from furthering their frontlines in the war. It also left the country in a state of unrest and debt so they would have to rebuild. They were weakened. These changes were positive for both sides in this manner, and led to a lot of future changes. Firebombs and other bombs were used in many future wars, like WWII, and were helpful in destroying Germany in both wars, though they were mostly designed by the Germans themselves. Zeppelins were also created by the German army engineers. These large lead balloons could also drop bombs and carry people, and led to more firebombing and small bombings of the Western Fronts. However, they were replaced by fighter planes and specially designed bombers. A famous example of fighter plane would be Manfred von Richthofen, or “The Red Baron”. The Red Baron was German fighter pilot who killed and shot down 80 Entente airplanes in WWI (Connolly). Many airplanes were equipped with machine guns and bombs, which made for really damaging air raids and battles. These innovations and improvements led to
The First World War, also known as the Great War, started in 1914 when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, and ended with the final surrender of the Triple Alliance. Throughout these years, many new militaristic inventions were created or were improved upon, and aided the many world powers fighting in the war. America, however, didn’t join the war efforts until 1917, and provided only foreign aid to the Triple Entente. America created new airplanes for reconnaissance, the French dug huge trenches for trench warfare in the Battle of Marne, and Germans developed new sea warfare. …show more content…
The massive and rapid increase in the use of airplanes for fighting, rather than just basic reconnaissance, changed the way war was fought immensely. It added new powerful war machines to the mix: firebombs, zeppelins, and fighter planes. Before this, airplanes were really only manufactured and used in war to locate enemy lines and help mobilize troops. But once they were loaded with bombs, then they made for effective tools in destroying cities and camps. Although many innocent cities and lives were decimated, firebombs created massive damage in cities like “Paris and Antwerp” (Collin 6). Christen Collin also said in his book, The War Against Wars, that even “one solitary aeroplane dropping grenades or incendiary bombs can spread terror in a town of a million people” (Collin 6). Creating this mass panic and destruction also created panic among the enemy military and prevented them from furthering their frontlines in the war. It also left the country in a state of unrest and debt so they would have to rebuild. They were weakened. These changes were positive for both sides in this manner, and led to a lot of future changes. Firebombs and other bombs were used in many future wars, like WWII, and were helpful in destroying Germany in both wars, though they were mostly designed by the Germans themselves. Zeppelins were also created by the German army engineers. These large lead balloons could also drop bombs and carry people, and led to more firebombing and small bombings of the Western Fronts. However, they were replaced by fighter planes and specially designed bombers. A famous example of fighter plane would be Manfred von Richthofen, or “The Red Baron”. The Red Baron was German fighter pilot who killed and shot down 80 Entente airplanes in WWI (Connolly). Many airplanes were equipped with machine guns and bombs, which made for really damaging air raids and battles. These innovations and improvements led to