WW1 Weapons: From Trenches to Tanks

The Industrialization of Death

World War 1 saw the collision of 19th-century tactics with 20th-century weapons. Cavalry charges met machine guns. Infantry advances met artillery barrages. The result was unprecedented slaughter.

But from the carnage came innovation. Tanks, aircraft, submarines, chemical weapons — technologies that would define modern warfare were born or matured in the Great War.

What You'll Explore

The Weapons That Created Stalemate

Machine Guns: The weapon that made trench warfare inevitable. A single gun could mow down hundreds of advancing troops.

Artillery: The war's biggest killer. Massive bombardments that pulverized landscapes and men alike.

Barbed Wire: Simple but deadly. Miles of wire protecting trenches from infantry assault.

Attempts to Break the Deadlock

Poison Gas: Chlorine, phosgene, mustard gas. Chemical warfare's horrific debut.

Tanks: Britain's secret weapon. From Little Willie to the breakthroughs of 1918.

Flamethrowers: Terror weapons for trench clearing.

Aircraft: From reconnaissance to fighters to bombers.

Naval Technology

U-Boats: Submarine warfare's first major campaign.

Dreadnoughts: The massive battleships that never quite fought.