Two main types of artillery were used during World War I, light field artillery pulled by horses, and heavier guns, such as howitzers, moved by tractor and set up on strengthened panels on the ground. The standard German trench mortar guns were called minenwerfers bomb-throwers.
They came in three sizes, this one being the smallest. This gun required six men to move it. The huge 10in 26cm version needed 21 men. This gauge was used to lift or lower the barrel at different angles to allow the gunners to fire with more accuracy. French 75 mm field guns also saw action in the Second World War, during which some were modified by the Germans into anti-tank guns with limited success.
A pair of German soldiers and their mule wear GMs, Germany's first gas mask. These helped prevent inhalation of mustard gas and other potential biochemicals. Poison gas. On April 22, , German artillery fired cylinders containing chlorine gas in the Ypres area, the beginning of gas attacks in the First World War. Other nations raced to create their own battlefield gases, and both sides found ways to increase the severity and duration of the gases they fired on enemy troop concentrations.
Chlorine gas attacked the eyes and respiratory system; mustard gas did the same but also caused blistering on any exposed skin. Comparatively few men died from gas. Most returned to active service after treatment, but the weapon incapacitated large numbers of troops temporarily and spread terror wherever it was used. The use of poison gas was outlawed by international law following the war, but it has been used in some later conflicts, such as the Iran-Iraq War — The long-sought weapon became reality during the First World War.
Improved tanks were deployed during the war, but breakdowns remained a significant problem that led many commanders to believe the tank would never play a major role in warfare. The Germans developed an armored fighting vehicle only in response to the British and French deploying tanks. The only German design of the war, A7V, was an awe-inspiring but cumbersome beast that resembled a one-story building on treads. Initially, tanks were doled out in small numbers to support infantry attacks. The Battle of Cambrai , November 20, , is generally regarded as the first use of massed tank formations; the British deployed over of them for that battle.
However, the French had already successfully employed 76 tanks during the battle at Malmaison on October 23, , one of the most impressive French victories of the Great War. Guns were invented which used cylinders of compressed air as propellant.
Due to the difficulties of keeping them supplied with bottled carbon dioxide they did not see widespread use except for the short range French Brandt mortar, seen here with its inventor. The smaller 17 and 18cm minenwerfer were less dangerous to their crews and could be operated up close. TV A new online only channel for history lovers.
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