Step 14 of 106
New weapons of industrial war
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- Machine guns: gave defenders overwhelming firepower, making infantry charges suicidal
- Artillery: produced 70% of WWI casualties. Massive bombardments preceded almost every attack.
- Poison gas: first used by Germany at Ypres (1915). Chlorine, mustard, and phosgene gases produced horrific injuries.
- Tanks: first used by Britain at the Somme (1916). Slow and unreliable but pointed toward future warfare.
- Submarines: U-boats threatened British shipping. Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare drew the U.S. into the war.
- Airplanes: initially for reconnaissance, then for combat. The era of aerial warfare began.
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