First tanks Mark I appeared on the battlefields of the Somme in 1916 not as an accident, but as a forced response to trench warfare: 2 years of experience in trench battles showed that infantry and cavalry are helpless in front of machine gun nests and barbed wire. British engineering units secretly developed tracked vehicles under the code name "land ships" - their armor is made of thick, hardened steel 8–12 mm withstood rifle bullets Mauser 98, and the engine Daimler Knight 105 hp allowed to overcome trenches up to 2.5 meters wide. However, the first specimens weighed 28 tons, moved at speed 6 km/h and often got stuck in the mud - their combat debut on September 15, 1916 was both a breakthrough and a demonstration of the weaknesses of the new technology.
Designers from all the warring countries rushed to catch up with Britain: Germany responded with a tank A7V with a 57 mm cannon, France released a light Renault FT-17 with a rotating turret, and Russia tested a prototype "Tsar Tank" on a wheel-tracked track. But the real turning point came not in armored vehicles, but in aviation — by 1918, aircraft ceased to be reconnaissance platforms and turned into weapons of mass destruction.
Tanks: from experiments to mass production
British Mark V (1918) became the first tank with manual transmission, which allowed one driver to drive the car instead of four in earlier models. Its 6 cylinder engine Ricardo developed 150 hp, and the armor was thick 14 mm protected from shells of field guns of caliber 75 mm at a distance of 500 meters. German answer - A7V - was heavier (33 tons) and armed 57 mm Krupp gun, but was produced in small batches: during the entire war Germany built only 20 units against 1200 British tanks.
French Renault FT-17 (1917) revolutionized the design thanks to:
- 🔹 Rotating tower (360° view) - for the first time in history
- 🔹 Compact size (length 5 m, weight 6.5 tons) for transportation by truck
- 🔹 37 mm Puteaux gun or a machine gun Hotchkiss M1914 depending on modification
- 🔹 Crew of 2 people (driver + gunner), which reduced training costs
However, even the best tanks of the First World War had critical flaws. More than 60% of vehicles failed not from enemy fire, but due to mechanical failures or getting stuck in mud. For example, in the Battle of Cambrai (1917), out of 476 British tanks, only 378, and participated in the battle 324.
⚠️ Attention: Tanks Mark I–IV had a “tail” to overcome trenches, but it often clung to obstacles. B Mark V it was abandoned by lengthening the body.
Aviation: from “flying whatnots” to fighters
In 1914, airplanes were used exclusively for reconnaissance, but by 1915 the first synchronizers, allowing you to shoot through the screw. German Fokker Eindecker with a machine gun LMG 08/15 became the first monoplane fighter, capable of conducting targeted fire forward. Its advantage is breaker mechanism, which blocked the shot as the propeller blade passed through the line of fire.
By 1917, British and French designers took the lead:
- 🛩️ Sopwith Camel - the most successful Entente fighter (1294 aircraft shot down), but difficult to pilot due to the shifted center of gravity
- 🛩️ SPAD S.XIII - developed speed 220 km/h thanks to the engine
Hispano-Suiza 8B(220 hp) - 🛩️ Albatros D.III - German biplane with double machine gun Spandau, but vulnerable to burning fuel tanks
Bombers have also evolved: British Handley Page Type O carried 900 kg bombs at a range of 700 km, and German Gotha G.IV first used night raids on London in 1917. However, the main problem remained navigation — the pilots navigated by railways and rivers, and in cloudy weather they often lost their course.
| Airplane model | Speed (km/h) | Armament | Ceiling (m) | Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fokker Dr.I | 165 | 2 × LMG 08/15 | 6 400 | Triplane ("Red Baron" Manfred von Richthofen flew on it) |
| Sopwith Camel | 185 | 2 × Vickers | 5 790 | Shot down more aircraft than any other model |
| SPAD S.XIII | 220 | 1 × Vickers + 1 × Lewis | 6 650 | Favorite aircraft of French aces |
To distinguish British aircraft from German ones, pay attention to the shape of the wings: Sopwith and SPAD they were straight or with a slight bend, and Fokker and Albatros - with a characteristic “bird-like” profile.
Artillery: kings of the battlefield
75 mm field gun Mle 1897 (France) has become a symbol of war - its rate of fire (15 shots/min) and mobility (weight 1.2 tons) made it possible to quickly change positions. German response model - 77 mm Feldkanone 96 n/A - inferior in rate of fire (10 rds/min), but had better accuracy at a distance of up to 8 km.
However, the real horror was heavy guns:
- 💥 Big Bertha (Germany) - 420 mm howitzer that fired 800 kg shells at 12 km. Used to bombard Paris in 1918.
- 💥 BL 15-inch howitzer (UK) - projectile weight 1 ton, range 14 km. Used to destroy concrete fortifications.
- 💥 305 mm howitzer model 1915 (Russia) - could punch 3 meter concrete walls, but weighed 60 tons and was transported only by rail.
The innovation was sound reconnaissance: German officers with help parabolic microphones determined the location of enemy guns by the sound of a shot, and the British used aerial photography to adjust the fire. However, even the most advanced systems did not solve the main problem - shell consumption. For example, in the Battle of the Somme (1916) the British spent 1.7 million shells in a week, but only progressed by 8 km.
⚠️ Attention: Shells with chemical warheads (mustard gas, phosgene) appeared in 1915. German 105 mm howitzers 10.5 cm leFH 16 could shoot them at a distance of up to 9 km.
Chemical weapons: technologies of death
The first gas attack occurred April 22, 1915 near Ypres: the Germans released 168 tons of chlorine out of 6,000 cylinders, which led to 5000 victims in 10 minutes. However, within a year both sides were using phosgene (18 times more toxic than chlorine) and mustard gas (“mustard gas”), which penetrated the fabric and caused burns.
The following were used to deliver gases:
- ☠️ Cylinders with compressors (first attacks are dependent on wind)
- ☠️ Artillery shells (for example German 105 mm "Grünkreuz" with phosgene)
- ☠️ Mortars Livens Projector (British, fired ballonettes with gas at 1.5 km)
Steel protection gas masks:
- 😷 German Gummimaske (1915) - rubber mask with charcoal filter
- 😷 British PH Helmet - a cloth bag impregnated with chemicals
- 😷 French M2 - the first gas mask with replaceable filters for different types of gases
Mustard gas remained in the area for up to 4 weeks, and its traces were discovered 10 years after the war. Damaged as a result of chemical attacks 1.3 million people, of which 90,000 died.
How did mustard gas affect the body?
Hidden text: Mustard gas affected the skin, lungs and eyes. When inhaled, it caused pulmonary edema (suffocation for 24–48 hours); when in contact with the skin, it caused blisters and tissue necrosis. Feature: symptoms appeared after 4–12 hours, when help was no longer useful.
Machine guns: a death machine in the trenches
German Maschinengewehr 08 ("Maxim-08") became main defensive weapon Germany. Its water cooling made it possible to drive continuous fire 1000 rounds/min, and the armored shield protected the crew from shell fragments. French answer - Hotchkiss M1914 — was lighter (23 kg versus 60 kg for the MG-08), but less reliable in the mud.
The British bet on light machine guns:
- 🔫 Lewis Gun - weight 12 kg, 47-round magazine, rate of fire 500 shots/min
- 🔫 Vickers Machine Gun — air-cooled modification of the Maxim, used until World War II
The tactics of using machine guns changed the war:
- Crossfire: 2-3 machine guns fired at the same target from different angles.
- Indirect fire: firing along a hinged trajectory (like artillery) to hit trenches.
- Mobile groups: German Sturmtruppen used light machine guns to support the attack.
⚠️ Attention: Machine gun fire caused 80% losses in infantry attacks. For example, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, the British lost 20,000 people in 1 hour.
☑️ How to neutralize a machine gun nest in 1918
Submarines: the invisible threat
German submarine type U-Boot sunk 5000 ships (11 million tons) during the war, almost paralyzing Britain's supplies. The most effective was U-35 under the command of Lothar von Arnaud de la Periera - 224 ships sunk.
Leaders Specifications:
| Model | Displacement (t) | Armament | Range (miles) | Max. speed (knots) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-31 (Germany) | 650 | 4 × 500 mm torpedo tubes, 1 × 88 mm gun | 8 000 | 16 (surface) |
| H-class (UK) | 360 | 4 × 450 mm torpedoes | 3 200 | 13 |
| Bars-class (Russia) | 650 | 4 × 450 mm torpedoes, 1 × 75 mm gun | 2 500 | 17 |
Entente countermeasures:
- ⚓ Convoys: the ships sailed in groups under the cover of destroyers.
- ⚓ Depth charges: dropped from ships when a submarine was detected.
- ⚓ Hydrophones: Passive sonars for detecting propeller noise.
By 1918 Germany had lost 178 of 375 submarines, but their psychological impact remained: Britain was on the verge of famine due to the blockade.
The submarines of World War I proved that naval warfare was no longer limited to battleships. Their “wolf pack” tactics became the prototype for World War II.
Railway war: logistics as a weapon
German armored trains (for example, Panzerzug>) equipped 77 mm guns and machine guns, patrolling rear communications. Russia used armored tires for quick response to sabotage. However, the main innovation was narrow gauge railways (600 mm wide), which made it possible to deliver shells and troops directly to the frontline trenches.
Examples of specialized compounds:
- 🚂 British "trench trams" — carriages on caterpillar tracks for transporting the wounded.
- 🚂 French Voie de 60 — dismountable rails, laid in 2 hours.
- 🚂 German Feldbahn - locomotives weighing 5 tons, capable of working on wood.
Logistics became a decisive factor: at the Battle of Verdun (1916), the French transported 90,000 tons of cargo within 10 days one narrow gauge railway ("Sacred Road"). By comparison, the German army was unable to provide a similar flow of supplies, which was one of the reasons for the defeat.
FAQ: Frequently asked questions about First World War equipment
Why were the first tanks so slow?
The main reasons: weak engines (100–150 hp with a weight of 20+ tons), primitive transmissions (up to Mark V required 4 people to operate) and tracks not optimized for mud. For example, British tanks often skidded because the tracks were only 50 cm - not enough to distribute weight.
What weapons of World War I were used in World War II?
Many samples:
- 🔹 Machine gun Vickers (UK) - was in service until the 1960s.
- 🔹 Tank Renault FT-17 — modifications were used in Poland and the USSR until 1940.
- 🔹 75 mm gun Mle 1897 - The French used it in 1940 against the Germans.
Is it true that planes fired through a propeller without a synchronizer?
Yes, but it was extremely dangerous. For example, French Morane-Saulnier Type L (1915) had a machine gun that fired between the propeller blades, which were protected by steel deflectors. Pilots often damaged the propeller, and fragments ricocheted into the cockpit. The synchronizer (invented by Anton Fokker) solved this problem.
How many tanks took part in the First World War?
In total, approximately 6,500 tanks:
- 🇬🇧 UK: ~2,500 (Mark I–V, Whippet)
- 🇫🇷 France: ~3,800 (Renault FT-17, Saint-Chamond)
- 🇩🇪 Germany: ~20 (A7V)
- 🇷🇺 Russia: ~10 (experimental samples)
What World War I technologies are still in use today?
A few key ones:
- 🔹 Crawler mover - the basis of modern tanks and bulldozers.
- 🔹 Radio communication — the first portable walkie-talkies appeared in 1916.
- 🔹 Aircraft carrier - British HMS Furious (1917) became the prototype of modern ships.
- 🔹 Gas mask — the principles of filtration are still preserved.