Machine guns during World War 1 shot 400-600 rounds per minute of small-caliber bullets. The machine guns allowed the defense to attack waves of troops attacking at once. Some people believed that machine guns would completely replace rifles. "It occurred to me that if I could invent a machine - a gun - which could by its rapidity of fire, enable one man to do as much battle duty as a hundred, that it would, to a large extent supersede the necessity of large armies, and consequently, exposure to battle and disease [would] be greatly diminished.” ― Richard Jordan Gatling. When the machine gun was made there was talked highley upon because they knew that its capable of knocking down a whole army rapidly and effectively.
Barbed wire was a fence laid out around their trenches and were used to lure an enemy into slaughter houses filled with machine guns and target points. They were often several rows and feet deep. It would slow down enemies movement and make it easier to defend trenches. George Coppard, a soldier in WW1 speaks on his experiences with barbed wire, and says "Later we learned that it was one of our own men hanging on the wire. Nobody could do anything for him; two men had already tried to save him, only to be shot themselves. We prayed desperately for his death." About 1 in 5 men were killed from the barbed wire from either not being able to cross or stopping and getting shot. When enemies would get too close to the trenches they would throw grenades over them.
During World War 1 submarines, or as it was called "U Boats", were used to attack enemies ships from underwater. The submarine held torpedoes and missiles. A single military submarine carried over 100 passengers. The submarine was the most effective way for anyone to attack ships, because of this Germany had sunken many British ships. Since they could hold many more people they were often used more than boats.“astonishing ten capital ships laid down for the British navy within a span of twelve months, demonstrating a resolve to make whatever financial sacrifices were necessary to stay ahead.” said by Lawrence Sondhaus because of the success coming from the U boats during the war.
Big Bertha was a powerful and mobile artillery. At this time Big Bertha was used for Germany to advance through Belgium. A total of 12 of these came in during the war. The gun could fire projectiles that weighed as much as about 2000 pounds to a distance of 6 miles. A type of shell commonly used with the Big Bertha was a delayed fuse that exploded after penetrating 40 feet of the earth. At first, Germany in only five days had destroyed forts and got the city of Liege to surrender. This allowed the Germans to forward into Northern France.
Poison gas was one of the main contributors to all the deaths during World War 1. Three main gases were used including; Chlorine gas, Phosgene, and Mustard gas. Chlorine gas kills at high enough doses and causes immediate irritation to the eyes, nose, lungs, and throat. Phosgene is 6 times as deadly as chlorine gas and causes a slow painful death days after being exposed. Many soldiers could not tell they got a lethal dose until later on. Mustard gas would cause blisters and irritations to the yes but not immediately. This was the cause of most of the casualties out of all the chemical weapons, about 120,000, in WWI. "As it was I was dazed, knocked down and my gas mask knocked off. I got several breathes [sic] of the strong solution right from the shell before it got diluted with much air. If it hadn’t been for the fellow with me I probably wouldn’t be writing this letter because I couldn’t see, my eyes were running water and burning, so was my nose and I could hardly breathe." This is a quote said by a soldier who was saved and helped from the poison gas he inhaled. In this quote he states how he felt and how the gas effected his well being during the battle.