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The modern smoke bomb was created in 1848, by the British inventor Robert Yale. He developed 17th-century Chinese-style fireworks and later modified the formula to produce more smoke for a longer period of time.

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The modern smoke bomb was created in 1848, by the British inventor Robert Yale. He developed 17th-century Chinese-style fireworks and later modified the formula to produce more smoke for a longer period of time.

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The main ones utilized were the American Mark I, French VB rifle grenade with discharger, French Model 1916 Smoke and suffocating grenade, British Type No. 27 combination hand and rifle grenade (white phosphorus), French Model 1916 Lachrymatory and Irritating Grenade and French Model 1916 incendiary grenade

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[Onscreen] Fighting in the Trenches

[Phil Dutton, Curator at IWM] The First World War, in most people's minds, is intimately connected with the idea of trench warfare. Trenches of sensible responses to flying bullets and devastating shell fire, the technology that the armaments forced men to go to ground.

Basically, a trench was a safe place given the conditions of warfare. I think it was always an understanding that a trench, although safe from direct fire, was a dangerous place overall. Random shell fire - the nature of Western Front warfare, we're talking about that particular aspect at the moment. The random deaths through shell fire and sniper fire - this was always a reality in the back of people's mind so yes, they were aware it was a dangerous place some places were more dangerous than others.

[Onscreen] Notice that the men are all wearing the new Steel Helmets.

With the full establishment of a trench fixed lines, trench lines, certainly British High Command was keen that, the area between the British and the enemy lines would be dominated by British soldiers. And so, were very keen to patrol and very often quite keen to raid enemy trenches to assert a moral supremacy over this particular area.

[Onscreen] Royal West Kents consolidating a captured German trench.

So, a manned experience of combat could be a patrol in no-man's land, often at night, and where he would meet an enemy Patrol and engage in a hit and run fight through the hurling of bombs, discharges of revolvers, and rifles. Or he might be involved in a more comprehensive, quite big raid where artillery and trench mortars would be used to isolate at a particular area of the enemy trench followed by a considerable number of parts of company or battalion strength raid on a small sector of the enemy line with a view to capturing a prisoner or wrecking dugouts. The prisoner would be potentially a source of information but the whole purpose of the raid was to assert this moral supremacy to keep the fighting spirit.

[Onscreen] Bringing in the German prisoners.

You have to remember that the Germans were holding onto captured territory, particularly the French wanted them off their land so, we as great staunch allies of the French were encouraged to maintain an offensive spirit. We didn't want to stay in these trench lines we wanted to kick the Germans out of occupied France and Belgium.

To break the deadlock of the trench field fortifications, artillery was key - artillery linked with an infantry advance. In its, I suppose, iconic form it's the first day of the Somme and a barrage artillery to destroy enemy defences and barbed wire followed by the occupation of the enemy lines by an infantry attack. Once you expose yourself to the technology of warfare available at a time, you were in a very dangerous situation and casualties were incredibly high casualties in the war of movement.

[Onscreen] A tank moves up to the Attack.

In the beginning of the war August 1914 hence the decision, whenever possible, if the situation couldn't be resolved, we went below the ground. Those in charge of military operations gained experience because the shop was common to all, how to cope with the new developments in armaments.

[Onscreen] The Field Artillery move up very quickly and continue to press the retreating enemy.

Men were encouraged to show a bit more guile rather than in 1916 where the understanding was that this volunteer army wouldn't really appreciates small unit tactics and had to walk together in lines. As the war goes on, the understanding is that what will present less of a target and so, as it were, go isolate strong points surround them, do things a little bit more now.

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Fighting in the Trenches - World War 1. KS2 and KS3 Resource. Learn more about the experience of fighting in the trenches. IWM Learning Resources

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What impact did the First World War have on aircraft and aerial warfare?

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Use these sources to explore the impact of the First World War on aircraft and aerial warfare.

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Poison gas:Mustard gas, introduced by the Germans in 1917, blistered the skin, eyes, and lungs, and killed thousands. Military strategists defended the use of poison gas by saying it reduced the enemy's ability to respond and thus saved lives in offensives.

Grenades: In World War I, hand grenades were also known as “hand bombs.” The general philosophy for their use in the fighting armies was that grenades could kill the enemy underground or behind cover. They could also force the enemy into the open, providing targets for rifle and machine gun fire.

Machine gun: Machine guns could shoot hundreds of rounds of ammunition a minute and the standard military tactic of World War One was the infantry charge. Casualties were huge. Many soldiers barely got out of their trench before they were cut down

Submarine:Germany retaliated by using its submarines to destroy neutral ships that were supplying the Allies. The formidable U-boats (unterseeboots) prowled the Atlantic armed with torpedoes. They were Germany's only weapon of advantage as Britain effectively blocked German ports to supplies

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Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs - State of Delaware

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World War I Begins

At the dawn of the 20 th century, few anticipated a global war, but what came to be known as the Great War began on June 28, 1914, with the assassinations of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, while they were visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia, a country recently annexed into the Austrian Empire. Many Bosnians and their Serbian neighbors resented this foreign rule and the Archduke's visit to Sarajevo provided the opportunity for a small band of Serbian dissidents to strike back. Austria responded to the assassinations by teaming up with its ally, Germany, and declaring war on Serbia. The conflict soon involved Russia, France and Belgium. Fearful of a full-scale world war that would threaten its sea routes to other countries, Great Britain joined the fight against Germany and Austria.

Each country believed the fighting would last only a few months. Nations were categorized either as Central Powers or Allies. Countries that joined the Central Powers, such as Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, supported Austria-Hungary and Germany. The Allies were Russia, France, Belgium and Great Britain, but they were later joined by Japan, Romania, China and the United States.

Europe before WWI

Europe after WWI

Soldiers prone at the rifle range.

Crouched behind smokescreen in support of anti-tank gun

No Man's Land: Trench Warfare

During World War I, trench warfare was a defensive military tactic used extensively by both sides, allowing soldiers some protection from enemy fire but also hindering troops from readily advancing and thus prolonging the war. Trench warfare was the major combat tactic in France and Belgium. Trenches were often dug up to 12 feet deep and stretched for miles. For stability, some trenches included wooden beams and/or sandbags. Even during lulls in the fighting, death occurred almost daily in the trenches due to a sniper's bullet or the unsanitary living conditions which resulted in many diseases such as dysentery, typhus and cholera. Other diseases caused by the poor conditions were trench mouth and trench foot*.

*T rench mouth was an infection of the mouth due to overgrowth of certain oral bacteria. The condition was made worse by poor oral hygiene, smoking, malnutrition and psychological stress. To prevent trench foot, a fungal disease caused by exposure to wet and cold, soldiers frequently added wooden planks in the trenches to keep from having to stand in water.

Barbed wire and explosive mines-as well as bullets and grenades-were essential weapons used to hinder infantry advances across "No Man's Land," the bleak landscape between the trenches of the opposing sides.

New offensive weapons were implemented during the war including tanks and poison gases*.

* Tanks, armored against artillery fire, were capable of rolling over barbed wire as well as crossing treacherous terrain.

Chlorine was one of the poisonous gases used in World War I. It was damaging to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and produced symptoms ranging from irritation to blindness and death.)

In 1915, the Germans used poison gases against the Allies fighting in the trenches on the Western Front. To protect soldiers from chemical warfare, gas masks were developed. Great Britain made one of the first types of masks capable of minimizing the deadly impact of these gases on their troops.

Though considered a novelty when the war began, aircraft were used by both sides for reconnaissance, allowing personnel to observe enemy troop positions, to direct artillery fire and to photograph enemy lines. By the end of the war, the concepts of aerial combat and aerial bombing had come into being.

Suggested Reading

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World War I Begins - Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs - State of Delaware

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World War I Begins At the dawn of the 20th century, few anticipated a global war, but what came to be known as the Great War began on June 28, 1914, with the assassinations of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, while they were visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia, a country recently annexed into the Austrian [...]

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James Patton, BS
Military Historian, U.S. Army Veteran, and WW-I Feature Writer

Every war brings to the fore a new way of maiming and killing soldiers. Gun powder in the 16th and 17th centuries meant that - finally, sadly - one could eliminate many of his enemies with one agent of offensive effort, an artillery round. Ultimately, in WWII it was demonstrated that a single atomic weapon could kill more than one hundred thousand of the enemy with a single use of a single weapon. While the efficiency of maiming and killing steadily advanced from the 17th to the 20th centuries it accelerated by an order of magnitude in WWI with the use of inhaled poison gasses.

One of the enduring hallmarks of WWI was the large-scale use of chemical weapons, commonly called, simply, 'gas'. Although chemical warfare caused less than 1% of the total deaths in this war, the 'psy-war' or fear factor was formidable. Thus, chemical warfare with gases was subsequently absolutely prohibited by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. It has occasionally been used since then but never in WWI quantities. Production of some of these dangerous chemicals continues to this day as they have peaceful uses - for example, phosgene (carbonyl dichloride) is an industrial reagent, a precursor of pharmaceuticals and other important organic compounds.

Masked soldiers charge through a cloud of gas.
Several chemicals were weaponized in WWI and France actually was the first to use gas - they deployed tear gas in August 1914. The agent used was either xylyl bromide, which is described as smelling 'pleasant and aromatic', or ethyl bromoacetate, described as 'fruity and pungent.' Both are colorless liquids and have to be atomized to be dispersed as weapons. As lachrymatory agents, they irritate the eyes and cause uncontrolled tearing. Large doses can cause temporary blindness. If inhaled they also make breathing difficult. Symptoms usually resolve by 30 minutes after contact. Thus, tear gas was never very effective as a weapon against groups of enemy soldiers.

The German gas warfare program was headed by Fritz Haber (1868 - 1934) whose first try for a weapon was chlorine, which he debuted at Ypres in April 1915. Chlorine is a diatomic gas, about two and a half times denser than air, pale green in color and with an odor which was described as a 'mix of pineapple and pepper'. It can react with water in the lungs to form hydrochloric acid, which is destructive of tissue and can quickly lead to death, or, at least, permanent lung tissue damage and disability. At lower concentrations, if it does not reach the lungs, per se, it can cause coughing, vomiting, and eye irritation. Chlorine was deadly against unprotected soldiers. It is estimated over 1,100 were killed in its first use at Ypres. Ironically, the Germans weren't prepared for how effective it would be and were unable to exploit their advantage, gaining little ground.

Allied soldiers pose for a picture while wearing their gas masks.
Windswept gas spreads across a battlefield in Europe.
John Singer Sargent's 'Gassed' depicts the aftermath of a mustard gas attack on British troops.
Chlorine's usefulness was short-lived. Its color and odor made it easy to spot, and since chlorine is water-soluble even soldiers without gas masks could minimize its effect by placing water-soaked - even urine-soaked - rags over their mouths and noses. Additionally, releasing the gas in a cloud posed problems, as the British learnt to their detriment when they attempted to use chlorine at Loos. The wind shifted, carrying the gas back onto their own men.

Phosgene (carbonyl dichloride) was Haber's next choice, probably used first at Ypres by the Germans in December 1915. Phosgene is a colorless gas, with an odor likened to that of 'musty hay', but for the odor to be detectable, the concentration had to be at 0.4 parts per million, or several times the level at which harmful effects occur. Phosgene is highly toxic, due to its ability to react with proteins in the alveoli of the lungs, disrupting the blood-air barrier, leading to suffocation.

Phosgene was much more effective and more deadly than chlorine, though one drawback was that the symptoms could sometimes take up to 48 hours to be manifest. The minimal immediate effects are lachrymatory. However, subsequently, it causes build-up of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), leading to death. It is estimated that as many as 85% of the 91,000 gas deaths in WWI were a result of phosgene or the related agent, diphosgene (trichloromethane chloroformate).

The most commonly used gas in WWI was 'mustard gas' [bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide]. In pure liquid form this is colorless, but in WWI impure forms were used, which had a mustard color with an odor reminiscent of garlic or horseradish. An irritant and a strong vesicant (blister-forming agent), it causes chemical burns on contact, with blisters oozing yellow fluid. Initial exposure is symptomless, and by the time skin irritation begins, it is too late to take preventative measures. The mortality rate from mustard gas was only 2-3%, but those who suffered chemical burns and respiratory problems had long hospitalizations and if they recovered were thought to be at higher risk of developing cancers during later life.

Chloropicrin, diphenylchlorarsine, American-developed Adamsite (diphenylaminechlorarsine), and others were irritants that could bypass gas masks and make soldiers remove their masks, thus, exposing them to phosgene or chlorine.

Gases often were used in combinations. Most gas was delivered by artillery shells. The agent(s) were in liquid form in glass bottles inside the warhead, which would break on contact and the liquid would evaporate. Shells were color coded in a system started by the Germans. Green Cross shells contained the pulmonary agents: chlorine, phosgene and diphosgene. White Cross had the tear gases. Blue Cross had the 'mask breakers' like chloropicrin. Gold (or Yellow) Cross had mustard gas.

In retrospect it is sad to know that warfare by poisoning soldiers - so brutal, highly personal, and used with such little restraint by both sides in WWI - had been previously outlawed by the Hague Convention in 1899. The ironies of gas warfare are vividly focused in the life of Fritz Haber, the German chemist who invented phosgene and also the 'Haber Process' which allowed fixation of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia-based fertilizer. A German Jew who converted to Christianity, he received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1919 for the Haber Process. Though long dead before The Holocaust, he was one of the chemists who perfected the hydrocyanide-based insecticides Zyklon A and Zyklon B, the latter gas used to kill millions of Jews and others, including some of his relatives.

The Imperial War Museum in London is the source of some of the images, particularly the John Singer Sargent painting, 'Gassed.' As very useful link to the popular media about gas warfare in WWI is: 'How deadly was the poison gas of WW1?' (http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31042472).

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Gas in The Great War, essay by James Patton, BS

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The first tank used was called “little willie” in 1915 it was slow and couldn't cross the trenches and over heated, later a new prototype called big willie was introduced

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They made machine guns so they can shoot faster!!!

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They made machine guns so they can shoot faster!!!

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In World War I, hand grenades were also known as "hand bombs." The general philosophy for their use in the fighting armies was that grenades could kill the enemy underground or behind cover. They could also force the enemy into the open, providing targets for rifle and machine gun fire.

Offensive grenades used concussion, or shock-waves, to wound, while defensive grenades exploded, scattering shell fragments. Gas, smoke and illuminating grenades were also used in World War I. These grenades were made of brass, iron and steel, some with handles of wood and even cardboard. They went by many names: Battye bombs, Citron Foug, Newton-Pippin, Petard, Besozzi, Kugel, Cigaro and Sigwart; and took on many shapes.

Signal Corps photograph captioned "Illustrating methods of throwing hand grenades from the trenches. Advance outpost of 137th Reg. Inf. [Regiment Infantry] Near Amphersbach, Alsace, Germany, August 29, 1918." Click for more information

The term "grenade" comes from the Latin, granatus, literally "filled with grain." The "grain" in grenades was explosive mixtures and compounds contained in metal canisters and set off by spark, fuse, mechanical or percussion ignition. Some sources relate that the term is derived from the Spanish word granada or pomegranate, for the resemblance between the fruit and the weapon. When grenades first came into use in warfare is unknown. But legend has it that the first grenade was a small box of live vipers (snakes) which ancient warriors threw into the enemy's camp.

The first recorded use of the word "grenade" came in 1536, from the siege of Arles in southern France by French forces under King Francis I. The early grenades were made of glass globes, jars, kegs and firepots. A 1665 reference related that grenades were carried in a pocket called a grena-diere.

Excerpt from the Signal Corps motion picture 'Training in Flanders and Ypres-Lys Operation, May 24 to September 3, 1918, 30th Division' Co. I, 120th Inf., 30th Div., 2nd Lt. M.W. Veach and 2nd Lt. J.R. Boston commanding, at hand grenade practice with Mills bombs. Lt. M.W. Veach showing the actions performed in throwing the bomb.

By 1667, the French army had regular companies of grenadiers. Grenades did not play a large part in warfare, although the French used some 3,200 of them at Sebastopol in 1854-55, and got some Russian ones in return. Some were used in the American Civil War, but they came into prominence in the Russo-Japanese war, just a decade prior to WWI. The Russians established three factories in Port Arthur, China to turn out a thousand grenades a day.

On that fateful day of June 28, 1914, when the Austro-Hungarian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie were assassinated, several of the Black Hand conspirators carried and used Kragujevac hand bombs, named for the Serbian army depot. Their explosions caused a verbal explosion from the Archduke Franz Ferdinand to the Mayor of Sarajevo after early attempts on his life "What is the use of your speeches? I come here to pay you a visit, and I am greeted with bombs. It is outrageous!"

At the start of the war the Germans only trained special infantry troops, or "pioneers," to use hand grenades. Soon two types of grenades became standard for the Germans: stick (with the explosive can attached to a wooden handle) and egg (because it resembled an egg). German stick grenades were also called "potato mashers" again for their shape.

Early in the war, the French were not prepared for the use and production of grenades. One report in January 1915 stated that while the soldiers were completely lacking in factory-produced grenades that they were not lacking in ingenuity in fabricating remarkable projectiles made from canned beef, sardines, tuna and foie gras cans. After eating the delectables they took the cans, loaded them with stones collected from the trenches, shrapnel balls and explosive materials of all sorts, and inserted wick fuses that lasted less than 6 seconds.

The early British front-made grenades were similar to the French, although few were as exotic as foie gras cans. They were mostly jam pots. British development of rifle grenades early in the war was fragmentary. The rod was inserted down the barrel of the service rifle and launched with a special blank cartridge. Rifle grenades were designed to land head-first, but often failed to do so. They carried high explosives, smoke, signals and messages. Late in the war, anti-tank rifle grenades were developed.

British brigade orders issued for the Somme attack on July 1, 1916, stated that the grenade or bombing squads: each non-com would carry 6 mills bombs, 4 rifle grenades and 2 smoke; the 2 bayonet men would carry 12 mills bombs and 4 smoke; the 2 throwers carried 24 mills and 4 smoke; the 2 carriers (reserve throwers) carried 24 mills and 4 smoke and the 2 rifle grenadiers carried 8 mills and 20 rifle grenades for a total of 74 mills bombs, 24 rifle grenades and 14 smoke grenades.

The Russians utilized a small variety of grenade types. There is a Russian Model 1914 hand grenade, dated 1914. Made of sheet metal attached to a wooden handle, the square head resembles a lantern, thus its nickname. The Russian Model 1914 was also called a "bottle" grenade for its shape.

The U.S. Army War College in early 1917 described the development of grenades in the war: "Grenades used in the early part of this war were improvised on the field of battle, but the success obtained by their use led to the invention of many new standard types and their subsequent adoption by all modern armies."

American soldiers putting fuses on hand grenades. They sit next to a box of grenades with a pile on the ground in front. Click for more information

Many grenades types were used by American troops. The main ones utilized were the American Mark I, French VB rifle grenade with discharger, French Model 1916 Smoke and suffocating grenade, British Type No. 27 combination hand and rifle grenade (white phosphorus), French Model 1916 Lachrymatory and Irritating Grenade and French Model 1916 incendiary grenade.

Whether factory-produced or made in the field from sticks of dynamite and shrapnel balls, hand and mechanically launched grenades had established their place in modern technological warfare. A long way from a box of vipers.

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Grenades in WWI | National WWI Museum and Memorial

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In World War I, hand grenades were also known as "hand bombs." The general philosophy for their use in the fighting armies was that grenades could kill the enemy underground or behind cover. They could also force the enemy into the open, providing targets for rifle and machine gun fire.

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They made bombs so they can throw them to the other side and blow up anything

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They made bombs so they can throw them to the other side and blow up anything

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They made airplanes so they can have war in the sky

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They made airplanes so they can have war in the sky

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The tank is the best war machine because it's shoots like rockets that blow up objects like planes and people and it was armored reactive Armour

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A range of different chemicals were used as weapons throughout WWI. The French were actually the first to utilise them in conflict, when they attempted to use tear gas against the German army in August 1914.

These tear gases weren't designed to kill; rather, to incapacitate the enemy and render them unable to defend their positions. They are all lachrymatory agents - they cause crying. They also irritate the mouth, throat and lungs, leading to breathing difficulties. Exposure to larger concentrations can lead to temporary blindness, but symptoms commonly resolved within 30 minutes of leaving affected areas.

In practice, the use of tear gas on the battlefield wasn't extraordinarily effective. However, it opened the door to the use of more harmful gases. The first of these was chlorine, first used on a large scale by the German forces at Ypres in April 1915. Chlorine is a diatomic gas, about two and a half times denser than air, with a pale green colour and a strong, bleach-like odour which soldier described as a 'mix of pineapple and pepper.' It reacts with water in the lungs to form hydrochloric acid, which can quickly lead to death. At lower concentrations, it can cause coughing, vomiting, and irritation to the eyes.

In its first uses, chlorine was deadly. Against soldiers not yet equipped with gas masks, it wreaked havoc, and it's estimated around 5,000 were killed in the first large scale attack at Ypres. The German forces weren't prepared for just how effective it would prove, and their delay in pressing into the gap formed in enemy lines actually meant they gained very little ground initially.

However, chlorine's obvious appearance and strong odour made it easy to spot, and since it's water-soluble, even soldiers without gas masks could minimise its effectiveness by placing water-soaked rags over their mouth and nose. Additionally, the initial method of its release posed problems, as the British learnt to their detriment when they attempted to use chlorine at Loos in France. The released gas changed direction as the wind changed, engulfing the British lines instead of those of the enemy, and leading to a large number of self-inflicted casualties.

Phosgene was the next major agent employed. It was again used first at Ypres by the Germans in December 1915 (although some sources state the French were the first to employ it). Phosgene is a colourless gas, with an odour likened to that of 'musty hay.' For this odour to be detectable, the concentration of phosgene actually had to be at 0.4 parts per million, which is several times the concentration where health effects could be expected. It is highly toxic due to its ability to react with proteins in the alveoli of the lungs and disrupt the blood-air barrier, leading to suffocation.

Phosgene was much more effective and deadly than chlorine, but the symptoms could sometimes take up to 48 hours to manifest. Its immediate effects are coughing and irritation to the eyes and respiratory tract. It can cause the build-up of fluid in the lungs, leading to death. It's estimated that as many as 85% of the 91,000 deaths attributed to gas in World War 1 were a result of phosgene. It's hard to put a precise number on it, since it was commonly used in combination with chlorine gas, along with the related chemical diphosgene. Combinations of gases became more common as the war went on. For example, chloropicrin was often used for its irritant effects and ability to bypass gas masks, causing sneezing fits which made soldiers remove their masks, exposing them to poison gases.

Along with chlorine, the most commonly known poison gas used in the conflict is mustard gas. Sulfur mustards are actually a class containing several different compounds; in their pure forms, they are colourless liquids, but the impure forms used in warfare have a yellow-brown colour and odour akin to garlic or horseradish. Mustard gas is an irritant, and also a strong vesicant (blister-forming agent). It causes chemical burns on contact with the skin, leading to large blisters with yellow fluid. Initially, exposure is symptomless. By the time skin irritation begins, it's too late to take preventative measures.

Mustard gas was effective because it was debilitating. Its mortality rate was only around 2-3% of casualties, but those who suffered chemical burns and respiratory problems due to exposure were unable to return to the front and required extensive care for their recovery. Those who did recover were at higher risk of developing cancers in later life.

Though the psychological factor of poison gas was formidable, it accounted for less than 1% of the total deaths in World War I. Their use was feared in World War II and they were sometimes employed, but never on as large and as frequent a scale as seen in World War I. Use of poison gas as a weapon was later prohibited by the Geneva Protocol in 1925, which most countries involved in the First World War signed. The chemicals still have their uses. For example, phosgene is an important industrial reagent in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other important organic compounds.

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Here Are The Four Main Poison Gases Used In World War I

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A range of different chemicals were used as weapons throughout WWI. The French were actually the first to utilise them in conflict, when they attempted to use tear gas against the German army in August 1914. These tear gases weren't designed to kill; rather, to incapacitate the enemy and render them unable to defend their positions.

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By World War I, machine guns were fully automatic weapons that fired bullets rapidly, up to 450 to 600 rounds a minute. Hiram Maxim, an American inventor, delivered the first automatic, portable machine gun in 1884, providing the template for the weapon that devastated the British at the Somme.

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They were nasty but they still made them so they can survive!!

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They were nasty but they still made them so they can survive!!

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Free Essays, Research Papers, and Writing Prompts | 123HelpMe

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Address all writing concerns with 123HelpMe’s premier set of essays, writing prompts, and research paper topics. Get started with the best writing tools today.

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World War I Centenary: Machine Guns - from WSJ Graphics

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100 Years, 100 Legacies >

World War I changed everything. From new countries to literature, from tanks to treaties and from flamethrowers to fashion, the conflict is still writ large on our lives 100 years on.

It gave birth to violent dictators and their ideologies but extended the electoral franchise to millions. It ushered in the era of mechanised warfare whilst laying the foundations for modern medicine. Empires crumbled, borders were redrawn, art movements flowered and women won the vote (even if you still had to be over 30 in some countries). Poets committed some of the most memorable imagery in modern verse to paper while a generation of writers would descend on Europe's war-torn cities and fashion a new style of literature.

After millions of men gave their lives on the battlefields of Europe, it was doubly tragic that a deadly influenza would claim up to 50 million more deaths in the conflict's immediate aftermath. World War I has given us daylight saving time, Dada, triage, chemical weapons, plastic surgery, fascism and, of course, another war. It invented new forms of killing and unearthed miraculous ways to save lives.

Wall Street Journal editors from around the world have selected 100 legacies that still shape our lives today. History is always open to interpretation, but as the war to end all wars retreats from living history, it feels more important than ever to remember its impact. It is everywhere you look.

Writers

Nathan Hodge, Art Patnaude, Tommy Stubbington, Andrew Peaple, Tom Mudd, Peter Evans, Sarah Sloat, Rory Jones, Alexis Flynn, Fiona Matthias, Harriet Torry, Alen Mattich, Chase Gummer, Laurence Eyton, Peter Stiff, Paul Hannon, Laurence Witherington, Gautam Naik, Christopher Lawton, Michael Wright, Neetha Mahadevan, Laurence Norman, Caitlan Reeg, Jovi Juan, Liza Hearon, Inti Landauro, Thomas Varela, Marcus Walker, Jake Lee, Shirley Wang, Stephen Fidler, Juhana Rossi, Will Lyons, Monica Houston-Waesch, Francesca Freeman, Peter Nurse, James Leigh, Max Colchester, Todd Buell, Frances Robinson, Adam Najberg, Matthew Walls, Yuka Hayashi, Jose DeCordoba, Selina Williams, Naftali Bendavid, David Winning, Geoffrey T. Smith, Charles Hutzler, Matina Stevis, Ayla Albayrak, Charles Forelle, Perry Cleveland-Peck

Editors

Tom Mudd, Laurence Eyton, Sheila Courter, Margaret de Streel, Matthew Walls, Adrian Kerr, Peter Stiff, Perry Cleveland-Peck, Sofia McFarland, Tina Fuhr, Lydia Serota, Ese Erheriene, Jon Sindreu, Yvonne Dennis, John Crowley

Multimedia Producers

Dipti Kapadia, Mark Kelly, Parminder Bahra, Miho Inada, Menglin Huang, Ayla Albayrak, Monika Vosough, Billy Higgins, Beckey Bright, Tom DiFonzo, George Downs, Pat Minczeski, Michael Ovaska

Designers & Developers

Jovi Juan, Renee Lightner, Elliot Bentley

Consultant

David Tattersfield from the Western Front Association

Published June 28, 2014 | Updated October 31, 2018

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100 Years, 100 Legacies > World War I changed everything. From new countries to literature, from tanks to treaties and from flamethrowers to fashion, the conflict is still writ large on our lives 100 years on. It gave birth to violent dictators and their ideologies but extended the electoral franchise to millions.