Which two examples of modern military technology had the greatest impact on the course of ww1?

The Technology of World War I Apr 06, 2017

Military technology has always shaped and defined how wars were fought. The First World War, however, saw a breadth and scale of technological innovation of unprecedented impact. It was the first modern mechanized industrial war in which material resources and manufacturing capability were as consequential as the skill of the troops on the battlefield.

Heavy artillery, machine guns, tanks, motorized transport vehicles, high explosives, chemical weapons, airplanes, field radios and telephones, aerial reconnaissance cameras, and rapidly advancing medical technology and science were just a few of the areas that reshaped twentieth century warfare. The AEF artists documented the new military technology as thoroughly as every other aspect of the war.

After three years on the sidelines, the United States lagged far behind the latest technology and faced a monumental task equipping hundreds of thousands of new soldiers. U.S. industry was just beginning to gear up for this challenge when the AEF arrived in France. American troops frequently used European produced equipment, as is evident in much of the AEF artwork.

Harlequin Freighters by J. André Smith, Watercolor and charcoal, July 1918

Harlequin Freighters J. André Smith

Watercolor and charcoal, July 1918

Two Six-Ton Tanks Climbing a Hill by Harry Everett Townsend, Watercolor and pastel on paper, 1918

Two Six-Ton Tanks Climbing a Hill Harry Everett Townsend

Watercolor and pastel on paper, 1918

Left by the Hun, 152 mm Mortar by Harry Everett Townsend, Charcoal on card, 1918

Left by the Hun, 152 mm Mortar Harry Everett Townsend

Charcoal on card, 1918

American Artillery and Machine Guns by George Matthews Harding, Charcoal and crayon on paper, July 24, 1918

American Artillery and Machine Guns George Matthews Harding

Charcoal and crayon on paper, July 24, 1918

Gas Alert by Harry Everett Townsend, charcoal on paper, 1918

Gas Alert Harry Everett Townsend

Charcoal on paper, 1918

Soldiers of the Telephone by Harry Everett Townsend, Charcoal on paper, 1918

Soldiers of the Telephone Harry Everett Townsend

Charcoal on paper, 1918

The Flying Field, Issoudun by Ernest Clifford Peixotto, charcoal on board, August 1918

The Flying Field, Issoudun Ernest Clifford Peixotto

Charcoal on board, August 1918

Forced Landing Near Neufchateau by Harry Everett Townsend | Charcoal on paper, 1918

Forced Landing Near Neufchateau Harry Everett Townsend

Charcoal on paper, 1918

Lame Ducks, Issoudun by J. André Smith, pencil on paper, 1918

Lame Ducks, Issoudun J. André Smith

Pencil on paper, 1918

Valley of the Marne at Mont St. Père by George Harding Matthews, charcoal, pastel, and sanguine on paper, July 26, 1918

Valley of the Marne at Mont St. Père George Harding Matthews

Charcoal, pastel, and sanguine on paper, July 26, 1918

The Alert Nieuports by Harry Everett Townsend, charcoal on paper, 1918

The Alert Nieuports Harry Everett Townsend

Charcoal on paper, 1918

94th Aero Squadron “Hat-in-the-Ring” Insignia

94th Aero Squadron “Hat-in-the-Ring” Insignia

America’s first combat squadron was the 94th. Its famous “Hat-in-the Ring” insignia reflected the phrase used in April 1917 when the United States entered the war and was said to have now “thrown its hat in the ring.”

This example came from the aircraft of Harvey Weir Cook, who shot down 3 enemy aircraft and four observation balloons. The victories are represented with iron crosses inside the brim of the hat.

Gift of Donald Sieurin and D. Peter Sieurin

The AEF WWI war art collection currently is held by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Division of Armed Forces History, from which the artworks in this exhibition are on loan.

Related Topics Military aviation Art World War I

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War has always had a tendency to accelerate innovation and invention, and WW1 – with its bizarre clash of 19th and 20th century ideas and technologies – was no exception. From industrial killing machines to feminine hygiene, here are five technological creations still used today in combat and civilian life.

The Allies began developing these armoured ‘landships’ in 1915, but the first tanks didn’t make their way into battle until the Somme offensive the following year. So named due to their resemblance to water tanks (and disguised as such on their way to the front), they were first used in force on 16 September during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette and proved to be cumbersome death traps more adept at killing their own occupants than the enemy. But their potential was undeniable, and by July 1918 The Tank Corps was established, garnering almost 30,000 members by the end of the war.

Before WW1, the most popular automatic rapid-fire weapon was the Gatling gun, which resembled a cannon and weighed about as much, limiting its use in 20th-century warfare. Produced by the British with mobility in mind were the Vickers gun, a heavy-calibre machine gun that required a minimum six-man team to operate but gained a reputation for absolute reliability, and the American-invented Lewis gun, the Vickers’ lighter but less trustworthy offspring. While most of the war’s casualties were caused by heavy artillery, the portability and power of the machine gun made it an effective addition to arsenals on both sides.

Less than fifteen years after the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, those new-fangled flying contraptions called aeroplanes were being used for reconnaissance in WW1, along with balloons and airships. The initial plane builds were primitive, but necessity did its job, and soon both sides were racing to design mono and biplane fighters that could hold heavy bombs and machine guns while maintaining (or, at this point, having) manoeuvrability. By mid-1915, the infantries were already getting some entertainment by watching dogfights in the skies, and air superiority became a significant factor in tactical success in the second half of the war.

Although poison gas accounted for only a small number of the war’s deaths in total, its effects were pervasive and devastating. First used by the Germans during the Battle of Second Ypres in 1915, gas actually proved largely ineffective as a traditional weapon; its success depended not only on the type of gas and the sophistication of its delivery method but also often on the weather conditions on the day. However, poison gas became possibly the most important psychological weapon of the war, and soldiers and engineers alike spent much of their time and resources anticipating and guarding against terrifying (and, many felt, immoral) death. More than twenty years later, that fear would influence military and civilian response to WW2.

Not every innovation to come out of the war was designed to kill; after all, something had to be used to soak up all the blood. Cellucotton – a by-product of processed sugar cane – was first developed during the war for use as field bandages, being more absorbent, cheaper and more plentiful than surgical cotton. It wasn’t long before a few whip-smart nurses found that cellucotton made for a great disposable sanitary napkin, and in 1920 Kotex brought out its first commercial pad, freeing women everywhere from the drudgery of the reusable rag.