Weapons Technology in World War I

30 vocabulary flashcards covering major WWI weapon technologies, specific models, tactics, and related concepts to aid exam preparation.

Machine Gun

Automatic firearm capable of 400–600 rounds per minute; forced armies into trench warfare and made open-ground advances suicidal.

MG08

German water-cooled machine gun that dominated early WWI defenses, especially along the Hindenburg Line.

Vickers Machine Gun

British heavy machine gun that matched German firepower later in the war, helping balance the front lines.

Hotchkiss M1914

French air-cooled machine gun adopted to counter German positions after early setbacks like the Somme.

War of Attrition

Strategy in which each side seeks to wear down the enemy’s manpower and materiel; characteristic of WWI stalemate.

Artillery

Largest killer of WWI; heavy guns that launched explosive shells to destroy defenses, cut wire, and demoralize troops.

Creeping Barrage

Timed artillery curtain that advanced just ahead of infantry, improving chances for breakthroughs.

Big Bertha

German 420 mm howitzer whose massive shells demolished Belgian forts in 1914.

Shell Shock

Psychological trauma (now PTSD) caused by prolonged artillery bombardment during WWI.

Poison Gas

Chemical weapons—chlorine, phosgene, mustard—used to blind, choke, or burn enemy soldiers.

Chlorine Gas

First lethal gas used at Second Battle of Ypres (1915); caused asphyxiation and panic.

Phosgene Gas

More deadly than chlorine; caused delayed respiratory failure after exposure.

Mustard Gas

Persistent blister agent that lingered in soil and inflicted severe burns, even inside trenches.

Second Battle of Ypres

1915 engagement where Germany first deployed poison gas on a large scale, briefly gaining ground.

Tank

Armored tracked vehicle designed to cross trenches and break stalemates; debuted by Britain in 1916.

Mark I

First British tank model used at the Battle of the Somme; slow and mechanically unreliable.

Mark V

Improved 1918 British tank that proved decisive during the Hundred Days Offensive.

Renault FT

French light tank featuring the world’s first fully rotating turret, setting future design standards.

Aircraft (WWI)

Originally reconnaissance platforms that evolved into fighters and bombers armed with machine guns and bombs.

Synchronized Gun

Mechanism allowing aircraft machine guns to fire through propeller arcs without hitting the blades.

Fokker Aircraft

German planes equipped with synchronized guns, granting early air superiority; flown by aces like the Red Baron.

Red Baron

Manfred von Richthofen, German ace credited with 80+ aerial victories.

Submarine (U-boat)

German underwater vessel used to sink Allied shipping and enforce unrestricted submarine warfare.

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare

German policy of attacking merchant and civilian ships without warning, exemplified by the 1915 sinking of RMS Lusitania.

Convoy System

Allied naval tactic of grouping merchant ships with escorts to protect against U-boat attacks.

Depth Charge

Explosive anti-submarine weapon dropped from ships to detonate near enemy submarines.

Sonar

Sound navigation technology developed to detect submerged U-boats during WWI.

Trench Warfare

Combat method where opposing armies fought from fortified ditches; prompted by machine-gun and artillery lethality.

Hindenburg Line

German defensive network fortified with machine guns and artillery, held with fewer troops thanks to technology.

Mobile Warfare (1918)

Late-war strategy emphasizing movement, aided by tanks and aircraft, that helped break the stalemate.