Module 5: New Technologies

New Technologies

The only way to take an enemy's trench was to throw large numbers of men at it and absorb huge casualties.  The problem was that neither side had that many men.  And so, each side turned to new technologies to help change the dynamics of the fighting.  

In 1915, the Germans deployed poison gas for the first time.  This gas could kill men very quickly and it was heavier-than-air.  This means that the gas would settle on the ground (and into trenches) in a murderous cloud.  However, it was cheap and easy for each side to produce gas masks, which were distributed to soldiers in huge numbers.  

In 1916, the British deployed tanks for the first time.  These tanks were enormous, impervious to small arms fire and most forms of artillery, capable of rolling over barbed wire, landmines, and trenches without damage.  However, the technology was not good enough; at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, the British sent forward 49 tanks for the first time, but only 25 were fit for battle.  The rest had broken down before the fight and many more broke down once the fight began.  In short, automotive technology was not yet advanced enough to create a reliable tank.  

In short, while these new technologies had created new and horrifying ways to kill soldiers, they were not good enough to change the balance of power.  By the end, the only way to take an enemy's trench was to throw large numbers of men at it... just as it had been in 1914.