Does Anyone Win An Arms Race? Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Many history books tell that the American Civil War was the first major war to use the new mass produced inventions of the Industrial Revolution on a large scale. These new inventions included ironclad warships, the H. L. Hunley submarine, Minie balls, the Gatling gun, and the Parrot rifle. The look of warfare was greatly changed by industrialization, and little did people realize that the destruction caused by these new weapons would be greatly multiplied by the time of the next major war.

When considering the other causes of WWI - nationalism, imperialism, and alliances - it seemed inevitable that war would take place in Europe. The assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary was the spark needed to give countries an excuse declare war. While countries had been building their militaries, the declaration of the war meant their engineers and inventors needed to get busy on beefing up their weapons. Many of the new ones that were used were introduced after war had already been declared.

Germany had actually been working out the technology for U-boats, short for the German "Unterseeboot", since the 1850s. Their development was essential as a weapon to break the British rule of the seas, their blockade of German ports, and interrupt their shipping supply lines. It has been estimated that U-boats destroyed 5,000 merchant ships during the war, sank over 10 million tons of cargo, and were responsible for the deaths of approximately 15,000 Allied sailors. Of course, the unrestricted submarine warfare was a major factor in bringing the United States into the war.

Airplanes were used for the first time during WWI, and their role in the war evolved as time went on. Used first for reconnaissance, by 1915 the Germans had invented the interrupter gear, which meant that a forward facing machine gun could be mounted to fire through the propeller. The German Fokker E-1 appeared in 1915, and was quickly followed by the British Sopwith Camel. By the time the war was over, airplanes were used for aerial combat, ground attacks, and bombings.

Founded by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1908, the Zeppelin airship was used for the first time during WWI. It was especially useful in reconnaissance and as a long-distance bomber, making attacks in the UK, France, and Belgium. Why use Zeppelins when an airplane might be available? Believe it or not, they could fly farther and carry more weight in bombs that the early airplanes of the war. In addition, they could fly in higher altitudes, which meant they were not as easily damaged by ground fire.

Crude forms of grenades, like the Ketchum grenade, appeared during the American Civil War, but the Mills bomb, also called a pineapple grenade, invented by Englishman William Mills, that was used during WWI proved to be very effective in trench warfare. Safer and easier to use, over 75 million Mills bombs were manufactured from 1915-1918. It remained the standard issue British grenade until 1972. The Germans followed suit with their famous potato masher grenade, which, like the Mills bomb, remained part of their arsenal for years to come.

The first tanks of WWI were introduced by the British in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme. Although they were pretty primitive in comparisons to their modern counterparts - they were slow, had difficulty in the mud, and had constant breakdowns - the WWI tanks did help break up the stalemate that was caused by the use of trench warfare, and were useful in assisting infantry soldiers when breaking through fortifications. And - their presence had quite a psychological impact on the enemy.

German Richard Fiedler invented the modern flamethrower in 1901, and the invention was ready for use in 1914. The first one, called "kleine Flammenwerfer", could be carried by a soldier and used to assault trenches and bunkers. A larger, stationary version called "grosse Flammenwerfer" was also designed and could be used from the trenches; it required two soldiers to operate. Talk about psychological warfare! It didn't take long for the Allies to develop their own version.

In spite of the fact that Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 had outlawed the use of chemical warfare, both sides used mustard gas, first introduced in 1917, chlorine, and phosgene in an attempt to counter the deadlock caused by the use of trench warfare. When the war began, Germany had an estimated 80% of the world's chemical production, but their use of chemical warfare was still a surprise at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915. The results of the battle proved that it was a bit unreliable, as when the wind shifted it came back on the attackers. Countries found a different way to transmit gas using artillery shells. Over time, the use of chemical warfare was less effective as soldiers learned to soak rags with water or urine to protect themselves. Gas masks were eventually issued to soldiers, but cheap chemical weapons continued to be used and were another example of the psychological warfare that was used over the course of the war.

The Maxim gun was invented in 1884 by American Hiram Maxim who had subsequently returned to England; it has the distinction of being the first fully automatic recoil-operated machine gun in the world. Countries had already gained experience using it while scrambling for Africa in the late 1800s. Firing 600 rounds per minute, the gun was one of the reasons why the casualty numbers during WWI were so high, as it was said to be able to stop entire battalions of infantry soldiers. Albert Vickers bought Maxim's company, and manufactured the Vickers version of the gun, which was lighter and easier to use. Not to be excluded, the Germans made the MG 08 version, which used a sled mount rather than a tripod.

Another invention that made helped break up the stalemate caused by trench warfare, the Stokes Mortar was issued to British and American armies during WWI. It was an extremely simple weapon; a bomb was dropped down a tube, the primer at the base of the bomb struck a firing pin and ignited a propellant charge, which would cause an explosion that launched the bomb. First used in 1915, it was lightweight, portable, and could fire at the rate of 20-30 rounds per minute if manned by a trained crew.

The launch of the "HMS Dreadnought" by Britain in 1906 really made any other kind of previous battleship obsolete, and its appearance greatly contributed to the arms race between the countries of the day. With a battery of large guns that were accurate at a longer range, it was the most powerful ship ever seen. Equipped with steam turbines that made it faster and heavy armor, the dreadnoughts were very nearly invincible at the time, as long as they stayed clear of U-boats. Although they were not really used much in direct combat during WWI, dreadnoughts were especially adept at forming blockades, especially in the North Sea area where Germany might try to launch their ships out on the open sea.