Artillery
Of all the types of weapons in use at the start of 1914, artillery underwent the most advances in the war. Machine guns were one of the most used weapons in the war and accounted for many thousands of deaths. At the beginning of the war, machine guns required many operators and were problematic. By the end of the war the machine gun had go through major improvements; during the war the following enhancements were made:
The problem:
The machine gun was set up on a flat tripod and required a gun crew of four to six operators. The early machine guns overheated and often became unusable without cooling mechanisms.
The solution: To prevent overheating they were either water-cooled or latter in the war, air-cooled.
The problem:
Machine guns jammed frequently, especially in hot conditions or when used by inexperienced operators.
The solution: Machine gun were improved in this area a little but still jammed; consequently machine guns were often grouped together to maintain a constant defensive position.
The problem:
Early machine guns were around 62kg. Although they were made lighter, around 12kg, they were still considered too heavy for rapidly advancing infantry. Efforts to transport machine guns by wheeled carriages or pack animals were in the end unsuccessful.
The solution: By 1918 the one-man portable machine guns were put to some use (each weighing 9-14kg), although maintaining sufficient ammunition supplies remained a difficulty. These lighter machine guns were more readily transported on roads or flat ground by armored cars. In advancing war machine guns were adapted for use on tanks. Light machine guns were adopted too for incorporation into aircraft from 1915 onwards, which enabled the pilot to fire the gun through the aircraft's propeller blades. Likewise, machine guns began to be put on warships for addition to naval armaments.
Germans quickly learned the usefulness of machine guns on the battlefield. From the start, the German army demonstrated the value of the machine gun by creating separate machine gun companies to support infantry battalions. When put in fixed strong points sited specifically to cover potential enemy attack routes, the machine gun proved a good defensive weapon. Enemy infantry assaults upon such positions invariably proved highly costly. On the opening day of the offensive, the British suffered a record number of single day casualties, 60,000, the great majority lost under withering machine gun fire.
The problem:
The machine gun was set up on a flat tripod and required a gun crew of four to six operators. The early machine guns overheated and often became unusable without cooling mechanisms.
The solution: To prevent overheating they were either water-cooled or latter in the war, air-cooled.
The problem:
Machine guns jammed frequently, especially in hot conditions or when used by inexperienced operators.
The solution: Machine gun were improved in this area a little but still jammed; consequently machine guns were often grouped together to maintain a constant defensive position.
The problem:
Early machine guns were around 62kg. Although they were made lighter, around 12kg, they were still considered too heavy for rapidly advancing infantry. Efforts to transport machine guns by wheeled carriages or pack animals were in the end unsuccessful.
The solution: By 1918 the one-man portable machine guns were put to some use (each weighing 9-14kg), although maintaining sufficient ammunition supplies remained a difficulty. These lighter machine guns were more readily transported on roads or flat ground by armored cars. In advancing war machine guns were adapted for use on tanks. Light machine guns were adopted too for incorporation into aircraft from 1915 onwards, which enabled the pilot to fire the gun through the aircraft's propeller blades. Likewise, machine guns began to be put on warships for addition to naval armaments.
Germans quickly learned the usefulness of machine guns on the battlefield. From the start, the German army demonstrated the value of the machine gun by creating separate machine gun companies to support infantry battalions. When put in fixed strong points sited specifically to cover potential enemy attack routes, the machine gun proved a good defensive weapon. Enemy infantry assaults upon such positions invariably proved highly costly. On the opening day of the offensive, the British suffered a record number of single day casualties, 60,000, the great majority lost under withering machine gun fire.