Weapons of WWI

             As we all know weapons are a big part of war. Sometimes on the battlefield they can be determining factors for who loses and who wins. This was the case in World War I. The allies had some advanced weapons on their side such as tanks. So I believe without advanced weapons the allies would not have fully won the war. .
             The first weapon I would like to discuss is the tanks. Now these are some powerful machines. They are very heavily armored and can be equipped with devastating artillery such as machine guns. What many historians truly believe is the first successful demonstration of the potential of the tank, is when the entire British Tank Corps (consisting of 474 tanks) fought at the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917, which the allies won, (however the French can lay claim to its earlier successful use at Malmaison). As you can see the tank was a key instrument in the Allies war effort.
             Another weapon I would like to discuss is the machine gun. Although first rejected by the allied forces it turned out to be useful. One example was The Lewis Gun, a light machine gun; it was developed in the United States in 1911. It was far lighter than the Vickers Machine-Gun and in 1915 the British Army decided to use it on the Western Front. Another advantage of the Lewis is that six of these guns could be made in the time taken to produce one Vickers gun. Which was better for the soldiers they needed weapons. Although too heavy for efficient portable use, it became the standard support weapon for the British infantry during the First World War. This weapon was also used on tanks, which made them even more powerful. In 1883, and was adopted by virtually every combatant nation in World War One, and called by many different names. .
             Nearly 50 per cent of all the casualties in the entire war were derived from Maxim guns. On the Western Front of WW1, 90 per cent of bullet related casualties were inflicted by Maxim-type guns, including the Vickers which was an improved and redesigned Maxim introduced into the British Army on 26 November, 1912 .