19-2 Critical Thinking #3

In what ways did WWI represent a frightening new kind of warfare?

During WWI, America's time in the war changed view of warfare even to today. America alone had a huge number of casualties. We lost 48 thousand men in battle and 62 thousand of disease. The wounded added even more (about 200 thousand) to the casualties number. However, America wasn't the only country affected by the monstrous number of casualties. The total death count for all countries added together throughout the whole war came to about 22 million. Most countries were affected by the casualty factor even more than America. One of them was Britain, who, during the first day of battle, took 60 thousand casualties a the battle of Somme on July 1st 1916. This battle was the introduction of trench warfare and a new wave of military technology.

The new weapons introduced were more frightening the the patriots of the American Revolution or Civil War couldn't even imagine. Machine guns were introduced with increased firepower of 600 rounds a minute. Airplanes now had guns mounted on the tail, which brought around "Dogfights," and gas filled airships, or Zeppelins, were capable of bombarding the enemy with bombs. Chemical warfare had also evolved from blankets infected with small pox. The were now using poison gas, which caused sickness, suffocation, burning upon it's victims. Gas masks became a necessity on the battlefield. Tanks were also brought to the front line, with the ability to "mow down" anything in it's path.

Battle fatigue, more commonly known as "Shell Shock" was a common problem with the men that came home from the war. It was described as a complete emotional collapse from which many soldiers never recovered. During the war, the Men were surrounded by filth, lice, rats and polluted water that caused dysentery. They inhaled poison gas and smelled the stench of decaying bodies. They suffered lack of sleep. Constant bombardments and other horrifying experiences, all these factors led to battle fatigue.