The Weapons of World War 1

Weapons Of WWI

The weapons of WWI were revolutionary, the first of a long line of killing machines, the invention of the sustained fire machine gun, the reconnaissance and bomber plane, the invention of the tank. All of these inventions were the offspring of the 1st World War. The first signs of modern warfare started to show in this war to end all wars, the death of horses as a mainstay in the military, the end of the use of line tactics....When one looks back on the 1st World War they see to significant things the birth of the machinegun and the use of the bolt action rifle exclusively in a major war.

The main weapon used by the Germans during the war was the Mauser Kar98. It was a 8mm bolt action long rifle. It held 5 rounds that were fed into the internal magazine by a stripper clip.

The Kar98 was accurate upto around 600 yards making it an ideal sniper rifle. The bolt action mechanism for the Kar98 was so well engineered that most bolt action rifles use the same type of mechanism that the Kar98 used. The Kar was also used in the 2nd world war because of its durability and ease of use.... Some of the drawbacks to the Kar were that the rounds (8mm) when fired one after the other took a great toll on the shooters shoulder, and the weapon could not be fired for long periods of time without the shooter feeling some after effect of the rifle.

The main weapon used by the American military at the time would be the Springfield 1903 bolt action rifle, like the Mauser it had a 5 round internal magazine, however the Springfield used a 30-06 round not a 8mm round, now this meant that the 1903 had less knockdown power(not enough to make it where it was not efficient) but made it less tiresome for the shooter. The main reason that the 1903 was more efficient was that it was easier on the soldier than the Kar was. The Springfield like the Kar was used in the 2nd world war, but the Americans issued the M1 Garand to more of its soldiers than it did the 1903.

The British used the Mk.I Enfield exclusively during WWI, and again like the Kar and 1903 it had an internal magazine that housed 10 not 5 .303 caliber rounds. It had the same aspects as the 1903 and Kar, and really didn't have anything great that distinguished it from the rest of the weapons used in WWI, and like the 1903 and Kar it underwent a series of changes before it was reintroduced