WW1

Machine guns

Fires several hundred bullets per minute, a devastating weapon to use against enemy troops

Most of the early war machine guns were heavy and practically immobile

which required a team of soldiers to use

First really used by the Germans who appreciated their power for defense

The Germans' use of the machine guns allowed all other armies to learn the frightening power of them

The machine gun overcame stalemates by creating a dominance on the battlefield and changed army tactics for the rest of the war

Infantry units were now given lewis light machine guns,

lighter machine gun which had 2 members usually

1 to hold the gun, the other to hold the 47 round drum mag(there could be more members if more ammo is needed)

Indirect Firepower

The most notable outcome was the machine gun barrage. Groups of guns, centrally controlled, were used to fire upon pre-plotted target areas.

By exploiting the curved trajectory followed by their bullets, machine guns could fire indirectly, like miniature artillery pieces

even over the heads of friendly troops. These techniques required accurate maps and a firm basis of mathematical calculation.

Groups of guns could interlock their fire.

Direct Firepower

The German army had been a late convert to the potential of machine guns, but its tactical employment of them in 1914 proved superior to that of its enemies

German machine gunners exploited the weapon’s long-range accuracy

Following the onset of positional warfare, machine guns gained notoriety as highly effective direct-fire weapons. They could theoretically fire over 500 rounds per minute

but this was not normal in combat, where "rapid fire" generally consisted of repeated bursts amounting to 250 rpm.

pros

Early machine guns could fire between 450 and 600 rounds a minute.

firing a single shot per trigger press, up to around 20 rounds a minute, or as quick as
the operator fire and reload.

The effect was that a machine gun could generate the same fire power associated with around 30 men

it is belt fed

the machine gun could also maintain this rate of fire for some time

where previously you may have had
100 men hold the trench line, you could use only three machine guns for the same defensive effect

It was used for mostly defensive purposes in WWI

they would be positioned along the trenches

in the case of an attack from the enemy they would be ready to take care of the attack much faster than an ordinary rifle could.

Cons

Weight

They were very bulky and weighed a lot

They weighed between
30kg and 60kg

Troops

machine guns needed 4-6 men to work them

terrain

had to be on a
flat surface

Transportation

they were not easy to transport.

terrible for troops during an advance

Types of machine guns

Austro-Hungarian Empire

DWM MG 08

Madsen M1902

Schwarzlose M1907 and M1907/12

Schwarzlose M1916 and M1916A

Škoda M1893 and M1902

Škoda M1909 and M1913

United States

Colt–Vickers M1915

Hotchkiss M1914

Lewis M1917

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle

Gatling gun

Chauchat M1915 and M1918

Browning M1917

Benét–Mercié M1909

Italy

Chauchat M1915

Fiat–Revelli M1914

Gardner M1886

Hotchkiss M1914

Vickers Mk I

Perino M1908

Saint Étienne M1907

Lewis Mk I

Maxim M1906 and M1911

Nordenfelt M1884

Japan

Hotchkiss M1900

Nambu Type 3

British

Colt–Browning M1895/14 (Canadian service)

Browning M1917

Hotchkiss Mk I

Lewis Mk I

Madsen machine gun (India)

Maxim M1884

Vickers machine gun

Russian

Chauchat M1915

Lewis Mk I and M1917

Hotchkiss M1909

Maxim M1905

Madsen M1902

Maxim M1910

Serbia

Schwarzlose M1907/12

PM M1910

Zastava M1905

Lewis Mk I

Hotchkiss M1914

DWM MG 08

German

Bergmann MG 15 (Water cooled version)

Bergmann MG 15nA (Air cooled version)

DWM MG 99, MG 01, MG 08, MG 08/15, MG 08/18 and MG 09

Gast M1917

DWM Parabellum MG 14 and MG 14/17

Madsen M1902

Communication

Telegraph and Morse code

The electric telegraph sends an electric current to a receiving station.

When the sender presses on the telegraph key he interrupts the current creating an audible pulse that is heard at the receiving station.

It cannot carry voice or other data, and relies only on pulses to communicate.

The receiver on the other end decodes the pulses to decode the message.

Morse code is a system of sending messages by a series of on-off tones, lights or clicks.

Each letter is represented by a unique series of short dots (dits) and longer dashes (dahs).

The duration of a dash is three times the length of a dot

Each word is separated by silence in the equivalent of one dash.

It is very important that the transmitter be consistent, or the message might be misread completely!

During WWI, electric telegraphs were used throughout the war, on both sides. They
were used to communicate from the front line trenches to the officers

telegraph lines throughout Europe and across the Atlantic, telegraph
machines allowed governments and their leaders to instantly receive information on troop movements, battle outcomes, and other crucial information.

First adopted in Germany in 1905, the ‘SOS’ three letter message quickly became the
internationally recognized message for distress.

While it is often thought it means
“save our ship”, it actually does not stand for anything.

The three letter message is
easy to remember, which is crucial during emergencies.

Telephones

The telephone was developed by improving the
electric telegraph.

A telephone converts sound (from our voice) into electronic signals suitable for transmission via cables or other transmission media over long distances, and replays those signals simultaneously so we can hear them.

on the Western Front, telephones were used to communicate between the front line Marines and Soldiers and their commanders

The U.S. Army Signal Corps constructed 2,000 miles of
telegraph and telephone pole lines using 28,000 miles of wire, and 32,000 miles of French communication poles.

They installed 40,000 miles of combat lines, and established 134 permanent telegraph offices and 273 telephone exchanges

Radio

Radio made its debut years before World War I, it was often used by ships

transmitting messages via Morse code, and in 1912, operators on the Titanic depended on radio to communicate with other ships, and with onshore radio stations.

The biggest improvements radio offered over message systems like Morse code were the speed and accuracy afforded by the use of voice communication

Advances in radio technology such as oscillators, amplifiers and the electron tube made reliable voice communication possible

The "wireless" (as early radio was 8 sometimes called) quickly proved invaluable to wartime efforts

Radio operators with portable transmitters were able to warn soldiers of an attack of poisonous gas, giving them time to put on their gas masks.

Aircraft

Used transmitting wireless sets as receivers added too much weight, so they could only relay messages

Dropped messages near headquarters or friendly positions

Ground troops signaled aircrafts using signal lamps and flares

Signal Flags

Before the inventions of the telegraph, telephone and
two-way radio, ships would communicate with a series
of signal flags.

Signal flags are a uniform set of easily identifiable nautical codes used to convey visual messages and signals between two ships or from ship to shore.

They are based on an internationally recognized set of codes referred to as the International Code of Signals

published in nine different languages; English, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Norwegian, Russian and Greek.

Flag signals may also be used to communicate messages between different ships that
are close to one another

often this occurs because they are performing dangerous
operations, such as when refueling at sea

Wig Wag

Wig wag was developed by U.S. Army Major Albert Myer during the American Civil
War. Based upon the idea of Morse code (each letter being represented by a series of dots and dashes)

his method uses one flag that is waved back and forth in a series of
“wags” to represent each letter of the message. There are two basic wig wag flags,

one white with a red center and
one red with a white center. The white flag was used at dusk or dawn (times of day with low light or low visibility) and the red was used during days with bright sunshine.

Each letter has three basic movements: down to the left,
down to the right, or down in front of the signalman. Since
this code was based upon Morse Code, it could take up to five waves of the flag for a single letter.

To the untrained
eye, it looked as though the signalman was just “wagging” the flag around in no particular order, giving it the name “wig wag.” Marines would utilize wig wag through the end of WWI

Semaphore

During the French Revolution in 1792, Claude Chappe
invented the semaphore line system.

This was a method of
communication using a series of visual signals and rotating paddles. The message was encoded by the position of the paddles.

The message can
then be read when the paddles are in a fixed position. This system proved to be much faster than a horse and rider, and once constructed proved to be a much more cost efficient way of sending messages.

In 1792 Chappe constructed 556 semaphore towers throughout France, spanning 3,000 miles. This method of communication would be used by the French military until the 1850s.

Electricity and war communications during World War I

Phonetic Alphabet

With the increasing use of radio and telephone communication, a new way of conveying important information was needed to ensure the listener received the correct message.This led to the development of the phonetic alphabet.

A phonetic alphabet is a list of words used to identify letters in a message transmitted by radio or telephone.

Spoken words from an approved list are substituted for letters.

For example the word “Marine” would be “Mike Alfa Romeo India November Echo when spelled out in the current phonetic alphabet.

Using this method helps to prevent any confusion between similar sounding letters or if there is a poor connection during transmission.

Signal lamps

Another form of communication in use by the U.S. military was the electric signal lamp. Communication by signal lamps are similar to flag signals in that it is a visual signal and is often times restricted by one’s line of sight

Signal lamps are a focused lamp which can
produce a pulse of light to send a message to another. In large versions this pulse is achieved by opening and closing shutters that are mounted in front of the lamp via a manually operated pressure switch.

Animal Messengers

During WWI, the U.S Army Signal Corps also
utilized homing pigeons to maintain frontline communications.

A field commander would have one or two pigeons with him, and if other lines of communication were not available, he could write a message on a small piece of paper, secured by a small canister attached on the bird’s leg.

tanks

Tanks played a major role in the First World War. When we think of tanks, we this of huge machines that can blow things up and also a transport which is well armored.

The word ‘tank’ literally means ‘land vessel’.

The first time the tanks were used was at the battle of the Somme in September 1916

Winston Churchill donated/gave a huge amount of money for the funding of tanks. But the first use of tanks wasn’t until The Battle of the Somme.

In 1915 Britain had a successful field demonstration, they then established a “landships committee” in secret to study the military advantages of the tank.

The name landship came from how the tank looked more like a warship

Tanks and armoured vehicles were turned to to counter machine guns and barbed wire in no mans land, which caused heavy casualties in 1915 and early 191

On top of effectively crossing trenches and wire, the tanks also reduced german morale

despite this the first tanks were not able to break through the German lines

The defense in the trenches were very hard to overcome as they had ideal positions and weapons at their disposal which put the defender at an advantage

to pass these obstacles some military officers looked to tractors with caterpillar tracks to cross the barbed wire

cons

slow speed

the Mark IV tank had a top speed of 4 mph which is not a big difference to the average walking pace, 3 mph.

mechanical failure

Another weakness to the tank was that if there was a trench which did not have a big width, the tank would fall into the trench and get stuck and would not be able to get back out again.

unable to cross soft or grounds with lots of craters

The tanks would not sink into water, but when they faced deep mud, they would sink.

The tanks would not sink into water, but when they faced deep mud, they would sink.

heavy weight

High cost

the tank needs metal that is thick enough so that not normal bullets can penetrate it. The part that made lots of tanks unusable is one of the main things, the tracks.

pros

able to cover lots of ground

easily crossed barbed wire

before the tanks were invented, thousands of men would be killed trying to cross the German barbed wire which was thousands of metres long and very deep

Also, the German barbed wire was a lot thicker than British barbed wire. The men would have been funnelled into a ‘kill zone’ and gunned to death. But when tanks came into place, the tanks could easily go straight through the barbed wire and make a path for the men.

sturdy

the tanks armour was so strong that nearly no bullets could penetrate the armour.

boost of moral

As well as this, the tanks gave a big boost of morale to the men.

kind of tanks

French(3)

Renault FT-17 1917 (France)

Char d’assault Schneider 1916 (French)

The St. Chamond was not much better than the Schneider for the reason that the designers did not think realistically. The caterpillar tracks were too short, could not hold the 23-ton tank, etc.

Char d’assault St. Chamond 1916 (French)

German(6)

K Großkampfwagen aka K-Wagen 1918 (German)

While the A7V was being invented the War Ministry in Germany ordered the invention of another tank which was to be heavy. So, the K Großkampfwagen was made and it weighed an astonishing 160 tons

but the ministry did not like how heavy it was so they cut parts of it off and made it shorter.

This also took off at least 40 tons so the final copy was 120 tons.

But still due to its weight, the tank itself was not able to move very fast but travelled and a max of 4.7mph.

It also had seven machine guns and could hold up to 27 men.

Leichter Kampfwagen I aka LK I 1918 (German)

Leichter Kampfwagen II aka LK II 1918 (German)

, the LK II was made after the LK I and its armour was in some places up to 14mm thick which meant that it was around 8.5 tons even though it was meant to have been a ‘light tank’.

The main weapon was an automatic machine gun and the tank itself could travel at 18 km/h.

Sturmpanzerwagen A7V 1917 (German)

Sturmpanzerwagen A7V-U 1918 (German)

Sturmpanzerwagen Oberschlesien 1918 (German)

United states of America(5)

Ford Model 1918 (US)

his was one of the first tank designs that the US made.

You can also see that from the tanks so far, the design is quite unique as unlike the other tanks, the Ford Model was not ‘filled in’ as much.

It was considered as a ‘light tank’ as it weighed 3 tons.

There were only 15 originals made probably because not too much later on, the US made better and stronger tanks which had thicker armor.

M1917 6-ton 1918 (US)

Skeleton Tank 1918 (US)

Model 1917 Holt Gas-Electric 1918 (US)

War Tank America aka Steam Tank 1918 (US)

British(8)

Little Willie Landship 1915 (British)

The Little Willie was like the LK II in the sense that it too was a prototype. It was also the first completed tank in history.

It was made in July 1915, weighed 16.5 tons and as it was the first tank and as the engines were not brilliant that early on, could only crawl forward at a max speed of 2 miles/h. Only one was made and is at the Tank Museum in Bovington.

Even though Little Willie never went to combat, it was a huge achievement in many aspects and lots of later tank designs would come from the Little Willie.

Also, if it weren’t for Winston Churchill, the idea/invention of tanks probably would not have happened as he was the one who set up a committee in 1915 to tackle the problems of trench warfare

this is when people would have to follow a path made out of barbed wire and when they were in a ‘kill zone’, they would all have been gunned down

Medium Mark C aka Hornet 1918 (British)

Medium Tank MK A aka Whippet 1918 (British)

Tank MK I aka Big Willie/Mother/Centipede 1916 (British)

Tank MK II 1917 (British)

Tank MK IV 1917 (British)

Tank MK V, MK V*,MK V** 1918 (British)

Tank Mark IX 1918 (British)

Italian(1)

Fiat 2000 1918 (Italian)

During the course of World War One, Italy did not field any armoured units due to a lack of tanks, so instead, they produced original designs.

The Fiat 2000 had around the same dimensions as the Mark V tanks. But the Fiat 2000 was quite a lot heavier as the Fiat 2000 weighed 40 tons while the British Mark V weighed 28 tons.

Also the tank had a almost spherical top where there would have been a turret which could rotate a full 360. It was actually the first tank to have a fully rotating turret if you didn’t count the Renault FT.

Russian(1)

Tsar Tank aka Lebedenko Tank/Netopyr 1915 (Russian

The Tsar Tank. Well… it was different. As in the picture, the Tsar Tank was and armoured vehicle and instead of tracks, it had what would seem to look like bicycle wheels.

It was based on a rather simple fact. It was easier to hold the line rather than moving forwards and attacking.

So, the wheels were meant to be 12 metres in diameter and men were meant to be able to fit in them. The planning to scale didn’t go terribly well and after a few projects, the Russians decided to completely scrap the absurd idea.

Planes

Ace – top fighter pilot who has shot down many enemy aircraft

Aerial – something linked to the air or aircraft

Dog fights – combat between aircraft in flight

Grenade – a small bomb that can be thrown by hand

Reconnaissance – military term for gathering information

Zeppelin – airship powered by hydrogen

Zeppelins were intended to throw bombs from the sky.

Pilots did one of the most dangerous jobs during the First World War.

There was a good chance that they would be injured or killed while training

With more planes taking to the skies, enemy pilots began to fight each other in the air.

At first, they tried throwing grenades at each other or shooting with rifles and pistols. Which internally failed

Pilots soon found that the best way to shoot down an enemy plane was with a mounted machine gun.

if the machine gun was mounted at the front of the plane, the propeller would get in the way of the bullets.

An invention called an "interrupter" was invented by the Germans that allowed the machine gun to be synchronized with the propeller. Soon all fighter planes used this invention.

As the war progressed, both sides began to use aircraft to drop bombs on strategic enemy locations.

The first planes used for bombings could only carry small bombs and were very vulnerable to attack from the ground

By the end of the war, faster long-range bombers were built that could carry a much larger weight of bombs.

20 000 Canadians served in the british flying services

canada didnt have its own air force till the last month of the war

by november 1918, 25% of the royal air force were canadian

The first use of airplanes in World War I was for reconnaissance

The airplanes would fly above the battlefield and determine the enemy's movements and position

but later new technological advances allowed pilots to drop bombs and shoot down enemy aircraft.

In 1918, the British Air Force was the largest in the world and had over 3,000 aircraft.

The main aircrafts used by the Germans were rigid airships, or zeppelins, against Paris and London to be specific.

Zeppelins proved vulnerable to bullets from better allied aircraft that climbed higher in the sky

Pros

Projectiles

At first most aircraft were unarmed

some pilots did carry weapons with them including pistols and grenades

the body of the aircraft itself made it difficult and dangerous to fire any weapons.

Darts like these and other dangerous objects were used by both sides

They were usually dropped in bundles from aeroplanes

Reconnaissance cameras

As trench systems developed and became more complex, it became harder for pilots to accurately record what was happening on the ground

aerial photography was introduced early in 1915. The first experimental photographs were taken by hand

aerial reconnaissance was most effective when using cameras which were attached to the aircraft

Zeppelins

Fly high in the sky

they were able to fly higher than some planes

Amount of bombs

Zeppelins could carry a modest bomb
payload a great distance,

Ale to fly at night

. They can be fired at night with no detection

Cons

Too cramped

The aircraft were too cramped to carry parachutes, the pilot died

very time consuming to build

A typical two-seat plane had more than 50,000 different parts

4,000 hours of labor to put together

Easy to be shot down when taking photos

Zeppelins

owing to the still small payload they could carry, and with all the bombs

the amount of damage they causes was not a very good use of military resources.

they were very costly

Dangerous to fly

Any spark would set the wood and canvas on fire

types of tanks

German

Gotha G V
(german)

Fokker Eindecker(German)

Siemens-Schuckert
(German)

British

Sopwith Camel
(British)

Handley Page 0/400
(British)

23-class airship

training airship

AD Flying Boat

patrol seaplane

Airco DH.2

fighter

Bristol Type 22(british)

Airco DH.9

bomber

Armstrong Whitworth F.K.3

reconnaissance

Avro 503

patrol seaplane

BAT Bantam

fighter

French(Armée de l'Air )

Astoux-Vedrines triplane

experimental

Astra-Torres airship

patrol blimp

Astra bomber

bomber

Bernard SAB C1

fighter

Borel-Boccacio Type 3000

fighter

Borel hydro-monoplane

reconnaissance

Breguet 16

night bomber

Caudron G.2

trainer

Caudron C.21

night bomber

Donnet-Denhaut flying boat

patrol seaplane

Wibault Wib.1

fighter

voisin LAR/LBR/10/E.94/11

bomber

Italian

Ansaldo A.1 Balilla

fighter

Ansaldo SVA

reconnaissance

Caproni Ca.1

bomber

Gabardini monoplane

trainer

Macchi M.3

patrol seaplane

Macchi M.5

fighter

Pomilio PE

reconnaissance

SAML S.2

reconnaissance

Savoia-Pomilio SP.4

reconnaissance

SIAI S.9

reconnaissance

American

Aeromarine 39

trainer

Burgess HT-2 Speed Scout

reconnaissance

B-class blimp

patrol blimp

Burgess Model S

trainer

C-class blimp

C-class blimp

Curtiss Model E

trainer

Curtiss Model H

patrol seaplane

Curtiss HA Dunkirk fighter

reconnaissance

Curtiss HS

patrol seaplane

Engineering Division USD-9

bomber

japan

Yokosuka Ro-go Ko-gata

reconnaissance

Romaia

A Vlaicu III

trainer

Russia

Anatra Anadis

fighter

Anatra D Anade

reconnaissance

Anatra DS Anasal

reconnaissance

Anatra DSS

reconnaissance

Grigorovich M-5

patrol seaplane

Grigorovich M-9

patrol seaplane

Lebed VII

reconnaissance

Sikorsky S-5A

reconnaissancev

Sikorsky S-16

fighter

Sikorsky Ilya Muromets

bomber

Canada)

Curtiss C-1 Canada

bomber

Curtiss JN-4 (Canadian)

trainer

Poison Gas

the French were the first to employ gas, using grenades filled with tear gas ( xylyl bromide)

First large scale use was on April 22, 1915 during the second battle of Ypres by the germans

Germans transported liquid chlorine gas to Ypres, on April 22

they released the gas as the wind was blowing in the direction of the Canadians

The gas traveled through the battlefield in a green-yellow cloud

Mustard gas was the most deadly weapon used.

mustard gas killed far more people, being responsible for about 85% of the 100,000 deaths caused by chemical weapons during World War I.

Chlorine became the first killing agent to be employed. German chemical conglomerate IG Farben had been producing chlorine as a by-product of their dye manufacturing

Chlorine gas causes a burning sensation in the throat and chest pains.

Poison gas was deigned to suffocate soldiers and kill them.

Pros

Very hard to protect against(mustard)

Because mustard gas touches the entire body it was very hard to come up with countermeasure for it.

Some countries tried but mostly failed

The best solution only dimmed the effects

Could attack transportation

not only humans that needed protection from gas; horses and mules

Undetectable

Produced a large amount of casualties

Around 1 000 000 gas casualties, 12000 canadian

Cons

Wind

In 1915 the british launched their own chlorine gas attack, but the change of wind ended up gassing 2000 of their own

Around 36,600 tons of the gas were manufactured during the war, out of a total of 190,000 tons for all chemical weapons, making it second only to chlorine (93,800 tons) in the quantity manufactured

Germany 18,100 tons

France 15,700 tons

Great Britain 1,400 tons (although they also used French stocks)

United States 1,400 tons (although they also used French stocks)

Countermeasures

The next advance was the introduction of the gas helmet

basically a bag placed over the head.

The fabric of the bag was impregnated with a chemical to neutralise the gas

whenever it rained, the chemical would wash out into the soldier's eyes.

Eye-pieces, which were prone to fog up, were initially made from talc.

When going into combat, gas helmets were typically worn rolled up on top of the head, to be pulled down and secured about the neck when the gas alarm was given.

The first British version was the Hypo helmet

the fabric of which was soaked in sodium hyposulfite (commonly known as "hypo")

The British P gas helmet, partially effective against phosgene and with which all infantry were equipped with at Loos, was impregnated with phenate hexamine

A mouthpiece was added through which the wearer would breathe out to prevent carbon dioxide build-up.

The adjutant of the 1/23rd Battalion, The London Regiment, recalled his experience of the P helmet at Loos:

"The goggles rapidly dimmed over, and the air came through in such suffocatingly small quantities as to demand a continuous exercise of will-power on the part of the wearers."

A modified version of the P Helmet, called the PH Helmet, was issued in January 1916, and was additionally impregnated with hexamethylenetetramine to improve the protection against phosgene .

For mustard gas, which did not need to be inhaled in order to inflict casualties, no effective countermeasure was found during the war.

The kilt-wearing Highland regiments of Scotland were especially vulnerable to mustard gas injuries due to their bare legs.

At Nieuport some Scots battalions took to wearing women's tights beneath the kilt as a form of protection

The Canadian soldiers are said to have found a way to minimize the effects of the mustard gas. Since the gas was sent by the wind towards them

hey understood that it would minimize the exposure to the gas if the Canadians not only did not flee but ran through the gas.

The French, conversely, when the gas was used against them, fled, and therefore spent more time in the gas, suffering greater casualties.

Gas alert procedure became a routine for the front-line soldier.

To warn of a gas attack, a bell would be rung, often made from a spent artillery shell.

t the noisy batteries of the siege guns, a compressed air strombus horn was used, which could be heard nine miles away.

Notices would be posted on all approaches to an affected area, warning people to take precautions.

Gases used

Chlorine

Irritant/Lung

Phosgene

Irritant/Skin and mucous membranes, corrosive, toxic

Chloromethyl chloroformate

Irritant/Eyes, skin, lungs

Trichloromethyl chloroformate

Severe irritant, causes burns

Chloropicrin

Irritant, lachrymatory, toxic

Stannic chloride

Severe irritant, causes burns

a-Chlorotoluene (Benzyl chloride)

Irritant, lachrymatory

Bis(chloromethyl) ether (Dichloromethyl ether)

Irritant, can blur vision

Diphenylchloroarsine (Diphenyl chlorasine)

Irritant/Sternutatory

N-Ethylcarbazole

Vesicant

Benzyl bromide

Irritant

Xylyl bromide

Lachrymatory

Methyl chlorosulfonate

Ethyl iodoacetate

Lachrymatory

Bromoacetone

Lachrymatory, toxic

Bromomethyl ethyl ketone

Lachrymatory

Acrolein

Lachrymatory, irritant

Hydrocyanic acid (Prussic acid)

Irritant/Skin, eyes

Hydrogen sulfide (Sulphuretted hydrogen)

Irritant, toxic

Mustard gas (Bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide)

Vesicant (blistering agent)

Submarines

The B-class submarines served in the Philippines.

The C-class were the first U.S. Navy submarines to hold major trials with warships. This class served at Coco Solo, Panama Canal.

The F-class submarines were based in the Pacific, serving at Hawaii and off California. F-1 sank in December 1917 when she accidentally collided with F-3.

The H-class submarines, the majority of the submarines, served on the west coast while H-2 served in the Caribbean. The last boat of the class, H-9, was commissioned after the war.

In the Atlantic, the D-class submarines served off New York and Connecticut.

The E-class submarines served in the Azores and off the eastern coast of the United States in patrols against U-boats

.
The G-class submarines were used in submarine school at Groton, Connecticut and played a role in sound detection with tests done off Long Island.

The K-class submarines, some saw service off the Azores, patrolling and protecting convoys. They also performed experimental work, notably in the areas of listening devices and in the storage of batteries and torpedoes.

The L-class submarines had 11 boats in the class. A notable action was an engagement between USS AL-2 and German submarine UB-65 on July 10, 1918. Many saw service while based in Ireland.

The M-class submarine only had one in service with the U.S. Navy. Other M-class submarines were purchased by the Russian Navy.

An interesting use of N-class submarines was with Q-ships.

The U.S. Navy purchased and employed vessels that were fitted out as a decoy ship, or "Q" ship as British called the vessels. These ships were intended to act as a decoy to attract German U-boats with their innocent and defenseless appearance.

One Q-boat, Charles Whittemore, operated with the N-5, whose torpedoes could sink any U-Boat lured into range by the boat.

The O-class submarine had 16 boats in the class. All were commissioned in 1918, departed in early November, but before any action Armistice was signed.

Summer of 1918 german u boats raided Canada’s east coast and attacked vulnerable ships

Canada's small navy couldn't fend off against them

German U-boats(submarines) were used to sink and raid coasts and ships

U boats caused serious losses to the allied merchant ships, Canada responded by establishing a strong merchant marine intended to cooperate with British shipping

U boat attacks caused allied merchant ships to sail in convoys, groups of ships, which were harder for u boats to find, and attacks

U boats sunk a total of 3170 allied/neutral ships by the end of 1917

Germany turned to submarines in fear of Britain's superior navy, Germany did have a strong navy but were cautious about losing it

The Germans believed this would win the war by strangling Britain before the united states would turn the tide

Germany sunk hundreds of ships over the first half of the year

The British predicted that they would possibly lose the war on June 20 unless they stopped u boats

In February 1915 german U Boat attacks started occurring and they began to attack all merchant ships in British waters

On May 7 1915 u boats sunk the Lusitania and caused 1198 deaths, almost pulling America into the war

In september 1915, the German high command ordered that u boats stop attack merchant ships with no warning

In 1917 Germany went back to unrestricted submarine attacks, where they now focused to sink all ships supplying the allies