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World War 1 New Technology

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Historians still argue about the extent to which the Civil War was the first "Modern" war, but it is impossible to deny that the technology with which it was fought foretold the ways in which future wars would become bigger, bloodier and more devastating. Once the war started, communications technologies ensured that Americans would have much better access to war reports and images than in any previous war. In addition to these field reports, the magazine also published hundreds of articles about the new technologies that were being deployed during the war or tested for possible use. Almost every issue that appeared during the war years contained multiple articles on the newest developments in the construction of warships and weaponry. If the …show more content…
New technology made war more horrible and more complex than ever before. The United States and other countries felt the effects of the war for years afterwards. The popular image of World War I is soldiers in muddy trenches and dugouts, living miserably until the next attack. The power of defensive weapons made winning the war on the western front all but impossible for either side. The Allies soon armed their airplanes the same way, and war in the air became a deadly business. Able to crush barbed wire and cross trenches, tanks moved forward through machine gun fire and often terrified German soldiers with their unstoppable approach. Perhaps the most significant technological advance during World War I was the improvement of the machine gun, a weapon originally developed by an American, Hiram Maxim. The British naval blockade of Germany, which was made possible by developments in naval technology, brought a total war to civilians. The firing stopped on November 11, 1918, but modern war technology had changed the course of

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