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2007-01-28 22:35:18 · 10 answers · asked by Angie 2 in Politics & Government Military

I know how it started. Please Tell me it's importance.....

2007-01-28 22:48:18 · update #1

I know how the war started, I just need to know it's importance. Thank You.

2007-01-28 23:15:33 · update #2

Ok, no one is answering this right! What was beneficial to us all.... Like say, "new weapons were developed or it changed the way war is fought in the battle field".

2007-01-29 08:40:31 · update #3

10 answers

Technology speaking...

The First World War began as a clash of 20th-century technology with 19th-century tactics and the inevitable appalling casualties. By the end of 1917, however, the major armies — now numbering millions of men — had modernized significantly and were making use of such technology as wireless communication, armored cars, tanks, and tactical aircraft. The infantry was reorganized such that 100-man companies were no longer the main unit of manoeuver, in favor of the squad of 10 or so men under the command of a junior NCO. Artillery also had undergone a revolution; in 1914, cannons were positioned on the front lines and fired using open sights directly at their targets; by 1917, indirect fire with guns (as well as mortars and even machine guns) was responsible for the majority of casualties inflicted, and counter-battery artillery missions became commonplace, using new techniques for spotting and ranging enemy artillery.

Much of the war’s combat involved trench warfare, where hundreds often died for each yard of land gained. Many of the deadliest battles in history occurred during the First World War. Such battles include Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Marne, Cambrai, Somme, Verdun, and Gallipoli. During the war, the Haber process of nitrogen fixation was employed to provide the German forces with a continuing supply of powder for the ongoing conflict in the face of British naval control over the trade routes for naturally occurring nitrates. Artillery was responsible for the largest number of casualties during the First World War, which consumed vast quantities of explosives. The large number of head-wounds caused by exploding shells and shrapnel forced the combatant nations to develop the modern steel helmet. The French, who introduced the Adrian helmet in 1915, led this effort. It was quickly followed by the Brodie helmet, worn by British Empire and U.S. troops, and in 1916 by the German Stahlhelm, the distinctive steel helmet that with improvements continued in use throughout World War II.

There was chemical warfare and aerial bombardment, both of which had been outlawed under the 1907 Hague Convention, and both of which had extremely limited effects in tactical terms.

Chemical warfare was a major distinguishing factor of the war. Gases used included chlorine, mustard gas, and phosgene. Only a small proportion of total war casualties were caused by gas, but it achieved harassment and psychological effects by masking speech and slowing movement. Effective countermeasures to gas were quickly created in gas masks. Even as the use of gas increased, its effectiveness in creating casualties was quite limited.

The most powerful land weapons of the Great War were naval guns weighing hundreds of tons apiece (nicknamed Big Berthas by the British); they could be moved on land only by railroad. The largest U.S., British, and French rail guns were severely outranged by the German Krupp, Max E, and Paris Guns.

Fixed-wing aircraft were first used militarily during the First World War. Initial uses consisted of reconnaissance and ground attack. To shoot down enemy planes, anti-aircraft machine guns were used, and, more effectively, fast fighter aircraft. Strategic bombing aircraft were created principally by the Germans and British, though the former used Zeppelins to this end as well.

Towards the end of the war, aircraft carriers were used in combat for the first time, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a raid against the Zepplin hangars at Tondern in 1918.

German U-boats (submarines) were used in combat shortly after the war began. Alternating between restricted and unrestricted submarine warfare during the First Battle of the Atlantic, they were employed by the Kaiserliche Marine in a strategy of defeating the British Empire through a tonnage war. The deaths of British merchantmen and the invulnerability of U-boats led to the development of several countermeasures: depth charges (1916), hydrophones (passive sonar, 1917), blimps, hunter-killer submarines (HMS R 1, 1917), ahead-throwing weapons, and dipping hydrophones (both abandoned in 1918). To extend their operations, the Germans proposed supply submarines (1916). Most of these would be forgotten in the interwar period until World War II revived the need.

Trenches, the machine gun, air reconnaissance, barbed wire, and modern artillery with fragmentation shells helped bring the battle lines of World War I to a stalemate by making massed infantry attacks deadly for the attacker. The infantry was armed mostly with bolt-action magazine rifles, but the machine gun, with the ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute, blunted infantry attacks as an offensive doctrine. The British sought a solution and created the tank, and with it mechanized warfare. The first tanks were used during the Battle of the Somme on September 15, 1916; mechanical reliability issues hampered their mobility, but the experiment proved its worth as protection against enemy weapons, particularly the machine gun. Within a year, the British were fielding tanks by the hundreds and showed their potential during the Battle of Cambrai in November 1917 by breaking the Hindenburg Line, while combined arms teams captured 8000 enemy soldiers and 100 guns. Light automatic weapons also were introduced, such as the Lewis Gun and Browning automatic rifle, combining the firepower of the machine gun with the portability of the rifle.

Manned observation balloons floating high above the trenches were used as stationary reconnaissance points on the front lines, reporting enemy troop positions and directing artillery fire. Balloons commonly had a crew of two personnel equipped with parachutes; upon an enemy air attack on the flammable balloon, the balloon crew would parachute to safety. At the time, parachutes were too bulky to be used by pilots in aircraft, and smaller versions would not be developed until the end of the war. Recognized for their value as observer platforms, observation balloons were important targets of enemy aircraft. To defend against air attack, they were heavily protected by large concentrations antiaircraft guns and patrolled by friendly aircraft. Blimps and balloons helped contribute to the stalemate of trench warfare in World War I, and the balloons contributed to air-to-air combat among aircraft defending the skies and maintaining air superiority because of the balloons' significant reconnaissance value. The Germans conducted air raids on England and London during 1915 and 1916 using airships intending to damage British morale and will to fight, and to cause aircraft to be reassigned away from the front lines.

Another new weapon sprayed jets of burning fuel: flamethrowers. First used in war by the German army, and later adopted by other powers during WWI (it was invented prior to this, and simple models have existed since ancient times). Although not of high tactical value, they were a powerful, demoralizing weapon and caused much terror on the battlefield. It was a dangerous weapon to wield as their heavy weight made operators vulnerable targets, and the fuel on their backs was highly flammable

2007-02-05 07:06:56 · answer #1 · answered by NIKKO23_99 3 · 2 1

Angie If I was to tell you the first mobile tank invasion with dodge trucks into Pancho Villa's Camp to kidnapp his wife by George Patton when he was a second Lt. trying to make Brownie points you say Oh My!
Or if you were to believe it was about the new direction of debt management by the world banks creating taxation you say I am nuts. A lot of Banking Stuff was created with WW1. Banking empires were created.
The Truth is that WW1 was a war to end all wars. Apparently It was a declared war not like the fiascos of Korean, Vietnam, Dessert Storm, 1 and 2 Wars. Iraq is a failed occupation because we didnt transition to democracy for arabs states not other profit grabbing agendas.

2007-02-05 09:05:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0 1

IMO, WWI was the basis for the current world geopolitical situation; and, it set the stage for WWII, which some historians say was simply a continuation of the first.

The Treaty of Versailles (which the US Congress refused to ratify and Germany signed under duress and protest) was used by European powers as an instrument of revenge and punishment upon Germany, which was required to pay huge reparations, give up all overseas territories, and accept full responsibility for the war (which they entered into with some reluctance to honor a mutual defence treaty). The resulting economic chaos in Germany contributed to the collapse of the Weimar Republic and set the stage for Hitler and the Nazis to gain power in the late 1920's and early 1930's. Fortunately, the victorious powers learned their lesson, and after WWII, instead of overzealous punishment of Germany and Japan, they helped rebuild.

In addition, several Balkan states, Slavic states and other minor countries were carved up and partitioned among the European powers, creating artificial states, like Yugoslavia, which created unrest among those populations. European powers (including UK and France) expanded their holdings in the Mideast and Asia, which in turn set the stage for some of the hatreds and enmities that are being dealt with even today.

Ok, in response to your additional clarification Jan 29th, where you added:
"Ok, no one is answering this right! What was beneficial to us all.... Like say, "new weapons were developed or it changed the way war is fought in the battle field"."
:
There's a big difference in your first question and this question. If you ask 'why was it important,' you are opening the question up to viewpoints on history and how the war itself was important for history, geopolitical and world economies.

When you ask the second question, that's more problematic ... how would you say that the development of new weapons of incredible destructive power and more inhumane ways to kill millions of people was "beneficial to us" (to use your phrase).

As for weapons, well, WWI used nerve gas, mustard gas, trench warfare, and introduced mechanized killing machines like the tank into mass production, first use of the airplane in warfare, dropping bombs, the submarine in large-scale use, etc. - none of which would I class as "beneficial".

However it only began the process of unrestricted warfare; and WWII built on that platform with even more gross and distorted ways to kill and mame. NOT BENEFICIAL - but you asked about weapons and warfare - genocide and mass exterminations of civilian populations, flame throwers, heavy heavy tanks with very long-range, armour-piercing artillery, phosphorous bombs that turned Dresden and other cities into fireballs which suffocated the few UNfortunates who survived the initial bombing, super-fragmenting shrapnel, the V-1 rocket and jet airplanes, and of course the incredibly destructive atomic bomb, to just begin. However, these weapons of total war only built on the means of mass destruction that were learned in WWI.

I don't see how any of these items was beneficial in any measure.

JMHO

2007-01-28 23:27:41 · answer #3 · answered by View from a horse 3 · 3 1

Germany's economic collapse after World War I set the stage for Hitler's rise to power and the eventual power shift through europe. That's why the Allied Powers were careful to help the defeated Axis powers to get back on their feet after WWII.

2007-01-29 06:50:30 · answer #4 · answered by stickymongoose 5 · 0 1

the important of the world war is to satisfy the nothing i mean that the world war can destroy every power in the earth and to take what you want from another country

2007-02-05 16:12:53 · answer #5 · answered by Ramy 1 · 0 1

Acually if you look back at the history to the people in the USA the war wasnt that important at all even to europe it didnt really effect any outcomes they still ended up in WW II shortly afterwards. So in my opinion WW I wasnt that important to history WW2 was way more effective in advancing peace to most of europe.

2007-01-29 20:13:50 · answer #6 · answered by firetdriver_99 5 · 0 2

It was started because a rebel group called the black hands assinated a duke named Franz Ferninad I believe.

2007-01-28 22:43:34 · answer #7 · answered by かわいい愛朱利 2 · 0 1

if i remember correctly i think germany had something to do with that war also. Hitler was a soldier in ww1.

2007-01-28 22:48:01 · answer #8 · answered by monreda 4 · 1 0

IN TRUE WORDS / NOTHING / WE JUST SHOWED WE COULD KILL ON SCALE LIKE NOTHING SEEN BEFORE, PRIDE , ROYALITY , AND GREED / THE WINNERS WON ALL 3 / LOOSER'S IN GRAVES AROUND THE WORLD

2007-02-02 20:37:11 · answer #9 · answered by andy 2 · 0 1

you have no idea how it started man..........this goes back way way far man...way far..
why do you think they hid kennedys brain
because the driver killed him do you see now

2007-02-03 12:05:19 · answer #10 · answered by caveman 2 · 1 1

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