Weapons of World War I

World War I weapons included types standardised and improved over the preceding period, together with some newly developed types using innovative technology and a number of improvised weapons used in trench warfare. Military technology of the time included important innovations in weaponry, grenades, poison gas, and artillery, along with essentially new weapons such as the submarine, warplane and tank.

Infantry weapons used by major powers were mainly bolt action rifles, capable of firing ten or more rounds per minute. German soldiers carried 7.92 Mauser rifles, which were good for penetration. The British carried the famous Lee–Enfield rifle. Rifles with telescopic sights were used by snipers, and were first used by the Germans.

Machine guns were also used by the large powers; a favorite was the Maxim gun, a fully automatic weapon, with a high volume of concentrated fire, and its French counterpart, the Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun. Their use in defense, combined with barbed wire obstacles, converted the expected mobile battlefield to a static one. The machine gun was useful in stationary battle but was not practical for easy movement through battlefields, and was therefore often dragged or disarmed and carried.

Near the end of the war, both sides deployed more mobile light machine guns and submachine guns, such as the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle and Bergmann MP 18.

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