6. Rifles
The British army were in favor of using the Lee-Enfield .303 during WWI. This model was only a slight upgrade from the original weapon used by the army since 1902. The bolt-action Lee-Enfield was most notably reliable, holding a magazine of ten bullets and well-suited to handle harsh conditions of trench warfare. In fact, a trained soldier could shoot out 15 rounds per minute with these rifles, even taking the time to reload. This model would continue to be used throughout WWII, and for years after.
The German infantry had a standard Gewehr 98 rifle. However, while the Gewehr was an accurate and well-built weapon, it wasn’t as well prepared to deal with the conditions on the Western Front. It was a hassle to maneuver in the trenches, unlike the Lee-Enfield, and it required an extra sight for short-range firing.
5. Poisonous Gas
Hundreds of French troops were attacked and killed with chlorine gas, which was first introduced by the Germans at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. After this, the British also started working with chlorine gas, later evolving into the use of the deadlier phosgene and mustard gas, which could actually blind anyone it came into contact with.
By 1917, poison gas was a mainstay and could be utilized with greater precision by chemical shells and mortars. Over the course of the war, there were an estimated one million gas casualties on all sides.
4. Artillery
The heavy use of artillery weapons caused the majority of casualties on the battlefields during WWI. Enemy lines were acquainted with handling heavy artillery fire over long stretches of time before full-blown infantry assaults would be underway. For example, a bombardment of the German trenches included over 3,000 guns, from which 4.5 million bullets were fired for two weeks during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.
The British Howitzer-Mark 1, a general field gun, could launch two rounds of 290lb shells per minute. And the long-range Paris Gun, so titled and used by the Germans in March 1918, were used to attack the French Capital. It had a 118-foot-long barrel that could actually set off a shell 25 miles into the air, managing to target Paris from 74 yards away – a seemingly great hurdle for the days of WWI.