By 1914, the Germans had developed a very heavy howitzer called Big Bertha (named after the inventor’s wife – she probably wasn’t too pleased). Weighing 43 tons, it could be transported by rail or road and fire shells weighing almost a ton over 9 miles. It had a crew of 200 to get everything ready for firing. These were also sometimes accompanied by Skoda 30.5 howitzers which were much lighter and designed to be transported by road.

Because of the variety of uses the artillery had, different types of shell were used for different purposes. This made the guns themselves more versatile, thus one type of gun could be used in many scenarios – this was, of course, far cheaper than developing dozens of different guns for each different situation.

·        Shrapnel shells were not things to be anywhere near in the event of an attack – they were very dangerous indeed. These shells contained an explosive charge surrounded with many small iron balls which, when the shell was detonated, flew out in all directions. These were so powerful that ranks of cavalry and scores of men could be ripped up in seconds. Soldiers who experienced this were the more fortunate ones: if you weren’t killed by a shrapnel shell then one could be mortally wounded, and not much could be done to help at a first aid post. Shrapnel was invented in India by Sir Henry Shrapnel in the nineteenth century – modern day artillery must have made it even more deadly.

·        High explosive shells were just that  - explosives that made a loud “bang”. They were excellent for destroying fortifications or bringing trenches crashing down. They were used extensively at Verdun against German dugouts and put fear of being buried alive into the minds of soldiers. It was even possible for a soldier to be killed from the blast alone.

·        Armour piercing shells – originally used by the Navy to create holes in the hulls of enemy ships, they were used by tanks as a counter-measure against other tanks. At the time, tanks were fairly primitive and were not major killers of the war.

Storing these shells must have been dangerous as well – imagine the result of a shell hitting a cache of unused shells.

Mortars

These were small-ish, more practical howitzers that could fire shells about 2 miles. Shells were dropped into the short, stubby barrel and fired by a pre-loaded explosive charge.

Gas

The German Army first used chlorine gas cylinders in 1915 against French troops at Ypres. It was reported by the soldiers that a yellow-green colour of smoke was drifting towards them. When it hit, the gas destroyed the lungs from the inside by burning through, leading to a slow death.

Chlorine gas was absolutely lethal. It was quite heavy, so when the wind blew it, it would fill every shell hole and easily descend into a trench where it would attack the internal organs of soldiers. The world’s first taste of biological warfare had been delivered.

It was important to only launch a gas attack when the wind favoured you – otherwise the gas would be blown back in your face, as happened to the British in 1915. Later, gas shells were fired from artillery, which solved this problem. Such shells contained the components of the weapon in liquid form, and when released it turned to gas.

Before working gas masks came about, soldiers were advised to avoid gas attacks by urinating into handkerchiefs and breathing through them. Fortunately, later on other methods were developed.

Phosgene gas was later found to be more effective and was used instead, or was mixed in with chlorine.

We were marching to Ypres and there were people, civilians and soldiers, lying along the roadside in a terrible state. We heard them say it was gas. We didn't know what the hell gas was.

Aircraft were not a huge part of trench warfare, but basic planes were used for reconnaissance duties.

A Sopwith Camel, a typical biplane used in the First World War.

It is clear to see that the impact of new weapons had a murderous effect on both sides of the war. Mechanised killing machines could knock out major offensives even if the enemy had fewer men. Cavalry was no longer the most powerful force and battles could be fought with men miles apart. With weapons like this used in the most efficient way, one can account for the sky-high death toll of trench warfare.