Like any war before or since, the First World War formed the catalyst for a wealth of technical inventions with only one goal in mind: to inflict as much damage on the opponent as possible. No one would have dreamed that as a result of these new technologies, the death tolls on all sides would be so high, nor would the physical destruction of the opposition have seemed possible. In this new work, Wolfgang Fleischer has meticulously documented all the weaponry was used by the Central Powers and their opponents, including machine guns, artillery guns, gas, the first armored combat vehicles, aircraft and submarines.

Examines how technology affected World War I and how it evolved afterwards.

The Technology of World War I explores the dramatic developments in military technology during World War I. It shows how the Industrial Revolution changed the tools of war, from the production of high-grade iron and steel for warships to the lethal products created by the chemical industry. This book also examines how the superiority of defensive weapons led to the lack of movement and resulting stalemate on the front lines during World War I. It looks at the horrors of trench warfare and considers how the combination of larger armies and improved weaponry was to lead to unprecedented numbers of casualties. Finally, it discusses the far-reaching effects of the war's technological advances in medicine, transportation, and communications and looks at the cost of the war-- in financial and human terms-- to the countries involved.

When America entered World War I, it seemed as though the world had turned upside down. Many new technologies were developed on both sides of this conflict, challenging the men and women who fought in it in ways they never could have imagined. Among these developments were the military tank, the tracer bullet, and most deadly of all, poison gas. This book examines the times and events of the war, the key technologies that influenced and affected it, and the lasting impact these had on global society.

The war instinct is part of human nature, but the means to fight war depend on technology. Alex Roland traces the co-evolution of technology and warfare from the Stone Age to the age of cyberwar, describing the inventions that changed the direction of warfare throughout history: from fortified walls, the chariot, battleships, and the gunpowder revolution to bombers, rockets, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and nuclear weapons. In the twenty-first century, new technologies continue to push warfare in unexpected directions, while warfare stimulates stunning new technological advances. Yet even now, the newest and best technology cannot guarantee victory. Brimming with dramatic narratives of battles and deep insights into military psychology, this book shows that although military technologies keep changing at great speed, the principles and patterns behind them abide.

'Inventions of the Great War' by A. Russell Bond is a book that highlights the most important technological advancements of World War I. American inventions such as the submarine, airplane, and machine-gun were crucial to the war effort, but they also presented the challenge of overcoming the very machines that the US had created. The book describes how ingenuity and resourcefulness were demonstrated by all sides, and how the war set men to thinking like never before, leading to the development of inventions that would be useful in times of peace. From tanks to hand-grenades, guns to super-guns, and from submarines to aerial navigation, this book provides a compelling insight into the technological advancements that defined the Great War.

While previous writers have focused primarily on strategic, military, and intelligence factors, Walter Grunden underscores the dramatic scientific and technological disparities that left Japan vunerable and ultimately led to its defeat in World War II.

A monumental, groundbreaking work, now in paperback, that shows how technological and strategic revolutions have transformed the battlefield Combining gripping narrative history with wide-ranging analysis, War Made New focuses on four "revolutions" in military affairs and describes how inventions ranging from gunpowder to GPS-guided air strikes have remade the field of battle—and shaped the rise and fall of empires. War Made New begins with the Gunpowder Revolution and explains warfare's evolution from ritualistic, drawn-out engagements to much deadlier events, precipitating the rise of the modern nation-state. He next explores the triumph of steel and steam during the Industrial Revolution, showing how it powered the spread of European colonial empires. Moving into the twentieth century and the Second Industrial Revolution, Boot examines three critical clashes of World War II to illustrate how new technology such as the tank, radio, and airplane ushered in terrifying new forms of warfare and the rise of centralized, and even totalitarian, world powers. Finally, Boot focuses on the Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iraq War—arguing that even as cutting-edge technologies have made America the greatest military power in world history, advanced communications systems have allowed decentralized, "irregular" forces to become an increasingly significant threat.

While America did not get involved in World War II until 1941, it saw plenty of combat and new technologies. One of the largest wars in history, World War II provided an opportunity to develop unique and influential technologies such as the jet engine, the computer, and radar. This book unravels the details of the war, the efforts that went into developing these key technologies, and the legacy that the war and these developments had on societies then as well as today.

Intriguing, real-life espionage stories bring to life a comparative history of the Allies' efforts to seize, control, and exploit German science and technology after the Second World War. During the Second World War, German science and technology posed a terrifying threat to the Allied nations. These advanced weapons, which included rockets, V-2 missiles, tanks, submarines, and jet airplanes, gave troubling credence to Nazi propaganda about forthcoming "wonder-weapons" that would turn the war decisively in favor of the Axis. After the war ended, the Allied powers raced to seize "intellectual reparations" from almost every field of industrial technology and academic science in occupied Germany. It was likely the largest-scale technology transfer in history. In Taking Nazi Technology, Douglas M. O'Reagan describes how the Western Allies gathered teams of experts to scour defeated Germany, seeking industrial secrets and the technical personnel who could explain them. Swarms of investigators invaded Germany's factories and research institutions, seizing or copying all kinds of documents, from patent applications to factory production data to science journals. They questioned, hired, and sometimes even kidnapped hundreds of scientists, engineers, and other technical personnel. They studied technologies from aeronautics to audiotapes, toy making to machine tools, chemicals to carpentry equipment. They took over academic libraries, jealously competed over chemists, and schemed to deny the fruits of German invention to any other land—including that of other Allied nations. Drawing on declassified records, O'Reagan looks at which techniques worked for these very different nations, as well as which failed—and why. Most importantly, he shows why securing this technology, how the Allies did it, and when still matters today. He also argues that these programs did far more than spread German industrial science: they forced businessmen and policymakers around the world to rethink how science and technology fit into diplomacy, business, and society itself.