Rifle
Range 6/10
Killing power 6/10
Defensive ability 4/10
Lightweight
Accurate up to 600m
A bayonet could be fitted onto the end
Highly trained soldiers could fire 15-20 bullets per minute
Machine gun
Range 4/10
Killing power 8.5/10
Defensive ability 9/10
One of the deadliest weapons
Could fire up to 10 bullets per second
Machine guns caused about 40% of all wounds - estimated
Poison gas
Range 1.5/10
Killing power 3/10
Defensive ability 0.5/10
Two main types
Chlorine gas - suffocated lungs and left victim gasping for air
Mustard gas - rotted the body, skin blistered, eyes bulged. A victim would cough up the lining of his lungs in clots
Gas masks could protect troops from the worst effects of poison.
Grenade
Range 1/10
Killing power 5/10
Defensive ability 2.5/10
Small hand held
A soldier has a few seconds to get rid of it because when it explodes the other case shatters into razor sharp fragments
Flamethrower
Range 1/10
Killing power 6/10
Defensive ability 0.5/10
A canister was strapped to a soldier’s back which forced fuel through the nozzle. The petrol was ignited by a spark to create a sheet of flame that could travel up to 15m
Deadly in small spaces
Tank
Range 4.5/10
Killing power 6/10
Defensive ability 6.5/10
Bulletproof and can travel over rough ground, crush barbed wire and cross trenches. They were very slow (6kph) and unreliable.
Became a battle winning weapon after the war
Artillery
Range 10/10
Killing power 7.5/10
Defensive ability 2/10
Large heavy guns that can shoot bombs (shells) over long distances
Some big guns could fire shells over 21km
When the shells exploded the red hot metal splinters (shrapnel) would cut an enemy to pieces
Fighter and bomber planes
Range 10/10
Killing power 2.5/10
Defensive 1/10
When fighting began- slow clumsy and unreliable used to keep an eye on the enemy
At first pilots fired pistols and threw bricks at each other
Soon fighter planes armed with machine guns were developed
Then bombers were developed to fly over enemy trenches and attack them from the air
