Essay Sample about World War I

World War 1 was a devastating war that claimed the lives of millions of people. All because a Serbian nationalist, named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. Throughout this war, there were a lot of factors that took place. Such as the number of soldiers each side had, their military strength, their geographical advantages, their weapon usage, and so on. Geography, military strategies, and weapons impacted ww1 in a tremendous way because of how they used weapons for aerial, land, and sea combat. Military strategies such as flanking and digging trenches which lead to “trench warfare.” Weapons such as tanks, poisonous gas, artillery, grenades, and so on.  After WW1(World War 1) took place, the world would never be the same as it originally was. To summarize this paragraph, WW1 affected many lives and left an everlasting mark in history. 

There are many ways geography could be used as an advantage during WW1. When the triple alliance was formed with Russia, France, and Britain in suspicion of Germany’s rise in power, Germany knew that going to war with Russia meant going to war with the other two countries as well. In the beginning of the war, Russia planned on going through the neutral country, Belgium, and flanking France, which also ties into military strategies that were used during World War 1. Although the British recognized what the Germans were trying to do, it would have been successful if not for Britain's intervention. Also, it was a disadvantage for the central powers because they were surrounded by the allied forces, and they were getting hit from both sides. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. As the Allied forces started to grow because of countries such as America and China joining their cause, the Central forces were forced into submission. Germany was forced to stop ruling other countries they had ruled over forcibly. All in all, the geography of World War 1, which took place in Europe was a disadvantage for the central powers because of the fact they were positioned in between their enemies. As stated in this paragraph, flanking was one of some commonly used military strategies executed during World War 1. 

Military strategies played a key role in WW1. Having strategies in any type of scenario is essential, as having a plan to execute always gives you a better chance of just blindly running into gunfire and losing. Strategies such as flanking and trench warfare were utilized during this war. As stated in the previous paragraph, Germany was originally going to flank France by first going through the neutral country, Belgium, and winning a quick battle, then going to face Russia, because they knew it would take longer for them to mobilize their army. Flanking is a strategy where an army goes around and gets behind the enemy, making it so the enemy is totally unaware of their position and exploiting their blind spots. This also ties into the geography, having a good understanding of where the enemy is positioned is necessary to execute a successful flank. Another strategy that was introduced during WW1 was trench warfare. After the Battle of Ypres that took place in October 1914, both armies dug trenches along the whole 350 mile front. Trenches were utilized in order to shelter from deadly artillery weapons such as machine guns and artillery shells. These trenches were 3 meters deep, according to kidskonnect.com. While trench warfare was a good idea, it still had many flaws. It “long periods of boredom mixed with brief periods of terror. The threat of death kept soldiers constantly on edge, while poor living conditions and a lack of sleep wore away at their health and stamina.” as stated on warmusem.ca. It also made it easier for diseases to be spread throughout an army, since they were relatively close to each other. Another military strategy/tactic that was used during WW1(World War 1) was gas warfare. In consonance with history.com “Immediately after the German gas attack at Ypres, France and Britain began developing their own chemical weapons and gas masks. With the Germans taking the lead, an extensive number of projectiles filled with deadly substances polluted the trenches of World War I. Mustard gas, introduced by the Germans in 1917, blistered the skin, eyes, and lungs, and killed thousands.” Gas warfare was very deadly and can be tied into weapons that were utilized during WW1. Introducing a weapon to the enemy cannot only catch them off guard and make them lose numbers, but it can also give them a chance to cop and expand on the same weapons that were originally used. To conclude, military strategies such as trench warfare, flanking and gas warfare were frequently utilized throughout WW1, and had a grave impact on the outcome of the war. As well as the weapons used during WW1. 

Many types of weapons were utilized during WW1. Guns, which were commonly used throughout WW1 and many other wars before and after, artillery, which included weapons such as cannons used for more range and ammunition, and aircrafts, that allowed for aerial combat and bombs to be dropped on top of the enemy without alerting the enemy. As stated in the previous paragraph, poisonous gas was a weapon that was used during WW1 as well, as gas such as chlorine gas “attacked the eyes and respiratory system; mustard gas did the same but also caused blistering on any exposed skin. Comparatively few men died from gas. Most returned to active service after treatment, but the weapon incapacitated large numbers of troops temporarily and spread terror wherever it was used.”(historynet.com 1). Although chlorine gas was not as effective as something such as mustard gas, it still instilled fear in the enemy and led to the invention of a gas mask in order to combat the life threatening effects of poisonous gas. Another weapon that was used during WW1, although insignificant, were tanks. The first stages of tanks were unstable and prone to breaking down at any moment, serving no real purpose. Although tank warfare was insignificant during WW1, it innovated and is now utilized to its fullest potential. Just because it didn’t work in WW1, didn’t mean that it was something they should've given up on. In conclusion, there were a plethora of weapons that were used in World War 1, such as guns, artillery, submarines, poisonous gas, and so on. 

To review, World War 1 brought forth many weapons, military strategies, and use of geography. Although people recognize mainly World War 2, World War 1 set up many of what occurred in World War 2. Both wars were devastating and tragic, which people could only hope will not happen again in modern day society.