World War One's Deadliest Weapon?

[@thapat8443]

"God favours the side with the best artillery" ~Napoleon

[@ExiliaN42]

...and then saron gas was invented.

[@baawabaawa393]

You mean Satan not God.

[@nss309]

​@@baawabaawa393why?

[@FreePalestine07462]

@@nss309because god doesn’t want violence

[@nss309]

@@FreePalestine07462 except when he does it.

[@deaththereaper36]

Humanity is capable of the most beautiful dreams, yet also the most horrific nightmares

[@Curious-Minds]

Contact.

[@nss309]

@@Curious-Minds ?

[@2hcobda2]

"I think it has something to do with free will." -- The Supreme Being in "Time Bandits"

[@home_def]

Weak

[@nss309]

@@home_def ?

[@nightshadehelis9821]

I'm so grateful that I wasn't alive yet for WW1. There's no way I could mentally handle stress and death like this.

[@GenghisKaz]

So many of them couldn't either. And patients didn't get real help with their ptsd back then. They were just expected to resume life as if nothing happened after the war.

[@corditesniffer8020]

@@GenghisKazIf they were lucky to even make it back in the first place What happened a lot early on was they were just shot for insubordination or the perceived cowardice 😢 Poor souls every one May they forever rest peacefully

[@matthewwinn4006]

Nor I.

[@pjviitas]

From what I have gathered about humanity during my 62 years on this planet...it's going to happen again and it will be worse

[@matthewwinn4006]

@@pjviitas hey partner, six three here. I'm with you on your comment. Not glad or proud of it mind you. But yeah. Gettin into shaky territory so it seems.

[@beetlebg3759]

The Germans made the Paris Gun which was a behemoth of an Artillery gun and 20 years later they would break their own record by creating a monster known as the Schwerer Gustav.

[@BasePuma4007]

Yeah, the Paris gun was a caliber you'd only see on ships, and it was so big that the gun couldn't be transported in one peice via rail, it had to be transported in peices then assembled where it would be used.

[@FunDipFobs]

@@BasePuma4007on ships? Absolutely not. It was at least 2x the size of the largest naval guns. It was an awful idea and barely worked. It was a massive target for bombers and the barrel had to constantly be changed and extended after firing, due to the massive pressure and size of its payload.

[@BasePuma4007]

@@FunDipFobs What? Why are you just making things up? The Paris gun was used in WW1 where strategic bombing was not very widespread and effective, and your comment disputing what I said is unsubstantiated nonsense. The largest caliber naval cannon used by the British Royal Navy in WW1 was an 18 inch (450mm) gun, and the Paris gun's largest caliber was roughly half that at 238mm. Do a modicum of research before you make a comment.

[@centurymemes1208]

Which is useless and the resources could be diverted to add more to their so called "competent" logistics

[@TwoFistsOneHalleluja]

It had a long range but a small caliber of only 211mm. It ended up being only a propaganda weapon that shot a few shots during the war, exclusively on civilian targets (the city of Paris). The really big guns that made their mark on WW1 were the 320mm, 340mm and 400mm guns and siege mortars. Famously the french used two 400mm railway guns against Douaumount. The shots were so heavy that some of them pierced trough the earth and the concrete and exploded inside of the bunker structure.

[@Isildun9]

An estimated 1.5 billion artillery shells were fired over the course of the Great War, and over 100 years later, they're still digging up unexploded shells out of the fields of France and Belgium.

[@voivodvlad1]

There are parts of Verdun which are off limits for that very reason.

[@willstar8095]

Take a minute to think about what those deaths looked like. Now picture it happening constantly, and the chaos that the shelling would unleash. The guys who survived saw and experienced things that no human had previously known. They went from being kids in a very G rated world to watching their brother blown into a thousand pieces.. Every. Day. Then they came home and were told to put it behind them and soldier on. Lest We Forget.

[@unclexeres]

Amen, The cruelest cut was this was the War to end all Wars..

[@Leftistsareevil]

​@@unclexerestbf it was. Ww2 was a continuation ans that ended war between Europeans

[@Royab1987]

@@Leftistsareevil Eastern Europe has entered the chat

[@Leftistsareevil]

@roybiter2693 well major wars then

[@unclexeres]

@@Leftistsareevil for a time.

[@MichaelKnight-b7u]

These poor guys went through absolute hell. If anything would have scared me it would have been gas.

[@TeutonicEmperor1198]

don't forget flame throwers

[@lastmanstanding-xp3ub]

​@TeutonicEmperor1198 Flame throwers are a TERRIFYING weapon, in my opinion. Artillery-deployed (and other delivery method) poison gas is frightening don't get me wrong, as is regular artillery & explosives (Howitzers, mortars, rockets/RPG's, grenades, etcetera), but the idea of being hit with a stream of an, essentially, liquefied flaming gel-like substance that burns and burns and burns and sticks to you like glue with little to no ability to get it off or put it out until it's run its course. Not to mention, only 1 or mayyyyybe 2 full seconds are needed to completely engulf an adult sized person with a burst from most thrower guns, that and Willy Pete (White Phosphorus)/Thermite are two things I really would be terrified of as well on the battlefield lol.

[@TeutonicEmperor1198]

@@lastmanstanding-xp3ub I'm glad that we agree

[@jonasga]

They pretty much perfected analog artillery at this point. WWI artillery is still highly capable and highly effective. It is now outperformed by new digital artillery systems with rocket and jet propulsion and guidance systems, but they still do in a pinch.

[@murphybartle592]

Humans are always somehow so smart and so stupid at the same time

[@syed1431]

Monkeys with a brain big enough to go into space but not enough to stop killing each other.

[@tymeier7570]

Ants on their way to fight the enemy anthill: "lmfao"

[@nss309]

​@@tymeier7570?

[@midnightbelle4037]

Only a few humans are smart. Most are stupid

[@arrow2380]

​@@nss309I think he's saying that every species even ants fight with each other all the time

[@landonlacy1954]

this is why Artillery is often referred to as The King Of Battle

[@JohnCampbell-rn8rz]

My great uncle went into the trenches in early August, 1916 and within 2 weeks he was back in a hospital in Britain with shrapnel in his right arm, hip, leg and foot. The odd sliver would still work its way out of his right foot when I knew him in the early 50s.

[@InfaredAviator1492]

Wow 😮

[@jimthompson4678]

My uncle has shrapnel they couldn't remove from his time in Vietnam. i shocked me on day seeing his back just start bleeding. we were all stacking wood. told him about it my uncle jay asked if i could see anything shiny. there was bit of metal sticking out of his back. i guess it just kind of floats in there covered with like a protein deposit or something. but he sometimes for whatever reason a corner or other piece will break the skin. acted like it was just a normal thing. totally surprised me.

[@nachobragadofernandez6155]

This is well reflected in novels by German soldiers Remarque’s “All quiet on the western front” and Jünger’s “The Storm of Steel”. Jünger’s more like a personal diary really, a memory of the war.

[@John-s7s8s]

My grandfather was gassed during that war. He struggled to breathe, his whole life after that.

[@elessartelcontar9415]

Both sides also used artillery to cause avalanches to kill the enemy! Tens of thousands died from this. The Germans tried to get steel shells made illegal because when they exploded they put out many thousands of small razor sharp pieces instead of large shrapnel pieces like iron shells caused. They couldn't get it outlawed. They also tried to get shotguns outlawed as inhumane and couldn't get it outlawed either.

[@0_1_2]

That’s a lot of brass!!

[@beetlebg3759]

“Artillery is the god of war” - Joseph Stalin

[@derrickstorm6976]

That's why Russians modern artillery was made before Stalin died 😌

[@Pedro-nt2ro]

I thought Kratos is?! Surely he must be mistaken

[@mayuri4184]

IIRC, he more accurately said it was the king of battle.

[@mrmoney3055]

It was Frederick the great who spell that, wasn't it?

[@alanellrich5184]

I thought the saying was "Artillery is the Queen of the Battlefield "

[@tigerwoods373]

I came into possession of a German m1916 stalhelm, well that's what I believe it to be from research. My grandfather got it somehow, the story was his brother was in the merchant navy during ww2. One of his cousins wanted the helmet to cut and make some weird motorcycle helmet so my grandfather hid it. He had the foresight to preserve it and that's what I intend to do as well. I thought about getting it restored but unless I can afford it done professionally, I'll keep it as is. Just is so cool being able to hold a piece of history like that knowing it probably saved whoever used it. I just wish I had more backstory but there's no identifying features besides knowing the model.

[@ThomisticAmerican13FOX]

"King of Battle" Mighty Field Artillery

[@creolespanish34]

The Mother of Battles. No matter how good all the other weapons get, sending a big, accurate volley of steel and fire at the enemy remains the ultimate goodbye gift for MFs

[@simonbletsoe7059]

My grand father was wounded by the same shell that killed his brother who was next to him.

[@pacodave4885]

Did anyone notice the dude at the end throwing two artillery shells at the same time, and nobody catches them?

[@airone7264]

Empty shells so no risks

[@Iwa_Lugosi]

When I read Storms of Steel by Ernst Junger, I noticed that shrapnel had a huge protagonism in his experience; he depicts, of course, many types of artillery and other weapons, but thr shrapnel proyectile was a common place in the book.

[@lordfogg9728]

1 in 100 soldiers in 1914 operated a machine gun. By 1918, 1 in 3 operated a machine gun...

[@christopherchoy787]

1.5 billion !! That's over a million per day, or 40 thousands per hour, over 4 years. And it could be more.

[@Dread_Gladiator_Spartacus]

That man's fumble has been preserved for over 100 years, the internet is a blessing sometimes.

[@georgebronte840]

If all this energy, money and resources were only put to good use. Men's ingenuity and eagerness to kill and destroy only increases instead of learning from past mistakes.

[@matthewwinn4006]

Great comment!

[@jaespect6726]

“Fix bayonet” *DONT STOP THE ARTILLERY BARAGE*

[@jamiemorton1765]

The elite that sent all the poor souls die for nothing

[@thomaschristopher8593]

i learned two things: 1) shrapnel shell explode in the air, and 2) you can drop a shell and not worry about it.

[@Kerys23a]

Artillery destroyed the noble art of cavalry warfare

[@TeutonicEmperor1198]

Pikes and shot were probably far more destructive to cavalry than artillery was.

[@thomaschristopher8593]

my father was in ww2 army. he and his buddies had been taking cover under a tree, then decided to move somewhere else. a shell (or maybe a bomb - he wasn't too detailed) hit the old hiding tree and obliterated it. he was shocked because he had thought that he was safe under the tree.

[@MrAgonizomai]

Interesting historical note: the Shrapnel Shell (caps intended) was developed from 1784 by Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel of the British Army’s Royal Artillery Regiment. He rose to become a Lieutenant General in the army. His invention was a time-fused shell packed with gunpowder and musket balls, the fuse timed supposedly to explode the shell above and in front of enemy troops, thus scattering the payload more effectively than firing a canister of case-shot (musket balls in a cylindrical “case” of thin metal) with an effect much like a shotgun on a larger scale. Later, shrapnel came also to mean shards of the shell casing. Some hand-grenades were made with heavily-grooved outer casings to enable them to shatter into shards like blocks of chocolate, only far more deadly.

[@TheRealForgetfulElephant]

Mind blowing that about 10,000 Germans were killed in one mine explosion

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

Beloved artillery.

[@AnthonyViveiros]

Machine guns and flamethrowers come to my mind when I think of the deadliest weapon of ww1.

[@vinz4066]

A few months ago I watched a documentery where German WW1 vets were Interviewed about Verdun. One Officer Said that when attacking , the worst thing was the french light artilery. It was hell.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Russia and Ukraine might challenge that shell number.

[@dfhutton]

The guys loading the box car at the end were hilarious to watch 😂

[@paisan8766]

The shrapnel shell has to be a war crime

[@armyaj]

Still the deadliest weapon 100 years later

[@deadlyknights1119]

People think of artillery as **boom** **boom** **boom** It was actually described as a drumroll by troops in the field, a million shells peppered over a limited section of the line, maybe 20-30km, meant that most troops were experiencing roughly 3-5 shells lands a second within a 2-3 kilometers of their positions for an entire day, non stop.

[@kupieckorzenny5093]

In modern WW1 in Ukraine the artillery still devastates the battlefield

[@kettle4316]

The brits when they've run out of tea

[@Swrc11]

The last WW1 veteran died a few years ago. These guys are now sealed in history never to be reopened again.

[@dukejordan8147]

"Hush, here comes a Whizzbang, Hush, here comes a Whizzbang, now you soldiers get down those stairs, down in your dugouts and say your prayers."

[@alexwilliamson1486]

The reason why troops took to trenches and started to wear metal helmets…..#UBIQUE

[@foxymetroid]

The trenches may have been a mistake since it meant the enemy artillery now had a big target that wouldn't move for months at a time.

[@joehayward2631]

Artillery-KING OF BATTLE

[@d3al3rplays68]

Actually the biggest weapons for the enemy where the friendly Generals.

[@DeadSilence27]

Humans is so great at killing each other

[@killre-kr5pj]

It had the name King of war for a reason.

[@krobar999]

Yep. Artillery vs horses equal lots of horse mear.

[@Melanie-ro6pl]

ARTILLERY and RATS!!! Literally...

[@itzaikoo5538]

"To Cannon, All men are equal" - Napoleon Bonaparte

[@fizzgigmalmy2567]

Pretty much proving to be the king of the battle field today

[@george2113]

Artillery is the most hated weapon in WW1

[@markusz4447]

Nowadays 60.000 a day is considered way beyond sustainable. Yes the russians and ukraineans have some smart munitions but mostly they use dumb rounds

[@dannyrivera7963]

That's why artillery is called the king of battle. 13 bravo at work Red leg for life

[@schizoidboy]

I heard they're still finding still active shells buried around where the battlefields were.

[@ryanhampson673]

Still to this day a traditional army’s make up has 15% of its forces made up of artillery, but that 15% creates well over half of all casualties.

[@bactrosaurus]

Artillery is still the King of battle

[@stephenmackinnon6452]

WW1 must be one of the most pointless wars in history for how destructive it was.

[@The67wheelman]

And that’s why the British helmet is shaped the way it is, maximum protection from above

[@paulofelix5760]

See the hell of Pashandell !😮😮😮😮

[@Munchausenification]

I thought it would be disease and bad conditions in the trenches

[@Vikingr4Jesus5919]

Which, respectively, were forcefully necessary to be built because of artillery. So, another point of deadliness going to the big guns

[@RoydeanEU]

Medical care had advanced by this point still pre antibiotics but they at least knew about germ theory and the importance of clean medical tools.

[@justlucky8254]

Good point. But they did say deadliest "weapon". If not for that part, I would've thought that illness (physical from the conditions, or mental from the shelling/gas/stress) could've been at the top . Too many horrible options to choose from.

[@ebonaparte3853]

That might have been part of the “other” category.

[@JunoNH]

Artillery really is the OG

[@rockytorres958]

it's very dangerous for a man to learn something for it emboldens him to do something bad against his neighbors.

[@jamesw.t.9591]

Shell shock was real .😢

[@jolicska]

it has nothing to do with shrapnel more to the hit of pressure a shell expolde too close to you may damage your nerve system.

[@isaali1448]

All of the shit that was out there, all of it that'll kill you.

[@VleerLab]

Terrifying.

[@epicmaster3716]

Didn’t they use artillery for firing most of the poison gas?

[@kevins1852]

I've heard that they're still finding WWI shells in Belgium 😮

[@johnrockefeller6893]

Imagine chilling with the boys in the trenches and out of nowhere you get obliterated by an artillery shell💀

[@ThriftyGamerG]

Okay artillery is the God of War.

[@devild666]

I would have thought it was the canadians with their sharpened shovels

[@matthewwinn4006]

Tsk tsk

[@piohelicopter1823]

I was thinking the deadliest would be railroad guns... Didn't think they were talking of weapon types

[@ALIKN1-1]

Most were children damn it

[@dwaynehunt7095]

You should really make sure there's someone there to catch that live artillery shell before you toss it. 😮

[@michaelf6232]

Geologist's say that their is a dateable geo ( rust ) layer on these battlefield's. Bless our soldiers, may you be forever remembered.

[@hinezy3724]

History defines the future, if ignored, it shall repeat.

[@blackmisthemocyte634]

the battle of verdun seems like a massacre. the enemy ssems like they are expecting us!

[@scottpratt2200]

Reason it is 'The King of Battle'

[@francis67525]

1.5 Billion shelll has been fired by the total used in WW1. ??

[@John_Thomas96]

Baldricks cunning plans.

[@tedhubertcrusio372]

The sound of field guns going off into the night can send everyone into their own personal hell... I pray that if war does come, I would not let my girlfriend, who is suffering from an emotional breakdown, hear the guns of war. Let me hear it instead oh Lord, not her.

[@aldaoroman]

I was going to say "Gas" but well.

[@SouthernGentleman]

I was going to say their commanders.

[@Janku-oe3jr]

How anyone can even have doubts...just think about that artilery is the most used weapon i ww1

[@МарянВабищевич]

Nowadays, we can see the same importance of artillery in Ukraine - Russin War.

[@foxymetroid]

Also WWII, though WWII artillery didn't have the luxury of their targets being stationary for months.

[@KarlrommelSanchez]

Every weapon is deadly

[@scottjoseph9578]

Artillery and Starvation.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Nice question 🤔 and smartness answers....

[@midnight_rap_battles]

Gas is the most horrifying in my opinion

[@ChinDulles]

I don't understand. artillery is responsible for 2/3 the deaths but yet it never seem to do the job, they would fire at spots for days weeks and it would still sustain.

[@foxymetroid]

It did its job, which was to soften the enemy up from miles away. The Brits also used it to pin the Germans down during British attacks. There was a learning curve, but eventually the Brits would already be in the German trenches before the Germans had enough time to leave their shelters and run back to their machine guns.

[@fender3873]

Barbed wire in the pre-penicilin days must have taken out a ton of people by infection

[@oldgus01]

"How much artillery was used in WWI?" Google "zone rouge".

[@brandonrogers8621]

Wonder what they did with all the leftover a shell cases? Must have been literal mountains of them

[@gurjeetsingh-gd1wr]

Wot was the count of shells in ww2?

[@gerhaldlaubscher8321]

Unbelievable!!😮

[@justlucky8254]

Unless i screwed up the math, (and i might have, even though I'm im a machinist and math is supposed to be something I can handle), a million rounds of artillery in a day is even more than 1 shell fired every tenth of a second. Yes there were a lot of guns and a lot of soldiers and everything else, but the area being shelled with all of those rounds really wasn't very large. It's amazing to me that not every single individual, on either side of the battle, didn't go absolutely insane during that one day under that amount of shelling. Somebody had to do it, but I'm glad I wasn't of age at that time. Those were real men, on both sides of the lines.

[@jimthompson4678]

my friend Erics great-grand father was in WW1. He was the only veteran i have met from the Great War. I asked him about the Germans. He said the Germans terrified him and his unit. he said they moved across the field faster than he ever saw. Then we find out that 60 years later the German soldiers were hopped up on liquid amphetamine.

[@justlucky8254]

@@jimthompson4678 wow, that's awesome that you knew someone personally who was there and that talked to you about it. I'm not sure about WW1, but in WW2 most of the countries gave their soldiers amphetamines and whatnot. I'm American and I can't recall the name of the drug but I do remember that the German amphetamine was called Pervatin and they were pills. There's some videos on here that recount some crazy stories involving soldiers and those drugs. One about a soldier on skis, I beleive Finnish, is insane.

[@ianblake815]

I’m so happy I didn’t have to join in this war.