Civil War Field Artillery
Civil War artillery was somewhat limited to only firing at visible targets. Because of this the artillery
fought side by side with the infantry. Civil War Cannons were very valuable and expensive, because of
this they were very highly maintained and artillerymen had to have very strict discipline and strict rules
to keep them operating and in proper working condition.
World War I Field Artillery
The artillery of World War I was used to counter the trench warfare that set in shortly after the conflict
commenced, and was an important factor in the war, influencing its tactics, operations and incorporated
into strategies that were used by the belligerents to break the stalemate at the front. World War I raised
artillery to a new level of importance on the battlefield. Artillery proved the number one threat to
infantry and tanks alike and came in several light, medium and heavy forms.
Civil War Guns
Before the Civil War, infantry soldiers typically carried muskets
that held just one bullet at a time. The range of these muskets was
about 250 yards. Rifles, by contrast, had a much greater range
than muskets did--a rifle could shoot a bullet up to 1,000 yards-and were more accurate. The Civil War bullet caused tremendous
casualties and incredible suffering to many brave soldiers. Wartime field hospitals reports indicated that
as much as ninety percent of battle wounds were caused by small arms projectiles.
World War I Guns
Machine Guns are repeating firearms that when
triggered will load and fire automatically until their ammunition is exhausted. The 1914 machine gun,
usually positioned on a flat tripod, would require a gun crew of four to six operators. In theory they
could fire 400-600 small-caliber rounds per minute, a figure that was to more than double by the war's
end, with rounds fed via a fabric belt or a metal strip. The pistol, originally designed as a cavalry weapon,
was the staple weapon for a variety of personnel during World War One (and beyond).
Civil War Battlefield
At least 618,000 Americans died in the Civil War, and some experts say the toll reached 700,000. The
number that is most often quoted is 620,000. At any rate, these casualties exceed the nation's loss in all
its other wars, from the Revolution through Vietnam. There were long stretches of boredom in camp
interspersed with moments of sheer terror experienced on the battlefield.
World War I Battlefield
The Great War was fought on so many fronts, with single battles often fought across tens of miles. The
First World War was typified however by its lack of movement. Trench warfare soon set in. Death was a
constant companion to those serving in the line, even when no raid or attack was launched or defended
against. The life of a soldier in World War I can be summed up in one word, hard.
Civil War Medical Care
Nineteenth-century medicine was ill-prepared to deal with war. At the time of the Civil War, most
medical treatment was not only unhelpful but could actually be harmful. There were at least twice as
many deaths from disease as from combat-related injuries during the Civil War. Opium and its
derivatives were commonly used for pain. By the latter part of the war, both Union and Confederate
soldiers enjoyed generally good health. The weak had died or gone home, while the remainder
developed natural immunities either by surviving disease or being vaccinated.
World War I Medical Care
Upon the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), the medical services were not really prepared for the
type of war they were about to become bogged down in. If you were unlucky enough to have been shot
in the femur in 1914, you had about an 80 per cent chance of death. By 1917 your chances would have
completely flipped to an 82 per cent chance of survival. Great advances in prostheses were made.
Gunshot wounds were now irrigated with antiseptic fluid, which helped prevent gangrene. Most
importantly, hygiene became an ever-present issue.
Civil War Naval Technology
The Civil War ushered in a number of advances in naval technology beyond the use of ironclads,
including gains in mine, torpedo and artillery design, as well as the first-time use of a submarine to sink
an enemy ship. Usually thought of as a land war, the American Civil War was also by far the largest naval
war of the era. The naval war was one of sudden, spectacular lightning battles. This part of the war -- the
sea war -- is often forgotten, but it was important. The Union victory might not have been possible
without the successes of its navy.
World War I Naval Technology
Major Warship Strengths
Navies
Warship types
Battleships
Carriers
Cruisers
Destroyers
Submarines
Totals
Royal Navy
Home waters (a) Atlantic (b)
French Navy
Atlantic and Channel
German Navy
European waters Atlantic station
9
4
21
82
21
137
14
13
4
31
2
1
3
20
26
3
7
22
41(d)
73
2(c)
16
18
plus escorts
-
-
plus torpedo boats
-
Trench warfare on the Western Front may have captured the popular imagination, but the First World
War was very much a maritime conflict as well. While the navies of the First World War rarely met in
large engagements, still they played a crucial role in the course of the war. Surface fleets were
dominated by the battleships. The German U-Boats became the primary weapon of the German Navy.
Because submarines were spending more time underwater, destroyers were outfitted with devices
known as hydrophones, which gave them a chance to detect subs lurking nearby. When they were
found, explosive canisters known as depth charges were rolled off the back of the destroyer, with luck
exploding near the enemy submarine. Even if the sub were not destroyed, it might be damaged.
Civil War Soldiers
As brother fought brother and
the nation's future grew
uncertain, the public appetite
for information was fed by
these images. Of the 2 million
soldiers and sailors who fought for the Union during the Civil War,
180,000 were African Americans. The first all-African-American regiment was the 54th Massachusetts
Infantry. Like the men, there were women who lived in camp, worked as nurses, suffered in prisons, and
died for their respective causes.
World War I Soldiers
World War I (also known as the Great War) began in June of 1914. The first war that allowed women to
openly serve in the army was World War I. Over 30 thousand women served as nurses during WWI. The
nurses of WWI worked on the front line, picking up the wounded soldiers. World War I also marked a
turning point for black soldiers, on the battlefield. Over 200,000 African-Americans fought in France. But
none of them fought alongside white American troops. Instead, the fully segregated black units fought
with the French Army and took orders from French commanders. At war's end, over 600 AfricanAmericans had been commissioned as officers, a rank denied to them before the war.