These Five Weapons Made World War I an Absolute Bloodbath-- Part 1: Machine Guns and Tanks

From the November 4, 2019, National Interest by Michael Peck.

"Today we take for granted that warfare is mechanized, electronicized, a form of human activity where humans are the least important component

"But it didn't seem that way in 1914.  Europeans sleep walked into war dreaming of cavalry charges and massed infantry charges with fixed bayonets.

"They awoke to confront the machine gun and  the U-boat, the tank and the airplane."

There were many new weapons in WW I that turned it into a bloodbath of epic proportions.  here are five of them:

MAXIM MG 08 MACHINE GUN

German.  Very heavy, but could fire 500 rounds a minute, and cut through Allied attacks like a scythe.

MARK V TANK

British.  The machine gun's nemesis.  Could survive machine gun fire, knock down barbed wire.  Half-inch armor deflected bullets and 57-millileter cannon or .303 -caliber machine guns knock out machine gun nests.

--Cooter