As much as the First World War is known for its trench warfare, in some ways it really revolutionized war, and made it into a modern, mechanized affair. The trenches were horrible killing fields, but they spawned a new type of warfare. For the first time, large amounts of supplies were being moved to the front lines in dedicated routes. Trucks and cars were replacing horses and wagons. Tanks made crossing difficult terrain an easy task. Airplanes revolutionized the war in the air, allowing better recon on enemy positions and troop movements.
Some entirely new divisions of the Army were created. For example, the ambulance drivers pictured above were the first of their kind. For the first time, it was possible to have a wounded soldier treated and moved in time for him to be taken and treated off the battlefield. Huge fleets of ambulance were bought and staffed to make this possible.
Supply lines of trucks were also created, with hundreds of trucks being sent to Europe to carry goods, men, and other supplies. The original American forces in Europe had almost 200 trucks available for their use. A new mechanized army did bring with it some unforeseen problems. There was no one company large enough to handle 200 trucks in short order. So the large companies arranged to assemble the trucks, and subcontracted some of the components to other companies. (For example, ford would build the frame, but Ford would write contracts with one or two companies to build the engines.) With multiple large companies such as Ford providing subcontracts for parts, the early truck fleet had almost 100 different parts manufacturers. This meant that replacement parts were not interchangeable, and the lack of one small part could disable a truck for weeks.
Railroads also played a key role in World War One. Hospital trains were set up to quickly and efficiently transport the wounded to hospitals away from the front lines.
Wounded were frequently loaded onto open flatcars, because the largest amount of people could be carried that way. This was also the easiest way to carry the wounded, because they could be loaded and unloaded right on their stretchers.
Railroads were also used for war purposes. In 1917, the German army hired the Krupp Gun company to build this giant rail-mounted gun. It could fire multi-ton shells almost 45 miles away, for devastating accuracy and efficiency for a artillery piece.
Return to Main Index.