New+technology-snowy

= __New Technology!__ = To break through enemy lines, they needed to improve their technology. Germans were the first to make the upgrade--they came out with poisonous gas. The Allies quickly followed their example. These fumes caused vomiting, blindness, and suffocation. Both sides then learned to counter gas attacks with gas masks.

The French and the British introduced the world to tanks. Some, like Winston Churchill supported the idea; others were very suspicious. But, by June 9th 1915, agreement was made regarding what the new weapon should be. It should: The first tank weighed 14 tons, carried a crew of 3, went three mph, and could not cross many trenches. Even though tanks didn't make a huge impact on WWI, they were very important in other wars and are still a key weapon.
 * Have a top speed of 4 mph on flat land
 * The ability to turn sharply at top speed
 * The ability to climb a 5-feet parapet
 * The ability to cross an eight feet gap
 * A working radius of 20 miles
 * A crew of ten men with two machine guns on board and one light artillery gun.



Zeppelins were used in bombing raids by the Germans, but they were abandoned because they were an easy target. The airplanes used in WWI weren't much different from the //Wright Flyer//, which was flown over a decade before. They were made of wood and covered in canvas, which made them very flammable. And to make it worse, pilots didn't wear parachutes. The average life expectancy of a WWI pilot was about 2 weeks. The top speed of WWI airplanes was 100 mph. And if a pilot went 10 miles over the enemy lines, it was pretty exciting. Planes went from being used for spying, to defensive weapons, to offensive weapons used for bombs and dogfights.