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Watch: New wartime inventions

New weapons and machines changed the way war was fought forever.

Watch our video to find out more about the weapons and technology used in the war.

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Tanks, submarines and planes

The war was fought on land, sea and in the air.

New machines were being developed all the time to overcome the difficult conditions of battle.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 9, A tank on a barren battlefield with soldiers in World War One, Tanks were created for travel across battlefields They prevented soldiers from being caught by barbed wire or gunfire. Cars were unsuitable because they could not get across the muddy ground.
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What new technology was made?

It wasn鈥檛 only weapons and machinery which saw major developments.

New methods of photography, sound recording and ways to communicate changed the war too.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Kodak Vest Pocket Camera from World War One, Until 1916 taking photographs on the front line was banned This was in case it helped the enemy to find out secrets. After 1916 official photographers took pictures and films for the army. Some new cameras were small enough for personal use.
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How did technology change the world?

World War One was a time of fast change. Creative minds and great engineers worked together to develop new technology.

Some of these inventions became essential to life in the 20th Century.

Personal cameras, telephones and radios are used by people even today.

Sadly a lot of the new technology was focused only towards making more powerful, deadlier weapons to fight the war.

Mark I tank at the British Museum on 16 October 1919
Image caption,
Mark I tank at the British Museum, 16 October 1919.
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Activities

Activity 1: Explore these new inventions

The war was fought using a wide range of weapons, from personal guns like pistols and rifles, to larger weapons like machine guns.

Explore our interactive sketch book. Click on different weapons and items to find out more about them.

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Activity 2: Explore message sending devices

Signallers used various tools to transmit messages.

Click on the labels in the picture below to find out more.

A special electric Lucas lamp was also used to send messages via Morse code.

But this was a problem. Anyone could see the light so the enemy could work out the message if they managed to crack the code.

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Activity 3: Quiz 鈥 New weapons in World War One

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Activity 4: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about World War One.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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