Did peasants fight?

By the 11th century, much of the infantry fighting was conducted by high-ranking nobles, middle-class freemen and peasants, who were expected to have a certain standard of equipment, often including helmet, spear, shield and secondary weapons in the form of an axe, long knife or sword.

How did modern weapons contribute to the First World War?

The opening months of the First World War caused profound shock due to the huge casualties caused by modern weapons. Losses on all fronts for the year 1914 topped five million, with a million men killed. This was a scale of violence unknown in any previous war. The cause was to be found in the lethal combination of mass armies and modern weaponry.

How did modern weapons increase the rate of fire in warfare?

The cause was to be found in the lethal combination of mass armies and modern weaponry. Chief among that latter was quick-firing artillery. This used recuperating mechanisms to absorb recoil and return the barrel to firing position after each shot. With no need to re-aim the gun between shots, the rate of fire was greatly increased.

How do weapons affect society?

Thus modern civilian medicine has greatly benefited from advances to save soldiers’ lives, and weapons technology has impacted such areas as civilian transportation or atomic power. Weapons can have a profound impact on society. Gunpowder weapons, for example, were an important factor in ending the era of the armed knight and the Feudal Age.

How did technology change the war in WW1?

New propellants increased their range, and they were filled with recently developed high explosive, or with multiple shrapnel balls – deadly to troops in the open. Small arms had undergone a similar revolution in efficiency, with the development of high-velocity cartridges filled with smokeless propellant.