The Beginning Of World War One - 1703 Words

The year 1914 brought with it the beginning of World War One, a profound war lasting a remarkable four years of relentless battles, bombings, and killings. It may be hard to conceive, but before the war officially broke out on July 28, 1914, Europe had been in the midst of a peaceful period that had lasted almost a century. The Great War did not end until November 11 of 1918. The Allies, initially consisting of England, France, and Russia, fought against the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary; however, the two opposing sides were soon reorganized because more countries joined the fight. Ultimately, the Allies were joined by the United States, Japan, and Italy, while the Central Powers were joined by the Bulgaria and Ottoman†¦show more content†¦Within a period of four years, several technological advances were made in aviation due to the fact that combatants actively participating in the war sought air superiority and they desperately wanted to stay one step ahead of each other. Aeroplanes Their First Use In The Military Many had misjudged the duration of WW1; no one had expected that the war would drag on for four long years, both the Allies and the Central Powers encountered pressures from each other, forcing them to innovate and adapt to newer challenges. One of these adaptations was the use of aircraft. Due to the unanticipated lengthiness of the war, the infantries of both sides reached a stalemate, for ground forces were equally matched in terms of intelligence and weapons—not too mention trench warfare was not the most effective or quickest way to fight the war. In spite of this, for either side to gain the upper hand, they would need a better form of gathering information of the movement of the enemy. Even before the war, tethered observation balloons had been in use by the army in order to provide better vantage points, but this soon proved to be an insufficient source of information once the war began because the balloons were easily shot down. For this reason, commanders seeking advantage turned to aircraft. Eleven years had passed since the Wright brothers had invented and flown the first successful