What does the First World War teach us about global conflict 100 years on? Historians and novelists explore its lasting consequences – from weaponry and propaganda to the fate of Iraq
The US entered the First World War on the side of the Allies in April 1917 (left); in Europe, meanwhile, new offensive weapons had changed warfare beyond recognition (right) Photo: De Agostini/Getty Images/UIG via Getty Images
Taylor Downing
Usually when we think of the First World War, we imagine trenches, poets, futile slaughter and incompetent generals. But there is another side that is rarely acknowledged. The Great War witnessed a scientific revolution with immense advances in new technologies. Between 1914 and 1918 the foundations were laid for many of the advances of the rest of the 20th century.
For instance, in aviation, the British armed services went to war in 1914 with 272 aircraft. By November 1918, the RAF possessed 22,000 machines. They were bigger, better powered and more reliable than anything that could have been imagined at the beginning of the war. A new industry was created and iconic aircraft such as the Spitfire, the Lancaster and the Harrier came out of it.
The science of intelligence gathering and code breaking barely existed before the war. But the Admiralty set up a radio listening service and a code-breaking centre, known simply as “Room 40”, where German naval and diplomatic signals were intercepted and read. After the war this became the Government Code and Cypher School that in the next war operated out of Bletchley Park.
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