World War I and World War Ii:

World War I and World War II:
A comparison of the weapons,
Technological advances and the tactics involved.

World War I and World War II both changed the political world and forever alter the war we thought about warfare. Not only did it change the world in those ways, it also drastically changed the way war was waged. Numerous technological advancements allowed for war to be waged further away from your enemy, with greater accuracy, and more efficiently. In only a short span of 30 years, warfare changed more so than it had in the past 300 years, and I will compare the two wars in terms of the tactics and weapons used, and the advancement of armor in terms of tanks and how these affected the wars.
Rifles were the mainstay of every army involved in both of the World Wars. Some armies had bolt-actions rifles through both conflicts, some switch to semi-automatic in World War II, such as the Americans with the M1 Garand. However, in World War I, the Americans used a bolt-action rifle known as the Springfield 1903, the Germans used a bolt-action rifle called the Mauser, the Russians used another bolt-action rifle by the name of the Mosin-Nagant, and the British used a Lee-Enfield bolt-action. The technology didn't change much for the bolt-action rifles, but the semi-automatic Garand, was as General Patton describe it, "the greatest battle implement ever devised." It allowed for the accuracy of a rifle with a much quicker fire rate than that of a bolt-action rifle. A bolt action rifle could fire all 5 rounds in about 10-12 seconds. The M1 garand could fire them in about 3 to 4 seconds, so there is a much greater rate of fire (ROF) which would allow for more rounds being placed on the target. Hands down, the M1 Garand was the best rifle of both wars. It's rapid fire, accuracy, and reliability made it the most loved rifle by the infantry.
Rifles were not the only weapons used in the world wars. Submachine guns played a vital part in the wars as well. The... [continues]

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