Intro- Here are five weapons that were used in ww1. Machine guns and tanks were used a lot because they were were more reliable than the Zeppelins. Main summary of other weapons While the infantry moved forward during a raid or attack the machine gun invariably proved impractical, both in terms of managing the machine gun itself but as much for the weight of the rounds of ammunition required to keep it serviceable. As for the mortar, the fact that it was a one-shot weapon reduced its effectiveness. Grenades certainly had their role during a raid, but carrying buckets of supplies quickly proved tiring, and supplies generally ran out quite quickly.
Which left the pistol and the rifle, both key weapons on the battlefield, although the former was used less as an offensive weapon than the rifle, and were generally issued to officers rather than regular soldiers.
zeppelin
Zeppelins were intended to throw bombs from the sky. Advantages
Zeppelins could carry a modest bomb payload a great distance, and, at least initially, they were able to fly higher than some planes and so could bomb more effectively. They can be fired at night with no detection but so can some of the other weapons.
Disadvantages There were actually more disadvantages than advantages with Zeppelins. For example, they were very costly, and owing to the still small payload they could carry, and with all the bombs, the amount of damage they causes was not a very good use of military resources. Sometimes one bomb didn't actually make a difference and the machine guns were better and more effective. One machine gun can kill a lot of men. Two Zeppelins are not good enough but two machine guns can make quite a lot of impact.
tanks
Advantages The tank was intended to provide two things: lead the charge across no man's land to protect both the vehicle's crew and the men following it, and be armed with its own weapons to attack anything in sight. This was the solution to trench warfare. This was the solution.
Disadvantages However, tanks were pretty scary in a world where they were new - no infantry anti-tank weapons existed in 1916. This meant that the infantry could bring along MGs and artillery. They were also extremely slow (the speed around 3mph), but were very mobile, able to traverse even the most broken ground and crush wire entanglements etc. They were quite unreliable too. Also, they weren't so good in rough terrain. Therefore wide trenches or steep hills could pose a problem for tanks.
Machine Gun
Advantages The common weapon in WWI was a bolt action rifle, firing a single shot per trigger press, up to around 20 rounds a minute, or as quick as the operator fire and reload. Early machine guns could fire between 450 and 600 rounds a minute. The effect was that a machine gun could generate the same fire power associated with around 30 men! Because it was belt fed, the machine gun could also maintain this rate of fire for some time. So, where previously you may have had 100 men hold the trench line, you could use only three machine guns for the same defensive effect. 3 machine guns are definitely not a lot compared to how much other weapons the soldiers depended on. Disadvantages They were very bulky and weighed a lot. This meant they were not easy to transport. The mobility of these guns was a serious issue for soldiers as you can imagine. They weighed between 30kg and 60kg, which wasn't too bad for holding a position defensively. But, they were terrible for troops during an advance. They caused more death to the offense in these cases due to the slow movement and exposure. Furthermore, machine guns needed 4-6 men to work them and had to be on a flat surface even though they had the fire-power of 100 guns.
Poison gas
Poison gas was deigned to suffocate soldiers and kill them. The German army were the first to use chlorine gas at the battle of Ypres in 1915. Chlorine gas causes a burning sensation in the throat and chest pains. Death is painful - you suffocate! The problem with chlorine gas is that the weather must be right. If the wind is in the wrong direction it could end up killing your own troops rather than the enemy (disadvantage)
Mustard gas was the most deadly weapon used. It was fired into the trenches in shells. It is colourless (advantage because no one can detect it) and takes 12 hours to take effect. Effects include: blistering skin, vomiting, sore eyes, internal and external bleeding. Death can take up to 5 weeks!
Torpedoes
Torpedoes were used by submarines. The Germans used torpedoes to blow up ships carrying supplies from America to Britain. The Germans torpedoed the passenger liner Lusitania on May 1st 1915 which sank with a loss of 1,195 lives. Americans were outraged and joined the war in 1917 on the side of the allies.
Advantages and disadvantages One perfectly shot torpedo could sink any ship, but you were also carrying around with you a very sensitive bomb that could sink your ship just as easily. Also, if your torpedo does not hit a ship perfectly then you lose that bomb and soldiers couldn't afford to do that. It was in the sky too, so it has an advantage as the ship is on the water. It is a bit like the men who drop the bombs are in full control of the target they are trying to hit.