Answer:
New weapons such as machine guns had a significant impact on WWI. Machine guns provided a defensive edge to entrenched troops and became incredibly effective weapons at close quarters. These new technological advances allowed for an unprecedented level of destruction and death, as well as introducing a new form of warfare known as trench warfare. The application of infantry rifles, rifled artillery with hydraulic recoil mechanisms, barbed wire, zigzag trenches and machine guns made it difficult or nearly impossible to cross defended ground. New weapons, such as tanks, the zeppelin, poison gas, the airplane, the submarine, and the machine gun, increased casualties, and brought the war to civilian populations.