Weapons

Dear Melenar,

In the past few weeks, I have seen so many different types of weapons! I never knew there were so many different tools for killing. The rifle was the most common type of weapon used. Us, Canadians, we had been using Ross rifles, which were straight-pull bolt action .303 caliber rifles, that were actually quite inefficient. The Ross rifle had poor tolerance of dirt and had a habit of jamming.

Besides rifles, machine guns were also used. They needed 4-6 men to operate them but they had the power of 100 guns! The only drawback to machine guns is that they need a flat surface to function on. 

Another weapon that was frequently used was the mortar, which was essentially tube designed to fire projectiles up into the air in the enemy's direction so that the projectiles fell down directly on top of the enemy. As the projectiles easily conquers trench walls, the mortar was ideal for trench warfare, making it a popular weapon of choice by both our allies and our enemies. 

While machine guns and mortars sound scary, the most horrifying and feared weapon is actually poison gas. This may sound absurd but poison gases has been used by the Germans to murder us. The first time poison gas was used in battle was during the Battle of Ypres, a few months before I had enlisted. I heard that the Germans used chlorine gas which burning sensations in the throat and chest pains. You die by suffocation. An even more terrifying gas than chlorine gas is mustard gas, which was fired into our trenches in shells. It is colourless and takes up to 12 hours to take effect. It causes the blistering of skin, vomiting, sore eyes and eventually internal and external bleeding. The worse part is, it can take up to five weeks for death to claim the vitims.

Enough with me grossing you out with the morbid talk. Take care of yourself. I love you..

                                                                                                         Yours,
                                                                                                             George Wright

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Sources:

http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/weapons.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_infantry_weapons_of_World_War_I