THE EQUIPMENT OF SOLDIERS DURING

WWI

By: Alex Micsoniu and Taylor Robinson

UNIFORMS

Soldiers from the British Empire wore the 1902 Pattern Service Dress tunic and trousers. These were mostly colored in light brown, and offered zero protection.

Soldiers from Germany and Austria-Hungary wore almost the exact same type of clothing, expect the color was grey and they had fewer pockets.

PROTECTION (BRITISH EMPIRE)

Soldiers from the British Empire at first had no protection whatsoever, they had no body armor and they all went into battle earing cloth caps. However, later into the war they decided to wear a helmet called the Brodie. It’s purpose wasn’t to stop bullets, but to keep the heads of soldiers from bring hit my shrapnel from artillery rounds exploding in the air.

PROTECTION (GERMAN EMPIRE)

At the start of the war the Germans had the same problem, they had no protection. Like the British Empire though, the Germans created a helmet that was far superior to the Brodie called the Stahlhelm. This helmet protected not only the top of the head, but the back and sides too.

WEAPONS (BOLT ACTION RIFLE)

All sides on the war had a version of the Bolt Action Rifle. The Germans had the Mauser, British Empire the Lee Enfield, the Americans the Springfield, and so on.

These rifles are extremely accurate, have a very long range (1 400 metres), and can kill or seriously injure any soldier.

Most rifles had a bayonet attached to the end.

BOLT ACTION RIFLES

WEAPONS (HANDGUNS)

Handguns during the First World War were primarily reserved for officers, however a few soldiers on all sides were given some (mostly machine gunners).

Germans had the Luger 9mm P08, British with the Webley Mk IV Revolver, Americans with the Colt 0.45-inch, and so on.

HANDGUNS