The Arms Race - Weaponry

• By 1880s the development of modern machines and chemicals had aided the arrival of high explosives, machine guns and low-range artillery
• Long railway networks could be harnessed to carry troops
• Germany was home to the Krupp Empire (a hugely successful manufacturer of weapons and steel) which meant it led the way in weaponry manufacturing

  ▪ France and Russia, however, strove to outpace Germany in 1908
• In 1908 France passed a bill to strengthen the French artillery
• By 1914 Russia was spending the equivalent of 1577 million marks while Germany was spending 1496 million marks
• France and Russia strove to equal or outpace the German weapon advances from 1908.