Gun: Did you mean...?

The First World War (1914-18) witnessed an arsenal of new weapons as all sides were desperate to gain an advantage, particularly in the static trench warfare of the Western Front. There were some old tried-and-tested weapons like the Lee-Enfield...

A 1918 photograph of British soldiers on the Western Front using a Lewis machine-gun during the First World War (1914-18). (Imperial War Museums)

Superior weapons can win wars, and during the First World War (1914-18) all sides attempted to gain an advantage over the enemy by producing more and more destructive devices that could be used effectively on land, at sea, and in the air...

A May 1918 photograph of a German soldier inside the barrel of the massive Paris Gun, an artillery piece used in the Spring Offensive on the Western Front during the First World War (1914-18). Imperial War Museums, London.

A 1918 photograph of the Paris Gun, a giant artillery piece used by the German Army in the last year of the First World War (1914-18). Imperial War Museums, London.

A 1943 photograph of an 88mm anti-aircraft gun used by Germany during the Second World War (1939-45). These guns were usually placed in batteries of six or eight guns.(German Federal Archives)

A PPSh-41 submachine gun, padded jacket, and fur hat, all typical elements of Red Army rifle infantry units during the Second World War (1939-45). (Memorial de la Paix, Caen, France)

The Maschinengewehr 08 or MG08 and its successor the MG08/15 were the standard issue machine guns in the German Army throughout the First World War (1914-18). Imperial War Museums, London.

A 1944 photograph of a German Karl self-propelled mortar gun, a type used in several major battles during the Second World War (1939-45). The gun had a massive calibre of 600 mm (23 inches) and could fire 2.4-ton concrete-piercing shells.

A diagram of a retracting gun turret of the Maginot Line, France's Second Woorld War (1939-45) defences along the border with Germany and Switzerland.