When he was rejected, Lewis sold the design to Britain and Belgium, where it was mass-produced throughout the war. In 1912, American inventor Isaac Lewis had offered to give the US Army his air-cooled machine gun design for free. It was also produced in such numbers that it was one of the few weapons the US military could deploy with to Europe. The Springfield offered greater range and killing power than the US Army’s older 30-40 Krag. Developed after American experience against German-made Mausers in the Spanish American War, it was an excellent firearm, equal or superior to any rifle in the world at the time. The basic infantrymen of the US Army and Marine Corps were equipped with the Model 1903 Springfield rifle. In certain areas of military technology, the United States was well-prepared. Related: Why World War I is so often forgotten in America Engaging with small arms American forces had to learn to fight with these new technologies, even as they brought millions of men to bolster the decimated British and French armies. In Europe, American combat troops would encounter new weapons systems, including sophisticated machine guns and the newly invented tank, both used widely during World War I.
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But America’s longstanding tradition of isolationism meant that in 1917, US forces needed a lot of support from overseas allies to fight effectively. That meant more death on European battlefields, making US soldiers badly needed in the trenches.
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How prepared was the country’s military to enter a modern conflict? The war was dominated by industrially made lethal technology like no war had been before. That was where the US would enter the engagement. Since August 1914, the war between the Central and Entente Powers had devolved into a bloody stalemate, particularly on the Western Front. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war against Germany and entered World War I.