The Model T's Impact on the War

The Model T making an appearance in Europe in the first world war was impressive enough, but you may be asking the question, “What impact did the Model T make in the war?” The Model T can be accredited to adding to the modernization of war. The first world war is described as the first modern war, and the first war to involve total war. Civilians and businesses were also cosidered part of the war effort, and as a result, they became targets as well. However, when it came to modernization in the war, the Model T brought: fast transportation of men and supplies, improved scouting, and enhanced mechanical awareness. 

Below is a depiction of the previous alternatives to vehicles in war. This impactful and emotional picture of a horse struggling with a heavy load in the mud shows how treacherous moving supplies in the war was. Men on the front needed food, water, bedding, and other comfort supplies and this was one of a few inefficient methods of bringing them to the men.

The Model T fixed this problem. Supplies could be placed straight from the railcar, boat etc. into the back of the truck and hauled off to camps. There was no need for horses and they only required the use of two men. To add on to this, the Model T could travel at 45 mph, way faster than any horse, especially with a heavy load. 

The improved moving of supplies led to an increased modernization of war. Supplies could be moved faster reducing the wait for munitions and ultimately the wait for more war. 

The Model T also impacted, and arguably most heavily impacted, the war on the medical front. In a war that involved massive figures on casualties, deaths, and diseases, it makes sense as to how the Model T made an impact in the war: as an ambulance. The need for an efficient method to transport the wounded was apparent, there were very few options when it came to moving the wounded and often they weren’t that speedy. Men often had to be carried either by other fellow soldiers or stretcher bearers back to field medical stations. These stations could not provide much when it came to medical attention, especially when compared to other hospitals found farther from the front.

The Model T, however, was a traveling medical station. The wounded could now receive immediate care in the back of the ambulance as it was traveling to a hospital or more apt medical station. This meant less waiting for the sick and wounded and a greater chance at living through wounds and sickness. 

The mobility of the Model T also allowed for medics to travel through shell shocked towns, craters and other obstacles to move closer to the front lines. The depiction above shows an American field ambulance parked in a town that had already felt the impact of war.

A more efficient medical system, brought on by the Model T, led to increased modernization in war. Men could be moved quicker to and from the lines, for whatever purposes that became apparent.