"In late 1916, the German army introduced "Lobster" armor made of nickel and silicon plates.
Both sides made use of captured enemy armor.

Although body armor was manufactured commercially, it never became universally issued at that time.
Often it was bought and paid for by a soldier's family.

Toward the end of the war, British army medical services calculated that three-quarters of all battle injuries could have been prevented
if effective armor had been issued.
"