Editing Mannheim (section)

===Early 20th century and World War I===
The [[List of Schütte-Lanz airships|Schütte-Lanz company]], founded by Karl Lanz and Johann Schütte in 1909, built 22 airships. The company's main competitor was the [[Zeppelin]] works.

When [[World War I]] broke out in 1914, Mannheim's industrial plants played a key role in Germany's war economy. This contributed to the fact that, on 27 May 1915, Ludwigshafen was the world's first civilian settlement behind the battle lines to be bombed from the air. French aircraft attacked the BASF plants, thereby killing twelve people. The precedent was set for this attack by Germany's repeated air raids against British civilian populations throughout southeastern Britain during the first half of 1915.

When Germany lost the war in 1918, according to the peace terms, the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by French troops. The French occupation lasted until 1930, and some of Ludwigshafen's most elegant houses were erected for the officers of the French garrison.