Weapons and Warfare in WW1

Setting the Stage: How did the war start

• 1914

• During WW1 Europe was divided into two camps: 

  • The Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance

  • Triple Entente: Great Britain, France, Russia

  • Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy

• Austria’s declaration of war set off a domino effect chain reaction within the alliance system causing a war to begin.

• Russia marched to towards the Austrian border

  • Germany took this as an invitation to war and declared war on Russia

  • Germany attacked the west to prevent France from joining Russia 

  • Great Britain declared war on Germany

Most of Europe -> Now at War

Europe takes sides: Alliances and what not

• Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, 

  • (later Bulgaria and the ottoman empire)

• Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, and Russia

  • (later Japan, Italy, and the US)

• Summer of 1914:

  • Millions of soldiers marched into war thinking it would be cute and simple and a short conflict

  • At that time this war was so romanticized, they called it the “Great War”

New Weapons

• Poison Gas

  • Introduced by Germans but used by both sides

  • Caused loss of eyesight, severe blisters, death by choking

• Machine Gun

  • Fires ammunition automatically

  • Had the ability to wipe out attackers and made it difficult for forces to attack

  • One soldier had the efficiency of 100s

• Tanks

  • armored  combat vehicle 

  • Moved on-chain tracks which could cross many types of terrain

  • Introduced by the British at the Battle of the Somme

  • Could travel over barbed wire

• Flame throwers

  • The operator carries a tank of fuel

  • Could shoot flames at the enemy

  • Would engulf the enemy in flames

  • The tank could be shot and would explode

• Airplanes

  • WW1 introduced airplane warfare

  • Countries on both tried to build stronger and faster aircraft 

  • Initially used to scout

  • Could drop bombs

  • Could shoot others from the sky

  • The interrupter was put on the machine gun to fire between the propeller

  • By the end of the war, there were 10k planes in the sky

• Artillery

  • Could lance large projectiles which would explode on contact

  • Caused severe damage to trenches and forts

• Submarines

  • Used mostly by Germans

  • Called U-boats and “hunted” in Wolf Packs

  • Able to hide underwater and use a torpedo to sink unsuspecting ships

  • If they were able to be surfaced they could be easily sunk so…

  • Unrestricted submarine warfare was seen as a war crime as they would attack without warning

War in the trenches

• Opposing armies on Western Front dug and made miles of parallel trenches

• Soldiers would fight each other from trenches and armies tried huge loss of human life for small land gains

• LIFE WAS MISERABLE:

  • Slept in mud

  • Trench foot

  • RATS!!! 

    • Two kids: 

    • Brown and black

    • Brown grew up to a cats size 

  • No fresh food

  • Wooden planks lined the ground

  • Sandbags piled high to cover from the top

  • Many people developed mental illnesses such as PTSD because of both the living conditions and war 

    • Many triggers were small spaces, rats, etc

  • Diseases spread because of the rats

• No man's land = the land and space between the trenches

• Officers would order to attack and soldiers would have to fire and charge at the opposing trench 

  • It would be destroyed by machine gunfire 

  • If they stayed the “enemies” would bombard with artillery shells.

• Western Front = “terrain of death”

• New technology did not deliver a quicker war but just caused more death

Improved Medical Care

• Research and field experience improved care for the wounded

• Injured soldiers could be treated in the field and transported w/ ambulance

• Mobile X-ray units made it possible to find things in body (bullets/sharpness)

• Safe blood banks and blood storage made for rudimentary blood banks

• Many soldiers were able to survive injuries

• Reconstructive surgery was improved

• Rehab and prosthetics were used to repair bad injuries

• A lot of the weapons discovered are still used today in even more lethal and extreme forms, however, some like gas are relegated to history.

Poisonous Gas:

• The treaties prohibited using projectiles like rockets and artillery shells containing poisonous or asphyxiating gases.

  • Gas’s volatility and reaction to swings in temperature and humidity often prohibited it from being spread as intended and sudden change in wind direction could reroute it back towards those who’d sent it in the first place

    • Benign tear gas has been replaced with chlorine

      • Cause discomfort and ghastly damage to skin, eyes, throats, and lungs

• Phosgene gas

  • Nearly invisible and more lethal than chlorine

• Mustard gas

  • Exposed to skin and eyes so voraciously, masks were useless

  • blistered , discolored skin, swollen eyes, and throats, uncontrollable convulsions, blood vomiting containing chunks of lung, permanent scarring, and painfully slow death

WORKSHEET ANSWERS

1. What was the expectation for the speed of the war?

• A short affair and one of great movement.

2. Was there a time when this happened?

• In the beginning the war moved quicly, and swept through Belgium and into France on their way to Paris. 

3. What eventually happened to the armies on the western front as far as movement goes?

• Following the quick victories, staleman (slow waiting/slow war) starting sttling in as armies dug trenches between the Belgian border and the English channel. This is when the war became slow, the movement expected was not expected until the edn of war.  

4. What are some ways in which soldiers could be killed in the trenches?

• Randomartillery attacks by the enemy rained death on soilders from both sides

• Sniper fire

• dieasease

5. What was the main source of food for the rats?

• Human remains for the brown rats.

6. Why were the rats dangerous for the soldiers?

• Because they spread infection and contaminated the food.

7. Why was it not recommenced that you peek over the sandbags?

• Because a soldier from the enemies side might sniper fire.

8. What percentage of soldiers died in the trenches on the Western Front?

• 1/3  of allied causualites

9. What danger did lice impose?

• Trench fever.

10. How did men protect themselves from lice?

• Men would shave their heads.

11. What was trench foot? What was the result of it?

• A fungal infection of the foot causing the feet to be gangrenous and often be amputated.

12. What was the expected trench cycle?

• The cycle you spend on the battlefield, trenches, reserve, and rest.

13. What was the Stand To?

• Daily routine to wake up an hour before dawn and climb up on the fire step in case of enmy raid. 

14. Why did soldiers fire into the mist to their front in the mornings?

• To make sure of their safety in the morning.

15. 
What was the trench cycle actually like?

• Horrible because of the amount of time spent in the Trenches,

16. Give examples of the daily chores.

• Filling sandbags

• Repairing duckboards on the trench floor

• Draining trenches

17. What did soldiers do with flooded trenches? Why is this important?

• Trencehs were prone to flooding following heavy rains. The effects of this would be trench walls collapsing causing life even more miserable. Pumps were put in use to drain trenches. 

18. What were some tasks for the patrol?

• Patrol no mans land

• Repair barbed wire

• Assigned listening posts

19. What were the causes of the smell?

• Bodies rotting

• Men who are unable to take baths for weeks

• Rats

• Overflowing latrines

• Cigarette smoke

• Odor of poison gas

• Rotting sandbags

• Stagnant mud

• Cooking food

20. 
What would happen if enemy patrols met each other in No-Man’s-Land?

• They would have to decide whether to scurry away or engage in hand to hand combat, pistols were unavailable as the noise would alert the machien gun nests.

21. How did visitors to the trenches react to the smell?

• Unearable for the visitors.