Post on 22-Jan-2016
transcript
Weapons, tactics, and strategy of the First World War
War of stalemate and attrition
SMALL ARMS
The perfection of the pistol, rifle, and machine gun.
Gatling Gun
Maxim Machine Gun
Machine Gun
British Enfield Rifle
Thomson Machine Gun(Trench Sweeper)
Artillery
Artillery accounted for nearly 70% of all casualties in World War I.
French Artillery
“Long Max”38 cm (380mm)
Used in the Battle of Verdun (1916)
The impact of German shells on an armored building
Howitzer
Two 280 mm Japanese siege guns (1904)Howitzers
Life in the Trenches
Trench WarfareTrench WarfareTrench: a depression in the ground
Trench Warfare: a style of fighting in which the enemies occupy opposing trenches, which require artillery in order defeat the enemy
No Man’s Land: tract of land between opposing trench lines
Cross section of a British trench
No Man’s land
Infantry attack
Dead in No Man’s Land
Trench on a dry day
Firing from a German Trench
French Concrete Bunker – Under the Trenches
Barbed WirePlaced outside the trenches to slow attacksBelts 1.8 meters high and 3-6 meters thick
Complex Trench Systems
Trenches on the Somme (1916)
A far cry from the tidy illustrations in the field engineering manuals
Poison Gas
• blinded or choked its victims• caused serious burns• could be fatal• Because this was a new development in weapons technology, soldiers were not equipped with gas masks right away• an uncertain weapon: winds could blow it back on the soldiers who launched it
Poison Gas
Poison Gas
Poison Gas
Poison Gas
Victims of War
War Is HELL !!War Is HELL !!
Keep Your Feet Dry, Clean, and Warm
Sacrifices in WarSacrifices in War
World War I CasualtiesWorld War I Casualties
01,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,0006,000,0007,000,0008,000,0009,000,000
10,000,000RussiaGermanyAustria-HungaryFranceGreat BritainItalyTurkeyUS
Air Power
Nations’ air forces were primarily used for reconnaissance. Airplanes
would not play a major role in aiding ground movement until the Second
World War.
British DH4
German Fokker
Flying CoffinsPlanes were so dangerous to fly that they received the
nickname “Flying coffins.”
Zeppelin
New Weapons
World War one spawned the introduction of the tank. This
weapon along with the airplane would break the defensive stalemate.
British Tank
British Tank crossing a trench in the battle of Cambrai, November 1917.
Sea Power
World War One would be the age of the Battleship. It would also be the
introduction of the submarine. Besides the Germans attempt to
“blockade” Britain with the submarine, the most crucial battles
took place on land.
Unterseeboot
German submarinesa.k.a. U-Boats
U-BoatsU-Boats
Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats
Allied Ships Sunk by U-Boats
DreadnoughtThe Dreadnought was introduced by the British in 1905. This new ship with its 11” guns and a range of nearly 20,000 yards
made all previous ships obsolete.
US Dreadnought
British Submarine
Strategy and Tactics
Germany at War 1914
1st Battle of the MarneThe German attempt to take Paris and surround French troops failed. British troops from the North and French troops from
North Africa turned the tide.
Stalemate warfareBecause of the use of the machine gun and rapid fire artillery, movement on the battlefield became nearly impossible. The
war quickly bogged down into a stalemate on all fronts.
Eastern Front 1914-1918
Western Front 1914-1917
The Gallipoli Campaign1915
The British attempt to reopen the Straits ultimately proved a failure.
Battle of Verdun 1916Germans and the French bleed each other white as the Germans attempt to take the fortifications at Verdun.
Verdun 1916Nivelle’s use of the creeping barrage kept the
Germans at bay as they tried to take the fortifications
Battle of the Somme 1916This British attempt to break the German lines failed. The attackers never
made it more than 10 kilometers. British lost over 490,000; French 250,000 and Germans 600,000 men.
Defense in DepthGerman defensive system devised by Ludendorff in 1917. Machine gun
nests and artillery held off the enemy in the front while major reserves were concentrated in the rear, away from enemy artillery.
Battle of Ypres
Western Front 1918
Europe: Post World War One1919
Europe Post World War OneThe Treaty of Versailles left Germany in tact but took territory from the East as
well as Alsace Lorraine.The Treaties of St. Germain and Trianon dismembered the Austro-Hungarian
Empire.
Ottman Empire: Post World War OneThe Treaty of Severes dismembered the Ottoman Empire. Turkey never signed it.