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WWI: New Military Technology
| Date post: | 16-Dec-2015 |
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WWI: New Military Technology
New Technologies Change the Way War is Fought
WWI proved to be unlike previous wars in many ways For centuries, opposing forces had
conducted combat face-to-face and hand-to-hand
Military technology was limited and troops fired only at targets they could see clearly
New technology made WWI more impersonal and much deadlier
WWI Becomes a War of Attrition
Both sides thought WWI would end in under a week
Instead, WWI turned into a stalemate – both sides suffered heavy losses but neither could gain an advantage
Reason for Stalemate
New weapon technology such as… Bolt-Action Rifle Machine Gun Artillery Poisonous Gas Zeppelin Tanks Planes U-Boats
Trench Warfare New weapons meant soldiers could no longer
charge each other across an open field Both sides dug trenches in the ground for
protection
Overview of Trench Warfare
Trenches were elongated pits dug 6-8 ft. into the earth, and stretching out over hundreds of miles
Trenches were only wide enough to allow two men to pass side-by-side
Trench Warfare
Duck Boards would line the bottom of the trench, to serve both as a place for the men to stand on the avoid enemy fire, and also to raise men above the mud, rats, blood, and bodily wastes that filled the bottom of the trench.
Parapets served as a rest for a gun, and the Parados protected the men from exploding shrapnel from behind the line.
Trench Warfare - Diagram
Overview of Trench Warfare
Barbed-wire was lined up in front of a trench to protect the men from attack.
Trench Warfare
Dugouts in the side of the trenches provided shelter for the men to live in, and protection from incoming artillery fire.
The entrance to a “dugout”
Trench Warfare – Dugout
Trench Warfare
Three interlocking trench lines would be used: a front line for attack and defense, a middle line of defense, and a rear line of reserves.
An encampment of tents and hospitals would be located behind the third line. Men spent anywhere from one day to two weeks on the lines before given a day of rest.
Trench Warfare
The distance between opposing trenches was called “no-man’s land”. This distance could be as short as 30 meters, or as wide as 1 mile.
Trench Warfare
On command, soldiers from a trench would charge across “no-man’s” land and attempt to overrun the opponents trench.
Once one of the sides overran an opposing trench, the defeated would either be captured, or they would retreat to another set of trenches miles away to renew the battle over a new “no-man’s” land.
A periscope would have been used to see the enemy, without putting a soldier in the direct line of fire.
Retrieving a dead soldier from “no-man’s land”
Trench Warfare
Weapons on the front included: Soldier’s would commonly use rifles, bayonets, spades, clubs, shotguns, helmets, and grenades
Armies would use larger items such as machine guns, mortars, artillery, gas, barbed-wire, aircraft, and mines
