reasons for the trenches –bothe the allies and the central powers realized they could stop an...

• Reasons for the Trenches– Bothe the Allies and the Central

Powers realized they could stop an enemy attack by digging trenches

• Were a permanent feature of the war• Trench lines changed very little in 3

years• Create a stalemate• The war becomes stagnant • Machine gun fire from trenches

makes crossing “No Mans Land” near impossible

• TrenchesSand bags – protect soldiers from

bullets and shrapnelBarbed wire – delayed and

entangled enemy soldiers , difficult to cut and bombing only tangled it up

Duck boards – were meant to help keep soldiers feet dry and drain trenches

Timber Siding – meant to keep trench wall from crumbling down

• TrenchesNo Man’s Land – ground

between enemy trencheso Crater Holeso Machine gun fireo Mines o Barbed wireo No cover

Zigzagging Trencheso Keep enemy from shooting

down an entire line of a trench

• Gatling gun- one of the earliest machine guns.– Developed during the American Civil War

• Early machine guns had many mechanical glitches – They were heavy and unwieldy– They tended to overheat– They were difficult to use since they were hand

cranked– Early machine guns could fire more than 120 shots

per minute.

• Sir Hiram Maxim invented a truly automatic gun The Maxim Gun – Was capable of ejecting

spent cartridges– Loaded a new cartridge– Worked without needing a

soldier to crank it.• This was achieved by using

the energy from the gun’s recoil

• Maxim’s gun was fully automatic – The barrel was enclosed in a thin water jacket– This gun could be fired accurately at a rate of

600 shots per minuteHow It Worked:

Ammunition – 250 cartridges fitted to a beltBreech Loaded – first cartridge is inserted into

the gun Recoil – ejected one cartridge and another was

moved into the barrel, the firing pin was cocked, and the process is continued as long as the trigger is pulled.

• Do we believe in Honor in victory? If so what is dishonorable or in other words “a cheap victory”

• European nations believed the machine gun took the honor out of war.– It made killing to easy

• One did have to face the enemy, be skilled, or brave to fight.

• European countries used the machine gun in their colonies– Small colonial armies could control large

hostile populations

• How do get across “No Man’s Land” without getting gunned down?

Let’s Discuss

• First Armored vehicleFirst Armored vehicle – Automobile fitted with machine guns– Designed to guard Allied airfields.– Developed by the British– Limited by barbed wire, mud, craters in the road.

• Ernest Swinton – British Colonel comes up with Ernest Swinton – British Colonel comes up with the idea to combine armor with an American the idea to combine armor with an American farm Tractor with a caterpillar trackfarm Tractor with a caterpillar track– Became known as the “Landship”– “Little Willie” Prototype for tanks to come in the future

Little Willie on Trials

• Britain’s Tank the Mark I

• Tanks were designed to:– climb a vertical earth barrier 5 feet high– Cross a trench eight feet wide– Reach a top speed of 4 mile per hour– Maintain a crew of eight to ten men to

navigate and man the guns

WWI British Tank

• First model Mark I– Male – armed with a six pound cannon– Female – lighter and equipped with machine guns

• Captain H. W. Mortimore of the Royal Navy took a Mark I into action at Delville Wood during the Battle of Somme on Septembre 15, 1916.

• The first successful use of massed tanks in combat occurred at the Battle of Cambrai on November 20 1917.

Mark I in Action

– Unreliable, most broke down before the battle began.

– Used in small groups at first.– Slow!!!!!!– Terrible conditions inside these early

beasts.– Vulunerable to wider trenches, artillery, and

anti-tank shot.

Mark I in action

• The Airplane Become The Airplane Become Important for WarImportant for War• First employed as aerial

surveillance (reconnaissance).

• Slowly guns are taken to the sky and you start shooting at the other guy’s plane.

• Planes develop into the major categories. Fighter (Pursuit), Reconnaissance, Bomber,

How do you use an Airplane?

– Reconnaissance is to look for the enemy.• Take pictures of important information

– Fighters are to shoot down enemy planes.

– Bombers are to destroy ground targets.

– First seen as a interesting gadget.– First employed as aerial surveillance

(reconnaissance). – Slowly guns are taken to the sky and you

start shooting at the other guy’s plane.– Planes develop into the major categories.

Fighter (Pursuit), Reconnaissance, Bomber,• WWI also sees the development of the Airship.

Day Sopwith F.1 Camel,

Fokker Dr.1 triplane,

• Dog fight is a common term used to describe close-range areial combat between military aircraft.

• The term originated during W.W. I, • probably derived from the preferred fighter tactic

of positioning one's aircraft behind the enemy aircraft. – From this position, a pilot could fire his guns on the

enemy without having to lead the target, – the enemy aircraft could not effectively fire back. – When two fighter aircraft circled each other trying to

achieve this position, it resembles two dogs chasing each other's tails.

• The French were the first to use chemical weapons during the First World War.• Tear Gas

– The first full-scale deployment of chemical weapon was during W.W. I, in the Second Battle of Ypres, April 1915.

• The Germans attacked France, Canadian and Algerian troops with chlorine gas. Deaths were light, though casualities relatively heavy.

– This yellowish-green gas was a little heavier than the air it poisoned

• It crept along the ground like fog and could penetrate defensive trenches.

100,000 tons of poisonous chemicals were used in World War I

These chemicals caused more than 1 million deaths

• Chlorine Gas– Extremely toxic– When inhaled it seared the windpipe and

lungs– Cause the victims to choke– Skin turned a shiny gray-black– Lungs filled with a yellowish substance that

could not be coughed up.– Cause a slow and agonizing death

• Another gas that was used was phosgene– 18 time more deadly than chlorine– It was invisible – Slower reaction time – those breathing the

gas in only felt mild discomfort at first. – The respiratory tract would eventually shut

down

• The King of gasses use was Mustard gas– Oily brown substance– Recognizable sharp smell – horseradish and

mustard– Gas blistered the skin, eyes and throat with

burns so painful victims had to be strapped to their beds

– Caused external burns also

I. Submarines Used Before WWIA. The first military submarine was the Turtle.

• Hand-powered egg-shaped device • Designed by the American David Bushnell • Revolutiory War.

B. CSS Hunley – Civil War• Spar torpedo - long pole in the bow, attached explosive

charge.• Sank USS Housatonic in the Charleston Harbor.• The first time a submarine successfully sank another

ship.

C.1895 John Philip Holland(US) designed submarines that, for the first time, made use of internal combustion engine power on the surface and electric battery power for submerged operations.

• This is the main form of propulsion until Nuclear power.

• USS Holland in 1900

II. Use in WWI– How do you use this new weapon?

• With the fleet to sink warships?• Sink merchant ships?

– German uses submarines most effectively in terms of tactics and strategy.

• Blockade Britain.• Sink merchant ships – cut off supplies.• Same strategy would be used by the Germans in

WWII.

III. Submarine Limitations– Mainly on the surface.– Short diving time.– Slow underwater.– Cramped conditions.– No rescue if you sink.