trench warfare and new machinery
Post on 23-Feb-2016
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TRENCH WARFARE AND NEW MACHINERY
World War One
THE SCHLIEFFEN PLAN German attack
strategy developed before the war
2 front strategy Germany believed it
could fend off Russia in the East while it defeated France in the West with a lightning speed attack
Believed Russia would take a while to assemble troops
SCHLIEFFEN FAILED! German officers
pulled troops from the West to defend Eastern Boarder- Weakened the attack line in France
No fast victory for Germany
Now fighting a 2 front war
RESULT : TRENCH WARFARE Germans dug in a defensive line along
the river Somme and into Belgium British and French Soldiers dug a trench
line to face Germans Trenches stretched from Swiss Boarder
to English Channel By Christmas 1914 stalemate!
NO MAN’S LAND The area between
enemy trenches Wasteland of
bodies, barbed wire, mud, mines
No protection from machine guns
Traps set up after dark
LIFE IN THE TRENCHES Flooded by rain and
filth Overrun by rats Stinking cesspools Trapped for weeks Disease spread Lice infestations Mental exhaustion Trench Foot
WAR OF ATTRITION Each side repeatedly attacking the
other until one side completely exhausted and unable to continue
This old style cannot work due to new weapons
New Weapons turned war into a slaughter
MACHINE GUNS Changed the way
war is fought- Trenches!
Fires 400-500 rounds per minute
Old School Generals sent hundreds of thousands of men “over the top” into no man’s land to die by machine guns
TANKS
The only weapon that could breach enemy trenches-a response to the stalemate that trench warfare had created on the Western Front
POISON GAS Germany 1st to use
poison gas in battle Chlorine gas at Ypres 1915 Gas blinded soldiers
and attacked respiratory systems
Early defense- rags soaked in water/urine
Later defense- gas masks
SUBMARINE WARFARE The Silent
enemy Used most by
Germany U-Boats Attacked ships
carrying supplies to Britain
Armed with torpedoes to sink ships
WAR IN THE AIR Planes used to: Scout enemy
positions Drop bombs on
enemy planes or shoot with handguns
Later on planes had top mounted guns
THE ZEPPELIN Called Dirigibles
(inflatable airships) Filled with light
gases such as hydrogen and propelled by engine on bottom
Used for scouting and bombing
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