TECHNOLOGY IN WWI

An Arms Auction

Goals

To work together to identify and ‘acquire’ weapons that the group thinks would benefit soldiers engaged in trench warfare during WWI.

To explore the group’s decisions in depth and compare their findings to actual information about each weapon.

Procedure

1. I will assign you a number between 1-6. Once each student has a number, join your number group. Your group will be assigned a country. You will become the

military consultants for that country.

Triple Alliance: Austria-HungaryGermanyItaly

Triple Entente: BritainFranceRussia

Procedure (continued)

2. Assign each group member a job: Financial controller – keeps track of the money

(you will begin with $35,000) Public representative – presents the bids Weapons accountants – tracks the items

purchased

Procedure (continued)

3. Before round one of the auction you will hear a brief description of each item. As a group discuss the benefits and

drawbacks of each item. Try to develop a purchase strategy. What items will you focus on? Why? How

much are you willing to spend on them?

ROUND ONEThe sale of single

weapons

LET THE AUCTION BEGIN!

Airplane

Artillery

Tank

Cavalry

Chlorine Gas

Dreadnought

Flame Thrower

Submarine

Machine Gun

Repeating Rifle(Bolt Action Rifle)

ROUND TWOThe sale of weapon

pairs

Airplane (x 2)

Artillery (x 2)

Tank (x 2)

Cavalry (x 2)

Chlorine Gas (x 2)

Dreadnought (x 2)

Flame Thrower (x 2)

Submarine (x 2)

Machine Gun (x 2)

Repeating Rifle (x 2) (Bolt Action Rifle)

ROUND THREEThe sale of weapons in

triplicate

Airplane (x 3)

Artillery (x 3)

Tank (x 3)

Cavalry (x 3)

Chlorine Gas (x 3)

Dreadnought (x 3)

Flame Thrower (x 3)

Submarine (x 3)

Machine Gun (x 3)

Repeating Rifle (x 3) (Bolt Action Rifle)

THE AUCTION IS OVER!

Count how many of each weapon you have

Point Values Airplane...………………………………………………….………..75 pts each   Artillery…………………………………………………………….500 pts each   Cavalry………………………………………………………………25 pts each   Chlorine Gas………………………………………………………...50 pts each   Dreadnought………………………………………………………..75 pts each     Flame thrower.……………………………………………………100 pts each   Machine gun.……………….……………………………………1,000 pts each   Repeating rifle…………………….……………………………….250 pts each   Submarine……………………….…………………………………100 pts each   Tank…………………………..……………………………………..200 pts each

Explanation In 1914

airplanes were still very primitive Tanks not invented at start of the war Trenches were vulnerable to artillery (bomb)

attacks Machine guns were useful when solders “went

over the top” and crossed “no mans land” – the area in between trenches Canadian Ross Rifle – failure as it often jammed

in muddy conditions. Machine guns were main reasons for stalemate.

Firing machine guns meant leaving trenches = sudden death

Key definitions:

Stalemate – when neither side has enough offensive power remaining to achieve a victory

Attrition - attrition warfare is a military strategy in which a side wins the war by wearing down their enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses of personnel and material. The war will usually be won by the side with greater amount of these materials.

DELVE DEEPER

Independently, complete the Technology in WWI – The Basics Worksheet