what does this word mean?. keyword: stalemate: when neither army can advance or gain an advantage...
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Know what were the most common weapons of the Great War. (All) Analyse how effective the new weapons were. (Most) Evaluate which weapons were most likely to break the stalemate. (Some)TRANSCRIPT
What does this word mean?
Keyword:Stalemate: When neither army can advance or gain an advantage over their enemy.
•Know what were the most common weapons of the Great War. (All)
•Analyse how effective the new weapons were. (Most)
Evaluate which weapons were most likely to break the stalemate. (Some)
Home by Christmas?
As we have previously examined, at the outset of the First World War many people
were excited. There was a wave of patriotism and most men wanted to join the
fight for their country.
Both sides thought that the war would be over quickly, and that their soldiers would
be home in time for Christmas.
But, things did not turn out this way…
Task
By Christmas 1914, both sides were deep in deadlock. No side could gain an advantage. No side moving more than
a few miles forwards in a matter of months.
Many historians argue that it was the new technology and tactics that led to this stalemate.
Using the information sheets, you should complete the table – explaining how the new technology/tactics used
led to stalemate.
Level 6: Create links between the reasons – explaining how they combined together to make the
situation worse.
E.g. How did trenches and machine guns combine to make the stalemate worse?
Task
In order to break this stalemate – both sides turned to new inventions that they thought might break the
deadlock.
Using the information sheets, you should start to analyse which weapon was most likely to give either side the
advantage.
Although invented in 1862, the machine-gun was still an untested weapon of war. However, it soon became recognised as one of the war’s deadliest weapons. A water-cooled machine-gun like the Vicker gun could fire up to ten bullets per second. In the first 12 days of fighting, the French reported losses of over 200,000 men, mostly through machine-gun fire. According to British estimates, machine-guns caused about 40% of all wounds inflicted on British troops during the war. Due to the weight of the weapon it had to be fired when positioned on the ground, meaning that soldiers had to stay in the same place when using it. This meant that it was more effective as a defensive weapon as it could be positioned facing an attacking army.
Artillery is another word for the large, heavy guns that could shoot bombs (or shells as they were known) over long distances. It was common to bombard the enemy trenches for several hours before starting an attack in the hope you might kill lots of soldiers as the sheltered in their dugouts. In 1915, 400,000 shells (some as big as soldiers) were fired every month on the Western Front. Some big guns could fire shells over a distance of 13 miles. When they exploded, the red-hot metal splinters (called shrapnel) would cut an enemy to pieces. Artillery forced soldiers to take cover in their trenches until the bombardment was over. The artillery fire left huge craters making it hard for either side to advance across the battlefield. More soldiers were killed by artillery fire than by any other cause.
Soldiers dug trenches so that they would have somewhere to shelter and hide from the fire of the guns. When ordered to attack, soldiers would climb out the top of their trench, cross no man’s land and try to capture the enemy’s position.
However, crossing no man’s land left soldiers horribly exposed. They had no protection from the enemies artillery or machine gun fire. The defending army also had the protection of their trench, meaning that the attacking army were always in the more dangerous situation.
The telephone had been invented around 40 years previous to World War One. However, it was during World War One that they were first widely used in warfare. Telephones enabled Generals to direct and command troops without actually being in the battlefields themselves, so they could always give orders.However, this meant that units always had to wait for orders and could not take advantage of any strategic opportunities that arose. Also, because they generals were not actually there at the battlefield, they could not always judge the next best move effectively.
Technology/tactic:
How was this technology/tactic used during the First World
War?
Can you explain how this lead to stalemate?
Level 6: Can you link any of the reasons together
to explain why there was a stalemate?
1)
2)
3)
4)
Each man who joined the British Army was issued with a Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle and a 40 centimetre steel bayonet to fit onto the end. These rifles were slow (approximately 20 bullets fired per minute) compared to machine-guns, but very accurate. Snipers used them very effectively to ‘pick off’ any soldier who lifted his head above his parapet.
Weapon:Name of weapon and
how it works
Range: Is it used over a
short or a long
distance?
Killing power: Is it used to kill one
person at a time, a small number of people, or many people at once?
Is there any figures to back up your
claim?
What effect on the enemy do you think this weapon would
have had?
Is it a weapon used mainly for attack, defence,
or both?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
The first ever gas attack was on 22 April 1915. The Germans released gas from cylinders and allowed the wind to carry it over French soldiers on the front line. The French panicked and ran. A six-kilometre gap opened up in the French lines but the Germans didn’t have enough men to mount a serious assault (although they did take 2,000 prisoners). An opportunity like this never happened again but gas proved its worth as a weapon of terror. Soon both sides were using gas.
There were two types:
Chlorine gas (or phosgene) – this suffocated the lungs and left the victim gasping for air.
Mustard gas – rotted the body – skin blistered, eyes bulged. A victim would cough up the lining of his lungs in clots. The pain was so intense that victims often had to be tied down.
Tanks were first used in battle in 1916. This British invention scared the Germans so much that they panicked and fled. However, these armour-plated machines could only travel at about four miles per hour (the fastest, the Whippet, had a top speed of eight miles per hour!) and broke down easily. Despite this, the British and French produced over 5,000 whilst the Germans made only 20.
At the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, over 400 British tanks crossed no man’s land, broke through barbed wire and crushed machine-gun nests to clear the way for foot soldiers behind them.
At the start of World War One bomb aiming was crude in the extreme. The pilot – or co-pilot if the aircraft carried two people – simply dropped a small bomb over the side of the aircraft in the general direction of a target. If a bomb dropped anywhere near a target it was through good luck more than anything else. By the end of the war aircraft that could be recognised as long-range bombers had been developed.
Much larger than fighters, and far less manoeuvrable, their task was very specific – to carry to a target as many bombs as was feasible and to drop them on said target with a degree of accuracy. The Germans had the Gotha bomber while the British had the Handley Page bomber. While the deliberate targeting of civilians was not a new military tactic, bombers made an aerial attack possible. Also a nation’s means of war production – mainly factories – could also be attacked from the air. Such a consideration would have been impossible in 1914. By 1918, it was a reality.
British Mark IV Tadpole Tank
A canister of oil was strapped to a soldier’s back and forced through a nozzle to ‘fire’ at enemy soldiers. The oil was ignited by a spark to create a sheet of flame that could travel up to 15 metres. Hand-held flame-throwers were deadly in small spaces, like dugouts, and caused panic if one was spotted during an attack. Defending soldiers would try and shoot the canister of oil before it got anywhere near. One British soldier who saw a German flame-thrower in action said that men who were caught in the blast of the flame ‘were never seen again’!
In your opinion, which was the Great War’s most deadly weapon? Back up your opinion with facts and figures.
• Choose one weapon and explain it’s main features
• Decide who it would favour more; the attacking or defending team.
All
• Compare the two weapons that you feel are most deadly.
• Explain the features of each weapon.• Make a decision as to which weapon is the most
deadly.Most
• All of Level 5• Use facts and figures (evidence) back up your
opinion.• Evaluate which weapons would w have been
seen as most terrifying (and say why!)Some
The Great War saw a great deal of new weaponry. Some weapons were able to kill a great deal of men in a matter of seconds. In my opinion, the two most deadly weapons were the machine gun and heavy artillery. The machine gun was able to fire as many as ten bullets per second. This means that 600 bullets per minute could be fired. The facts and figures also suggest that a huge number of the injuries sustained during world war one were caused by machine guns. The fact that the French army lost around 200,000 men in a matter of days proves how deadly a weapon machine guns were.However, heavy artillery used during World War One was also a factor in a huge amount of people killed. The fact that 60% of all injuries were sustained by soldiers were from artillery shells highlights how deadly a tactic mass bombardment was.However, in my opinion, I believe that the machine gun was the most deadly due to the fact that so many men could be killed in such a short amount of time.
In general, do the weapons used in the Great War make it easier for an army to attack or defend? Why?
• Give an example of a weapon that made attacking easier. (Say how)
• Give an example of a weapon that made defending easier (Say how)
• Make a decision, was it easier to attack or defend? Say why!
Most
• All of Level 5• Evaluate which weapons were
most likely to break the stalemate on the Western Front. (and say why!)
Some
One example of a weapon that made attacking easier in the Great War is the flame thrower. This weapon struck fear into the heart of the enemy, who were terrified about being burnt alive. The very sight of a flame thrower made men panic and scramble from their trenches in fear. This undoubtedly helped armies who were attacking trenches. The machine gun was undoubtedly a defensive weapon. Combined with the defensive cover trenches gave soldiers, this weapon gave defenders a huge advantage, Soldiers were able to kill many advancing soldiers in a matter of seconds. I believe for this reason it made it much easier to defend in trench warfare,I believe the advancement of tanks was the biggest factor in breaking the stalemate in WW1. The fact that tanks were protected against machine gun fire and other weapons helped to counter act the superiority of the machine gun.