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H111: World War I – Birth of Combined Arms Warfare

H111: World War I – Birth of Combined Arms Warfare. Why Stalemate?. Western Front: 466 miles long and included 35,000 miles of trenches. Things to Emphasize. Stalemate encourages innovation Battlefield functions increasingly tied to artillery Cambrai as indicator of solutions

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H111: World War I – Birth of Combined Arms Warfare

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  1. H111: World War I – Birth of Combined Arms Warfare

  2. Why Stalemate? Western Front: 466 miles long and included 35,000 miles of trenches

  3. Things to Emphasize • Stalemate encourages innovation • Battlefield functions increasingly tied to artillery • Cambrai as indicator of solutions • Societies increasingly geared to supporting a war of material • German tactical adaptations • The role of the blockade/ the role of attrition • What do the field grades (Rommel, Patton, etc.) take away from the experience?

  4. Principles of Command in the Defensive Battle in Position Warfare • Defender must not surrender the initiative to the enemy • Defense must rely on firepower, not large numbers of troops • Defender must not hold ground at all costs (controversial) • Defender must consider depth for all construction and positions

  5. 1915 • Stalemate on the Western Front • Russian setbacks on the Eastern Front • “Must do something” mentality

  6. 1916 • Verdun • Somme

  7. 1917: Year of Despair After Second Battle of the Aisne fails, as many as 50 divisions of the French Army mutiny Although 28,000 men are tried, only 49 are executed

  8. Elements of German Flexibility Storm Troop Tactics • Perception of need for change • Solicitation of ideas, especially from combat units • Definition of change • Dissemination of change • Enforcement through the army • Modification of organization and equipment • Thorough training • Evaluation of effectiveness • Subsequent refinement

  9. Breaking the Tactical Stalemate PROBLEM GOAL SOLUTION ACHIEVED Break-in Capture enemy Massed artillery 1915 forward position (Neuve Chapelle) Break-through Penetrate depth of Methodical Bombardment 1917 enemy position (Arras) Storm troop tactics (Caparetto) Break-out Penetrate beyond Surprise/Tanks 1917 enemy defenses System (Cambrai) Precision Fire Planning 1918 & Inflitration (Ludendorff Offensives) Exploitation Operational results Mechanized Combined 1919? from tactical penetration Arms & Air/Land Battle

  10. Allied Gains, 1915 - 1917 6 Million Casualties for: • Average Change of frontline from November 1914 was 2500 meters • 4 square mile Allied lodgment in the Balkans • Loss of Russian Poland • 10,000 square yard lodgment at Gallipoli • 12 mile lodgment in Mesopotamia (Iraq)

  11. World War I Military Innovations • Chemical Warfare • Submarine Warfare • Centrally Controlled Indirect Artillery Fires • Strategic Air Bombardment • Tactical Wireless Communications • Motorized Logistics • Body Armor • Shoulder Fired Automatic Weapons • Light Mortars • Mechanized Armored Vehicles

  12. Significance of World War I • Downfall of 4 major empires (Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman) • Creation of Soviet Union • US emerges as world power • Europe diminished politically, economically, socially • Set stage for WWII • Geographic shape of Balkans and Mid-East set • Emergence of “modern” outlook • Foundation of modern, combined arms tactics

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