How was world war 1 fought?

1. How was world war 1 fought?

2. War on land – the Western Front • The Western Front was the most important for several reasons. • Its size (320km) and the fact it was operational for all four years. • The fighting on the Western front had a significant impact on ideas and attitudes.

3. Cross Section of a trench

4. View from above

5. Why did trench warfare lead to a stalemate? • In order to hold their positions soldiers had to dig down to keep out of the line of fire. • These hastily dug ditches soon became permanent. • They evolved into complex defensive systems on both sides.

6. Casualties • Deadlier for attackers than defenders. • Why would this be the case? • What is ‘going over the top’? • Why did this lead to stalemate?

7. War of Attrition • There was little change in the position of the front over the four years. • The aim of battles was not to win territory but to destroy the opposing army. • It was a war of attrition to break the morale of the enemy and reduce their numbers.

8. Pictures from the trenches

9. Study Section • The Christmas truce. • Shell-shock. • Trench foot. • The work of miners tunneling beneath the trenches. • Communication systems used in the trenches. • Those who were shot for ‘cowardice’.

10. How did the development of weaponry lead to a change in tactics on the Western Front? • Both sides used a wide range of weapons to try and break the deadlock. • The infantry charge was the key battle tactic used throughout the war. • Weapons were developed to make this strategy more effective.

11. Machine guns and rifles

12. Main types of guns… • Lee-Enfield rifle with bayonet attached – 25 rounds a minute could be fired. • 600 rounds a minute could be fired. • Another WW1 innovation was the submachine gun known as a ‘trench sweeper’

13. Grenades

14. Hand grenades • Small hand-thrown bombs. • The British used the pineapple shaped Mills bomb. • The Germans used stick-shaped grenades nicknamed ‘potato-mashers’

15. Heavy Artillery

16. The real killer • In WW1 artillery inflicted 70% of all casualties. • The war was so static the guns could take up permanent positions. • Every major attack was preceded by a prolonged artillery barrage.

17. Problems with artillery • Not accurate enough to destroy enemy trenches. • It gave the enemy warning of an attack to come. (Battle of the Somme) • ‘Creeping barrage’ and ‘artillery ambush’

18. Chemical Warfare

19. Poison Gas • Chlorine Gas was first used by the Germans. • Phosgene Gas 18x stronger. • Mustard Gas which burned, blinded and slowly killed victims over several weeks. • Gas masks were developed by scientists making gas as a weapon less effective.

20. Tanks

21. WC’s??? • The tank was not able to break the stalemate. • It was slow and unreliable and many tanks broke down before reaching the trenches. • Their armor plating was also not strong enough to resist artillery. • Battle of the Somme & Battle of Cambrai

22. What was the importance of naval warfare in WWI? • The control of the seas was crucial to both sides. • GB was an island and needed food, industrial supplies and soldiers from other countries. • Germany also needed food and other supplies from overseas.

23. GB rules the waves? • GB was successful in controlling the trade routes. • The Allies blockaded German ships. • GB enforced the search of neutral shipping and stopped them going to Germany.

24. Mines and Submarines

25. U-Boats • The Germans used U-boats to try and enforce their own blockade on GB. • This proved to be politically dangerous warfare. • The Germans hope that unrestricted sub warfare would starve GB and France.

26. Why was GB able to survive the U-boat blockade? • The convoy system was the turning point. • As technology progressed depth charges and ‘listening devices’ helped to attack U-boats. • Improved sub. nets forced the U-boats to go north around GB made them less effective.

27. Convoy System

28. Battle of Jutland

29. Major Naval engagement • One major challenge to GB’s supremacy – 31 May-1 June 1916. • After several hours of exchanging artillery fire, the Germans sailed back to port. • GB lost 14 ships and Germany 11. • The result Germany had not destroyed GB’s fleet it was still in control of the surface waters.

30. Importance of naval supremacy • GB’s navy was able to move 8.5 million troops across the British Empire. • Imports reached GB and they were able to maintain the blockade on Germany. • They were also able to sustain the convoy system and transport US troops and equipment for the final battles.

31. Zeppelins and airships

32. Airships and civilian targets • The Germans had the Zepellin and were able to bomb civilian targets in England. • The British used airships mainly for escorting ships and spotting U-boats. • They soon became easy targets and were replaced by bomber fleets later in the war.

33. WWI Bombers

34. Bombing Raids • The German Gotha caused 3000 casualties in raids over London and SE England. • By 1918 GB was making raids into enemy territory – Mainz, Stuttgart and Mannheim. • The idea of attacking civilian targets had become a feature of war by 1918.

35. Aircraft-Reconnaissance • Pilots were able to report on troop concentrations and artillery movements. • Photographs of trench systems could be taken from the air. • Messages were dropped by aircraft and communication with the ground possible.

36. Red Baron and MickyMannock

37. Dog-fights • At first pilots tried to attack each other with rifles and pistols. • By 1915 machine guns were fitted and synchronized to shoot through propeller. • Dog-fights became a common site over the trenches.

38. Potential of airpower • By 1918 there were more than 8000 aircraft on all sides. • Control of the skies over the battlefield had become essential for victory. • It was clear that bombing civilians affected enemy morale. • The end of WWI was still determined by what happened on the ground. • This was a sign of what was to come in 1939-45.