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Chivalry & technology during the first world war Knights of the Air & Bodily Repair
Inevitability of war • June 28, 1914 Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria assassinated • July 5, 1914 Germany issues A-H “blank check” • pledging military assistance if A-H goes to war against Russia • July 23, 1914 Austria issues Serbia an ultimatum
1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • Many Europeans were excited about war • “Defend yourself against the aggressors” • Domestic differences were put aside • Parties and celebrations were held at the start.
1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • War would be over in a few weeks • Ignored the length and brutality of the American Civil War (prototype to World War I)
1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • Belief that Modern industrial war could not be conducted for more than a few months • “Home by Christmas”
1914 – 1915 Illusions and Stalemate • “Fatal attraction of war” • Exhilarating release from every day life • A glorious adventure • War would rid the nations of selfishness • Spark a national re-birth based on heroism
Life in the Trenches • Elaborate systems of defense • barbed wire • Concrete machine gun nests • Mortar batteries • Troops lived in holes underground
“Death is everywhere” • Mustard gas • Carried by the wind • Burned out soldier’s lungs • Deadly in the trenches where it would sit at the bottom
Life in the Trenches • Trench warfare baffled military leaders – they kept thousands of cavalry troops ready for a mobile battle that never came • Attempt a breakthrough • Then return to a war of movement • Millions of young men sacrificed attempting the breakthrough
Battle of Verdun • Germany wanted to inflict heavy losses and capture Verdun • 10 months • 700,000 men killed • Extremely costly and deadly. Almost 1 million injured.
Battle of Verdun • 10 months • 700,000 men killed • French lost some ground but not very much. • Germany lost 336K • France lost 362K
The changes of war • New weapons created the “frozen front” • Poison gas (mustard gas) • Hand grenades • Flame throwers • Tanks • Airplanes • Subs
Men in Balloons • Zeppelins conducted the first ever aerial bombardment of civilians dropping bombs on Norfolk towns in January 1915. • A further 50 Zeppelin Raids took place. • From 1917 the Zeppelins were accompanied by Gotha G Bombers. • The raids diverted enemy resources and hampered wartime production.
The changes of war • Airplanes • Dog fights in the air • Bombing inaccurate • Romanticized the battlefields • Paris and London bombed • Pilots fired pistols and threw hand grenades
The new menace • Airplane’s first military use was by Italy in 1911 • Combatants had few planes at the start of WW1 • France began with 140 but produced 68,000 with a 77% loss rate. What does this say about the dangers of flying compared to other forms of war service?
More change • Began as tool for observation and reconnaissance. • Did not play decisive role in war but capabilities were proven in various roles that were created and experimented with; • Tactical and strategic bombing • Ground attack • Naval warfare • Dogfights
Observation and Reconnaissance • “Good for sport” Cavalry still believed to be most important for reconnaissance. Why do you think officers maintained this belief? • Pilot had to fly straight and level – easy target! • Ilya Murometz: Russian bomber that was used as first-class reconnaissance plane.
First Meetings • Pilots would wave to each other. Why? • Soon they were throwing bricks, rope and firing pistols. • The ‘strap–on’ – Louis Strange placed a safety strap on his Avro 504 to allow the observer to stand up and fire 360 degrees above plane.
Women Pilots in the War • Several female pilots volunteered for service but only a few could serve. • Princess Eugenie Shakhovskaya was the first woman to become a military pilot when she flew reconnaissance missions in 1914. • Marie Marvingt piloted bombing missions becoming the first woman combat pilot. • Nedeshda Degtereva had the distinction of being the first woman pilot to be wounded in combat while on a reconnaissance mission over the Austrian front in Galicia in 1915.
The Flying Aces • The successes of airmen were used for propaganda purposes. • The French were the first to award the distinction of ‘Ace’ (5 kills). • Manfred von Richthofen achieved the most kills with 80. • Rene Fonck was the highest score to survive the war with 75 kills. • Robert Little was the top Australian Ace with 47 kills. • Why do you think they were known as ‘Knights of the Air’? • Why do you think pilots were not issued with parachutes, despite having been invented?
The Home Front • Censorship • Not told about high death toll • Romanticized the battlefields “soldiers have died a beautiful death, in noble battle, we shall rediscover poetry…epic and chivalrous”
The Home Front • Censorship “Newspapers described troops as itching to go over the top.” “Government reported to the press that life in the trenches promoted good health and clear air”
Brutal firepower • The scale of the fighting during World War One as well as the kinds of injuries sustained meant that doctors and scientists had to develop new ways of treating patients.
More killed by disease • World War One was the first conflict where the number of deaths from wounds outstripped those from disease. Shrapnel and machine gun fire destroyed men’s flesh and left behind some of the worst injuries ever seen. New weapons caused complex wounds that needed new surgical techniques, in areas such as orthopaedics and plastic surgery.
Lost limbs • Although the Thomas splint reduced the mortality rate of wounded soldiers significantly, injuries from new weapons still resulted in many men returning with physical disabilities. Around 41,000 British servicemen lost at least one limb after being wounded in combat.Several hospitals opened with the sole purpose of helping men with amputations
Prosthetic devices • had long been in use before World War I. Benjamin Franklin Palmer, for instance, patented the first artificial leg in the United States in 1847, although even earlier technologies existed.
When the war broke out • making prosthetic limbs was a small industry in Britain. Production had to increase dramatically. One of the ways this was achieved was by employing men who had amputations to make prosthetic limbs. This had the added advantage of providing occupation for discharged soldiers who, because of their disabilities, would probably have had difficulty finding work.
The main material used in the construction of these artificial limbs was wood, • with willow found to be the most suitable, due to its pliable nature. As the war progressed, the makers of artificial limbs experimented with newer and lighter materials. Towards the end of the war and into the 1920s, light metal became common. • Standardisation of limbs came gradually. It was not until the early 1920s that the Government Research Laboratory finished designing what would become known as the ‘Standard Wooden Leg’, which was to be manufactured by all limb makers from a prescribed pattern. Standardisation was useful because artificial limbs were more often than not repaired by someone other than the original maker.
Once a limb had been fitted, • a man had to learn how to use it. Hospitals placed a huge emphasis on rehabilitation. Rehabilitation focused on enabling men to pursue both recreational activities and employment. At institutions like Erskine and Roehampton workshops were set up to teach patients to do everything from joinery and hairdressing to basket weaving and bee keeping. Tools were also adapted for men who had lost limbs, especially for those who were using artificial arms.
The war winds down… • U.S. joins the war on the Allied side • 1915 - Sinking of Lusitania • 1915 - Unrestrained sub-warfare by Germany • 1917 – Russia surrenders (a separate peace) • Russia was experiencing the Russian Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution) • Ultimately leads to a civil war (1918-1923) between Bolsheviks (“Red Army”) and those opposing the revolution (“White Army” mostly Monarchists). • In 1922, The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed (USSR); Also called The Soviet Union
Social Impact • Men lost limbs and were mutilated • Birthrate fell markedly • Injured unable to work • Ethnic hostility • Influenza epidemic (killed around 50million) • Dropped the U.S. life expectancy by 12 years (in 1 year) • Effected young adults (usually great immune system) • Poverty and massive rebuilding needed throughout Europe (helps the States!)
Psychological impact • “Never such innocence again” • Bitterness towards aristocratic officers whose lives were never in danger • Existentialist movement • Extraordinary melancholy throughout much of Europe (France, Russia, Armenia)
Internationalism: We can solve our disputes through international groups, not war.
Questions • Why were pilots called knights of the air? • What prevented the use of the types of cavalry charges used in the Napoleonic wars? What were the costs of trying to make a breakthrough? • Can we use the terms cyborg or bionic to describe the first world war? Explain. • Before 1914 most of the world was still ruled by kings and emperors. Does WWI signal the final end of aristocracy and feudal monarchy? Is it also true that it marked the death of chivalry?
