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Warfare Through Time 1250-present > c1900–present: Warfare and British society in the modern era > Flashcards

c1900–present: Warfare and British society in the modern era Flashcards

1
Q

change in use of infantry 1900-present day

A

1900: main army force - 65% of army in 1914

Present: still main forcce but more compllicatted -25% of army

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2
Q

Change in use of cavalry 1900-present day

A

1900: Scouting and raiding - 10% of army in 1914

present: replaced by tanks which are 10% of British army

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3
Q

Change in use of artilery 1900-present

A

1900: key weapon. ARtillerymen 20% of army in 1914

present: Royal Artillery is 10%. Duty shared by air and tanks

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4
Q

Changes in use of specialist troops 1900-present

A

1900: 5% of army

present 55% eg Royal Engineers, mechanical engineers, medical corps

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5
Q

When were Haldane’s reforms

A

1908

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6
Q

How do Haldane’s reforms compare to present day

A

army divided into 2 groups

Regular/standing army:
1908: 150,000 who served abroad and local. Used in ww1&2

2020: similar with 82,000 troops

Territorial force
part time and reserve forced combined to create. Number 240k in 1914.

2020: named Army reserve - 30k soldiers

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7
Q

How did specialist logistics troops evolve army transport and food

A

Royal Waggoners and Army service (formerly MIlitary Train) corps supplied food and transport instead of army commanders raiding towns or requisitioning

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8
Q

Royal Army service had to supply food to how many soldiers in 1918

A

3 million

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8
Q

Specialist troops - Explosive Ordinance Disposal

A

Created during ww2 to dispose of unexploded bombs dropped in London.

1940: 134 army bomb disposal units formed and disposed of 25,000 bombs in a year

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9
Q

Example of robotic EOD

A

Dragon runner with pincers, camera and digging arms

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10
Q

1914 Railways produce war of movement

A

outmanoeuvre enemies
eg 2 million men moved by 11,000 train journeys and horses

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11
Q

What meant war of movement 1914 was replaced by stalemates?

A

Machine guns such as Maxim or Vickers were extremely powerful in defence but weak in advances.

Eg Western Front in Battle of Somme 60,000 died in infantry charge

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12
Q

What lead to the return of War of Movement in 1916-18

A

Tanks:
armed with machine guns
“Whippets” travelled 10mph

Aircraft:
Used to bomb machine gun enemy troops and factories
Map enemy positions

Motorised vehicles:
Carry troops around
Rapid communications

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13
Q

Tanks in 1916

A

eg in Battle of Somme, 42 used
Travelled 1mph and broke down often.
Caused great fear

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14
Q

How did vehicles from 1939 produce dynamic war of movement

A

Tanks: can move 20-40mph leading to “blitzkrieg” tactic - use speed of attacking weapons to get into enemy defence

Aircraft: “stuka” can fly low and at 240mph

Radios to coordinate attacks

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15
Q

Factors creating stalemate/war of attrition

A

1)Anti-aircraft guns
-automatic reloading and firing
-1943: 50,000 used by Germany so Allies lost 15% of planes each raid

2)Radars
Send radio waves to detect incoming planes

3)Fighter planes
, eg spitfire could outmanoeuvre Germans at 350mph.
Battle of Britain 1940 fighter planes kept Britain safe from invasion and reduced impact of German bombers

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16
Q

What was the impact of bombings WW2

A

-Mass civilian deaths. Dresden 1945 killed 25,000 people in just two days

-Tied up military assets. Germany used 2 million people to man its air defences.

-decimated economic assets like factories

-Atomic bomb. 70% of buildings in Hiroshima destroyed, 70k killed instantly

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17
Q

What is total warfare

A

Using all resources at a country’s disposal to win a war.
-population, scientific/industrial knowledge, increased political power, money

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18
Q

Chemical warfare used in WW1

A

German troops use chlorine canisters to kill 1250 troops in 1914

1918: 90k soldiers killed by gas attacks.

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19
Q

When was chemical warfare banned?

A

1925 Geneva Protocol
1997 Chemical Weapons Convention

due to attitudes in society -outrage against gas attacks

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20
Q

What new stalemate did nuclear weapons introduce?

A

Mutually Assured Destruction

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21
Q

How was an infantry man equipped from 1945?

A

Night vision glasses, personal radio

AR with laser aim, telescopic sight
sometimes machine gun with 750rpm

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22
Q

Aerial support given to infantry men from 1945.

A

Merlin helicopter could carry 45 troops and armoured vehicles.

Gave support that cavalry used to: scouting and also carried guns

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23
Q

Artillery and bombing from 1945

A

-Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles could fire 5,500km
-Stealth bombers hard to identify on radar
-dumb bombs with error interval of 100m vs guided bomb with 10m
-Drones to drop bombs

24
use of Satellites
Iraq war 2003: locate enemy troops predict weather photograph damages communication between troops
25
What was Revolution in Military Affairs
Commanders used surveillance and information to coordinate with armies whilst they were in HQs
26
What was assymetric warfare
One side is more advanced than the other reasons: COST: only wealthy countries could be well armed MAD: could only attack weaker countries less powerful would often use guerilla warfare
27
WW1: how many people signed up to join the army before conscription
7000/week
28
WW1: when was conscription introduced and to who
1916 Military Service Act meant 18-41 yr old enlisted. 1916-18, 3.5mill were conscripted
29
WW2: conscription difference to WW1
included women who could help in other ways such as munitions factories
30
Attitudes towards Conscientious Objectors
CO had to justify reasons infront of military court. Most failed/were imprisoned and others took non fighting roles WW1: objectors treated harshly. Very few objections accepted WW2: CO teachers sacked. 3000 objections accepted
31
Conscientious objectors in WW1 and 2
WW1: 16,600 objectors WW2: 60,000 objectors
32
Training of conscripted troops after WW2
men 18-21 had to complete 18 months of training and service then spend 4 years in reserve
33
Current British professional armed forces
150,000 total standing army -recruits join for 4 years -basic training for 14 weeks -salaries up to £100,000
34
Impact of war on civilians who enlist
WW1: 700,000 killed WW2: 450,000 killed
35
Impact of war on civilians who didnt enlist
40,000 killed in the blitz 200,000 in hiroshima
36
Fighting on the home front groups in WW2
Home Guard: joined by 1.6mill. Protect Britian from invasion Civil defence: 1.4mill enlisted. Combined air raid wardens and firefighters
37
How civilian lives were affected by Warfare
Rationing: started in 1917 because of Britain only having 6 weeks of supplies left Failure to ration can be seen in germany where 750,000 starved Homelessness: Blitz: 1.5mill displaces Loss of Freedom: Defence of the Realm Act banned basic activities eg purchasing binoculats During WWs the government decided everyone's jobs Fear of Nuclear War: booklets like "protect and survive" distributed in 1980
38
war reporting in warfare
1914: 5 selected journalists could visit front lines Iraq war 2003: 500 embedded among troops
39
What lead to increase of war reporting?
Advancements to technology: in 1900 reporters used couriers and electric telegraphs - unreliable. After 1900: Sattellite links, internet made easy for anyone to report
40
Examples of censorship
Newspapers "self-censored" as it was believed to be patriotic WW1: 10,000 men hired to read and censor soldier's letters home Newspapers eg The Tribunal that criticised the war were shut down several times
41
Limitations of censorship now
Everyone can report Eg Iraq viewers told about bombing of Banghdad before war even announced
42
Propaganda in WW1 vs WW2
WW1: government posters and patriotic films eg "The Battle of Somme" shown in 2000 cinemas in 1916 WW2: Radio stations put positive slant on events of war
43
Attitudes in society towards warfare throughout the period
early 1900s saw strong jingoism eg 30k enlistments a day in Sept 1914 Since 1945, support for wars declined eg 1 million marched in London as protestors to Iraq war
44
What caused attitudes in society to shift against warfare since 1945
Increase in reporting Cost was large, people believed this cost should be spent on other things Human cost was larger
45
How did attitudes in society alter how war was fought?
1945: Hiroshima bombing aimed to maximise casualties 2003: drone strikes to minimise casualties
46
WESTERN FRONT AND BATTLE OF SOMME 1916 trench conditions
trench foot, dysentry, lack of sleep
47
WESTERN FRONT AND BATTLE OF SOMME 1916 Haig's preparation for main assault
1) Royal Flying Corps shot down German observation balloons 2) 40 gas attacks on German trenches 3) seven day 1.7 million artillery shell bombardment
48
WESTERN FRONT AND BATTLE OF SOMME 1916 main assault
****1)120k infantry run through front lines with heavy backpacks. Creeping barrage of shells fired in front of them 2)german defences remained intact and killed 20,000 soldiers and wounded 40,000 | GERMANS USED BERGMANRIFLE 500RPM SUBMACHJINE GUN
49
WESTERN FRONT AND BATTLE OF SOMME 1916 outcome
600,000 Allied troops lost 500,000 German troops lost
50
WESTERN FRONT AND BATTLE OF SOMME 1916 reasons for outcome
-german trenches were strong -barbed wire slowed down infantry advance - Artillery barrage removed any element of suprise -30% of shells didnt explode -Tanks scattered and used ineffectively
51
WESTERN FRONT AND BATTLE OF SOMME 1916 Haig's role
.-Failed to learn from earlier massed attack >most generals thought massed attacks would work eventually and Haig was under pressure to regain lost land -Used new weapons like tanks badly >Haig succeeded in stopping German assault at Verdun >new weapons not effective yet -Ignored advice of Rawlinson who said new tactics were needed
52
IRAQ WAR 2003 Coalition strategy UK and US
shock and awe >overwhelm enemy military forces
53
IRAQ WAR 2003 high tech weaponry and surveillance used
F117 Stealth fighter bombers undetectable by radar Paveway bombs: guided by laser. 60% missed their target Storm shadows: missiles guided by an operator Challenger tanks: destroyed 14 Iraq tanks in one day Drones: unmanned planes Satellites: interrupt Iraq communications, surveillance and guided smart bombs SATNET 4 main UK network over Iraq, upgraded for 2.5 billion
54
IRAQ WAR 2003 What was the main attack an example of ?
asymmetric warfare: Coalition had : Better weapons - Challenger tank couldnt be pierced by Iraqi tanks Coalition planes to fast or undetected to be hit by Iraqi anti aircraft missiles More money to spend - $51billion in 1 year
55
CNN effect
power of media to influence attitude, government policy and military strategy
56
Military Service Act 1916
Conscription for unmarried men 18-41 1/4 of male population enlisted
57
National Service Act 1939
Conscripted men and women for special jobs eg spying
58
when was National Service introduced and what was it
1948 - peactime conscription to maintain strong army -18 months training, 4 years in reserve

Warfare Through Time 1250-present (5 decks)

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