Changing Nature of Warfare Notes Section 1 1914-1939

Question 1

how was aerial warfare used in ww1?

Answer 1

Changes in the purpose of aeroplanes:
-initially, only used for reconnaissance as the field was still underdeveloped. However, by 1918 different aircrafts such as fighter planes and bombers had been developed

Question 2

use of zeppelins

Answer 2

Zeppelins:
These were developed by the Germans to be used as bombers and were first used against British towns in early 1915. (Germany wanted Britain to be forced out of the war). The main impact was that the British civilians felt directly under threat from the enemy. (N.B Scarborough)

Question 3

issues with zeppelines in world war 1

Answer 3

Issues with Zeppelins:
They could not carry enough bombs to cause serious damage i.e they were inefficient
Flammable, easily shot down and could not withstand bad weather. (7 were lost to bad weather, 38 were lost in accidents)
British response to Zeppelins was very effective: British fighter planes were pulled back to defend. Explosive bullets were used to set hydrogen on fire

Question 4

consequences of the use of zeppelines in world war 1

Answer 4

Consequences:

Short Term:
British responded by developing the HANDLEY PAGE which was capable of bombing Berlin
Anti-aircraft fire
Interceptors

Long Term:
Showed the potential for using aircraft to bomb behind enemy line and cause psychological damage.

Question 5

development of zeppelines due to their problems and subsequent uses

Answer 5

DEVELOPMENT: This led to the development of German Gotha bomber planes-
They were much faster than Zeppelins
They could carry more bombs
They were more manoeuvrable and harder to hit and spot

Use:
Carried out raids in Britain, especially London. (19th May 1918, 38 Gothas bombed London. 6 were shot down by interceptors.
Limited to tactical raids on the Western Front

Question 6

uses of fighter planes in ww1 and cause for this development

Answer 6

Fighter Planes:

Cause: Germans wanted to develop an aircraft which could be used in active combat
They developed a plane in which a machine gun could fire between the propeller blades . This turned aircrafts into fighting machines.

Use:
Fighters were used to attack trenches and support offensives by both sides.
(Red Baron famous German pilot shot down 80 enemy planes)

Question 7

causes for the development of monoplanes and where they were first used

Answer 7

Development of the Monoplane: (East Asia and Abyssinia)

Cause:

• Previously planes had had two or even three wings which made them slower and harder to manoeuvre.
• Wanted to be able to attack civilian populations (Nanjing and Harbin)

Development:
-It was faster and more manoeuvrable used by the Japanese to invade Manchuria in 1931.

Question 8

development of civilian bombing causes and first use

Answer 8

Development of the use of Air warfare for civilian bombing:

Cause:
-During world war 1 airplanes were mainly used for reconnaissance and bombers had been primarily in use for bombing enemy lines on the battlefield. Gotha Raids by the Germans proved the effectivity of civilian bombing into scaring the population into submission.

Use:
-Italians invaded Abyssinia in 1935 and launched offensives mainly against the towns of Harar and Jijiga; neither of which were of any military or strategic importance.
-They used bombs purely to spread distress and panic- there were approximately 1000s of casualties overall
Consequently, Mussolini also authorised the use of chemical weapons in from of mustard gas to be dropped from aeroplanes causing a total of 100 000 casualties

Question 9

use of sea warfare in world war 1 by British

Answer 9

World War 1 : British had strong navy due to naval race and were eager to use it

• Long range blockade of Germany and German army
  ports blocked so no import or export of food etc.
• By 1915 German imports were only 55% of pre war levels
• By 1915 German government blamed blockade for 763 000 civilian deaths due to starvation

Question 10

german response to british naval tactics

Answer 10

Development: try to break naval blockade

When: Germans in May 1916 battle of Jutland
How: Germans use a major surface sea battle to try to break blockade but were not strong enough and had to flee the battle

However British fleet had suffered major losses

Question 11

development of submarine: cause, use and success

Answer 11

—> development: Submarines

Cause: British controlled surface so Germans are forced to use different methods of sea warfare

Use:

• Tried to starve Britain out of a war by sinking trading ships traveling to Britain
• Unrestricted submarine Warfare - civilians are also killed not just merchant ship
• > sinking of Lusitania ( an ocean liner passenger ship) led 1.250 casualties and made German submarine warfare very controversial

Success:

• By June 1917 Britain has lost 500 000 tons of shipping to U-boots
• At one point estimated London only and 6 weeks of supplies left

Question 12

4 british responses to submarines

Answer 12

British Developments

Q-boats - first used in 1915, looked like harmless merchant ships but carried powerful hidden guns which shelled surfacing u-boots, by 1918 200 Q-ships had sunk 14 U-boats at the cost of 27 Q-boats —> German U-boats stop surfacing

Convoy system - introduced in May 1917, merchant ships travelled in large numbers with protection of naval destroyers. By June 1918 16 500 ships had sailed in convoys and only 154 were torpedoed + the u-boats were easier to sink

Raids on U-boat bases - in 1918 Britain tried to block of the U-boat bases at Ostend and Zeebrugge by sinking block ships at the harbour entrance, the two attacks had limited success and did not complete block of the port

Hydrophones - destroyers and other ships were fitted with these or listening devices. An operator with headphones could hear a nearby submarine engine, very successful with convoy systems however not always effective in detecting U-boats

Question 13

trench warfare in world war 1 cause

Answer 13

World war 1: trench warfare - aim is to push enemy’s front line back

Cause: the Germans schlieffen plan ( idea is to send troops through Belgium and quickly knock out France within six weeks while Russia took time to mobilise) didn’t work

• Germans were slowed down by Belgian army and didn’t reach Paris in six weeks
• French were beaten in Alsace-Lorraine but held out at the battle of marne
• Russia moved more quickly than expected so German army was split in two

Question 14

race to the sea

Answer 14

race to sea:

both sides wanted to get to the sea to be able to either go around the enemy line formed in France or get control of the naval ports to bring supplies. Thus the trenches were established as they made their way down to the sea —> stalemate as unable to break enemy lines

Question 15

use of artillery in ww1

Answer 15

artillery ( large calibre guns )

Use : bombardment if enemy trench lines to soften them before an advance
When : battle of the Somme by the British, however ineffective

Question 16

problems with artillery in ww1

Answer 16

Problem

• German trenches were better than British trenches (deeper, concrete lined)(cause: arrived in France first, had more time) so artillery didn’t do much damage and didn’t destroy the barbed wire
• Gave Germans advance warning of British offensive
• Created huge craters in no-man’s land making it increasingly difficult to navigate

Question 17

development due to ineffectiveness of artillery

Answer 17

Development: creeping barrage - artillery bombardment and infantry advance carried on simultaneously, artillery used as a shield for the advance

Question 18

use of gas

Answer 18

Gas ( chlorine and mustard)

when: used by Germans in 1915 in Ypres
Used: chlorine gas caused less than 1,100 deaths, reacts with water in the lungs to create HCl resulting in coughing, irritations or death

Further development: mustard gas in 1917 by the Germans , created blisters and chemical burning on the skin, also damage eyes and respiratory system

Question 19

problems with gas

Answer 19

Development: gas masks provide effective protection

Problems

• Only led to roughly 3 000 deaths ( mostly psychological impacts )
• Both sides developed gas masked which provided effective protection
• Germans ran out of chemicals towards the end of the war

Question 20

use of tanks in ww1

Answer 20

Tanks (heavy armoured vehicles carrying guns, usually moving on a continuous metal track)

When: British in 1916 Battle of the Somme
Used: tried to achieve breakthrough of enemy lines

Question 21

problems with tanks(3) and their developments both by British and Germans

Answer 21

Problems

• Slow
• Liable to breaking down
• Easy targets

Developments: battering ram

when: Cambrai November 1917
Used: as a battering ram but also to provide psychological boost to British soldiers
successful in breaking German line

Development: German response to tanks

• Armour piercing machine gun bullets
• Adapted field guns to fire at the easy targets that were tanks

Question 22

causes of the development of guerrilla warfare

Answer 22

The engagement in or the activities involved in a war fought by a small group of irregular soldiers against typically larger regular forces.

Causes:

New Technologies: If the enemy army was extremely well equipped with highly technological tanks as well as a large number of aircraft, a smaller army may not be able to defend itself as well if it is a conventional army.

Question 23

spanish civil war why use of guerilla warfare

Answer 23

The Republican government suffered several important defeats, a guerilla campaign became more attractive in fighting against the Fascist Franco in his rebellion.

Lessons learned from WW1: Trench warfare and the idea of a war of attrition meant that huge numbers soldiers were killed and the two sides could easily remain embroiled in conflict for an extensive period of time.

Question 24

strategies used by guerrillas (used by republicans while in government) in Spanish civil war

Answer 24

Strategies were devised as a result:

Secrecy: Guerrillas relied on not being detected and so the guerilla operations organised small groups of around 50 men, who did not wear uniforms

Mobility: Guerrillas moved quickly and stealthily, avoiding detection and therefore striking far behind enemy lines.

Strategy:

• Guerrillas would attack soft targets such as supply dumps, railway line and airfields and avoid confrontations with well-armed opponents they were likely to lose.
• However, after 1939, the Republican forces were forced to flee or retreated into rural areas. New armed groups formed a ‘resistance’ but there was a lack of communication between groups.
• Some were simply bandits kidnapping and exporting where others attacked police patrols and isolated army posts.

Support of the Local Population: This was essential for a successful guerrilla campaign however, they lacked sufficient support due to Nationalist reprisals or because they supported Franco.

Question 25

counterinsurgency tactics and developments use by nationalists against republicans (4)

Answer 25

Consequently, counter-insurgency strategies were devised by the Nationalists:

• Aircraft: was used to counter the Guerillas as the Nationalists used in the Aran valley. This was key to victory as it was used to bomb large towns into submission.
• The use of mass killing: created fear, and sometimes led to prisoners confessing, or to the population betraying the Guerillas.
• Fortifications: this was an expensive but effective way to protect the ‘soft targets’ from Guerillas.
• Terror: This weakened the link between the guerilla units and the populations they relied on from support. (Most crucial factor in a successful guerilla campaign.

Question 26

causes of failure of the republican guerrilla campaign(4)

Answer 26

Causes of the failure of the Republican guerrilla campaign:

• Lack of sufficient support of population
• Counter-insurgency tactics
• Little international support from the USSR
• When the capital was besieged by the Nationalists, it was increasingly difficult for the Republicans to support their guerilla units.