Chapter 3 - Schlieffen Plan & Deadlock Flashcards
Why did the Schlieffen Plan fail?
1) Battle of Mons 23-24 August - slowed German Advance
2) Collapse of Plan 17 - French Failed but slowed Germans
3) Russia mobilised faster than expected - German Troops were split
4) Battle of the Marne 5-11 September - Germans were not strong enough to take Paris and clashed with the French troops by the river Marne.
Why was there Deadlock on the Western Front?
- Failure of the Schlieffen Plan
- Trenches were difficult to attack
- Ineffective weapons especially in attacks
- The geography = lots of mud = difficult to advance
- Lack of new tactics / old generals
What was life like in the Trenches?
- Very little happening = boredom
- Routine Work
- Censored Field Postcards
- Dirt/ mud = soldiers drowned
- ‘Trench Foot’
- Diseases
- Lice
- Constant fear of death
- Poor Food
New Weapons and Methods
- Aircrafts
- Dog Fights
- Machine Guns
- Artillery
- Gas
- Tanks
Importance of Aircrafts and Dog Fights in WW1
- Observations and as the ‘eyes’ of their armies
- Reported on troop movement, trench systems and ammunition dumps
- Dropped bombs out the side of the cockpits
- Fights between aircrafts over the Western Front
Role of Machine Guns
- Easy Targets for the Machine Guns when going over the Western Front
- Most effective Weapon
- Development throughout the course to make them lighter and more reliable weapons
- Only added to the stalemate
Role of Artillery
Mobile Field Guns
6 Shells a minute
Fairly accurate
‘Big Bertha’ - 108kg shell to 132 km
Could not break barbed wire
So they were developed to explode parallel to the ground = Fuse 106
Role of Gas
Used as weapon of fear
Cause the suffocation and blinding of hundreds of soldiers
It was an unreliable weapon
If it was damp the gas travelled at a low level
It could easily/quickly change direction
Gas alarms didn’t go off fast enough
Role of Tanks
Could cover difficult ground
Smashed through trench lines
Germans were slow to produce their own ones
Why was the attack that caused the battle of the Somme launched?
Germans had tried to capture Verdun but failed still causing 540,000 casualties
What did the attack of the battle of the Somme entail?
A full scale attack along the river Somme in summer 1916
Why were the French not able to take part in the Battle of the Somme in the same way that they thought?
They had suffered huge losses when defending Verdun and they still were by the Summer. Therefore it was now the Somme Offensive to push through the Germans defence lines away from Verdun
Germany observed the British for a long time doing what before the Somme Offensive (which lead to the Battle of the Somme)?
Constructing new roads and railway lines
Watched the arrival of soldiers with guns, ammunition and supplies
Why were the Germans not taken off guard about when the Somme Bombardments started?
They had been watching the British place everything together for the offensive so when the artillery attack began they moved back into their special trenches which were 12m>
What was the mistake made when the British started the attack on the Somme?
It was assumed that the Germans on the frontline had all been killed so the soldiers were sent over no-mans land with 30kg of equipment while advancing slowly.
