First World War - Depth

Question 1

Causes of the FWW?

Answer 1

1. Schlieffen Plan
2. German militarisation
3. Balkan War

Question 2

When is the Mons?

Answer 2

August 1914

Question 3

Mons statistics

Answer 3

Sir John French - 2 corps
80k men
300 guns
1600 BEF casualties

Alexander Von Kluck - 4 corps
600 guns
2000-5000 casualties

Question 4

Describe the mons

Answer 4

Open warfare
Proof of the effectiveness of the Haldane reforms
First major BEF action - outshine enemies
Aim to slow Germans down by tactically withdrawing to defend Paris
BEF bravery and resistance despite being outnumbered while Germany had expected a substandard British Army

Question 5

What weapon was used at the Mons effectively?

Answer 5

G. on offensive - Vicker Machine Guns (B) have devastating effect

Question 6

When is the Marne?

Answer 6

September 1914

Question 7

Marne statistics

Answer 7

1 million allies
250k French dead
13k British died

1.5 million Germans
250k casualties
40k surrender

Question 8

What happened at the Marne?

Answer 8

‘The miracle of the Marne’ - Battle of Frontiers
Counter-offensive to halt rapid German advance
Russia mobilised, and to prevent a two front war, G must defeat B+F in days
Allied assault
John French was hesitant to attack and cautious due to amount of casualties but Joseph Geoffrey (F) overruled him and the B army voted to join
Germans completely outflanked - almost completely encircled, devastating damage

Question 9

Impact of the Marne

Answer 9

Schlieffen plan failed
Precedent for scale and attritional style
Sparks the race to the sea to dig in and outflank enemy

Question 10

When is the race to the sea?

Answer 10

September-October 1914
Each side must refrain from being outflanked
Series of battles lead towards the sea
Germany reach Northern tip of Belgium first and dig in
Choose highest strategic land - advantage in visibility, flooding, reconnaissance
When Britain construct their trenches, they are shot at/shelled/attacked
B trenches are initially basic while G trenches develop virtually untouched

Question 11

When is the 1st Battle of Ypres?

Answer 11

19 October - 22 November 1914
4 1/2 weeks

Question 12

1st Battle of Ypres stats

Answer 12

Allies
4.4 million men
58k British losses
85k Belgian

Germans
5.4 million
47k losses

Question 13

What happened at the 1st Ypres?

Answer 13

Flanders campaign
Attrition / stalemate
TA brought in - colonial troops mobilised (1.5 million Indians)
Critical point of the Ypres Salient for allied defence
Epitomised stalemate as neither side made any ground despite huge ground attacks due to the incredibly defensive use of artillery and machine guns

Question 14

Impact of 1st battle of Ypres?

Answer 14

Futility, grim morale as early as 1914
BEF largely die - need more recruits
Germany begin to expand on their technology to outflank the British

Question 15

When is the 2nd battle of Ypres

Answer 15

22 April - 25 May 1915

Question 16

2nd Battle of Ypres statistics

Answer 16

Allies
8 allied divisions (6B, 2F)
60k losses

Germans
7 divisions
35k losses

Question 17

What happens at the 2nd Battle of Ypres?

Answer 17

Second German attempt to capture Ypres
Germans use 171 tonnes of Chlorine gas - devastating impact, many troops died within 10 minutes or were blinded
Germany made a breakthrough out of desperation but did not have gas masks themselves to effectively utilise this development

Question 18

Impact of 2nd Battle of Ypres

Answer 18

Dehumanisation of warfare
Pressure on British to attack on next battle = Loos loss
July 1915, gas masks become standard issue

Question 19

When is the Battle of Loos?

Answer 19

September-October 1915

Question 20

Battle of Loos stats

Answer 20

Allies
6 divisions
60k losses

Germans
3 divisons
26k losses

Question 21

What happens at Loos?

Answer 21

Definitive British failure
British attempt to restore movement
Britain respond with phosphene gas - windy day = blown back
Britain use tunnelling/mining - under trenches as part of combined arms - no radio causes complications

British underproduction = shells not enough damage over German artillery = many shells did not go off yet as the British did not realise how well defended the Germans were on higher ground
John French sends men to charge over NML - scapegoated and Haig instilled
German combined arms is superior
British use aircraft for attacking for the first time (RFC)

Question 22

What changes regarding recruitment at Loos?

Answer 22

First battle for Kitchener’s New Army (volunteers) - TA & BEF dead

Question 23

Impact of the battle of Loos

Answer 23

British underproduction in newspapers allowed to bypass censorship to scare the public/businesses into working

Question 24

What are the changes from David Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions?

Answer 24

1915-1916 after Loos failure
Overhaul of war organisation
Before, weapons companies were private - deliberately had small quantities to drive prices up
DLG nationalises weapons manufactoring so munitions cannot be withheld
Introduces daylight savings and other changes under DORA
Production increased considerably from 31k shells a month to 2 million

Question 25

When is the battle of Verdun?

Answer 25

February-December 1916

Question 26

What happens at Verdun?

Answer 26

Integral French point where all German efforts were concentrated in February If G outflank, they can enter France easily Petain begs Britain to conduct a diversionary attack Haig begins the offensive on the Somme River to relieve pressure on Verdun Wanted to keep forces in Ypres cautiously but had no choice

Question 27

How does recruitment for the army change in 1916?

Answer 27

January 1916 - conscription introduced

Question 28

What is the impact of conscription on the Somme?

Answer 28

Haig rushed into the Somme offensive but worried about British prep - men had not had enough time to prepare, lacked basic training and insufficient shells for artillery Morale high due to propaganda Fuse 106 not fully implemented - most shells fragmentation shells

Question 29

How did the growth of the BEF effect the Somme offensive?

Answer 29

BEF enormously grown in size since the war began = significant equipment shortages in the ranks + not enough officers to adequately command the volume of troops They promoted inexperienced men and called back old veterens

Question 30

How did reconnaissance impact the Somme offensive?

Answer 30

Extensive reconnaissance of the Somme battlefield with over 300,000 aerial photographs Allied command pinpointed the areas they felt provided the best opportunity for success

Question 31

When is the battle of the Somme?

Answer 31

1 July - 18 November 1916

Question 32

What are the stats for the battle of the Somme?

Answer 32

Allied 50 British divisions (3 million men) 48 French divisions Germans 50 divisions First day = worst losses suffered in British military history 20k men dead, 57k casualties, Total 400k casualties, 95k dead Over 1 million losses from both sides Pal's battalions suffered extreme losses

Question 33

What is the impact of the Somme on German men?

Answer 33

Britain had a stream of conscripts/volunteers, the Germans struggled to replace the quantity of the men or quality of the 500k men lost at the battle