First World War - Depth Flashcards
Causes of the FWW?
- Schlieffen Plan
- German militarisation
- Balkan War
When is the Mons?
August 1914
Mons statistics
Sir John French - 2 corps
80k men
300 guns
1600 BEF casualties
Alexander Von Kluck - 4 corps
600 guns
2000-5000 casualties
Describe the mons
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
What weapon was used at the Mons effectively?
G. on offensive - Vicker Machine Guns (B) have devastating effect
When is the Marne?
September 1914
Marne statistics
1 million allies
250k French dead
13k British died
1.5 million Germans
250k casualties
40k surrender
What happened at the Marne?
‘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
Impact of the Marne
Schlieffen plan failed
Precedent for scale and attritional style
Sparks the race to the sea to dig in and outflank enemy
When is the race to the sea?
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
When is the 1st Battle of Ypres?
19 October - 22 November 1914
4 1/2 weeks
1st Battle of Ypres stats
Allies
4.4 million men
58k British losses
85k Belgian
Germans
5.4 million
47k losses
What happened at the 1st Ypres?
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
Impact of 1st battle of Ypres?
Futility, grim morale as early as 1914
BEF largely die - need more recruits
Germany begin to expand on their technology to outflank the British
When is the 2nd battle of Ypres
22 April - 25 May 1915
2nd Battle of Ypres statistics
Allies
8 allied divisions (6B, 2F)
60k losses
Germans
7 divisions
35k losses
What happens at the 2nd Battle of Ypres?
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
Impact of 2nd Battle of Ypres
Dehumanisation of warfare
Pressure on British to attack on next battle = Loos loss
July 1915, gas masks become standard issue
When is the Battle of Loos?
September-October 1915
Battle of Loos stats
Allies
6 divisions
60k losses
Germans
3 divisons
26k losses
What happens at Loos?
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)
What changes regarding recruitment at Loos?
First battle for Kitchener’s New Army (volunteers) - TA & BEF dead
Impact of the battle of Loos
British underproduction in newspapers allowed to bypass censorship to scare the public/businesses into working
What are the changes from David Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions?
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
When is the battle of Verdun?
February-December 1916
What happens at Verdun?
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
How does recruitment for the army change in 1916?
January 1916 - conscription introduced
What is the impact of conscription on the Somme?
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
How did the growth of the BEF effect the Somme offensive?
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
How did reconnaissance impact the Somme offensive?
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
When is the battle of the Somme?
1 July - 18 November 1916
What are the stats for the battle of the Somme?
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
What is the impact of the Somme on German men?
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
