New Weapons And Technology Flashcards
Name a difference of what armies relied on before WW1 and what armies relied on during WW1
Before WW1, armies had often relied on cavalry(soldiers on horsebacks). At the start of WW1, many new and advanced weapons had developed that would change warfare forever, with devastating effects.
What did developments in technology lead to?
Deadlier weapons on both sides and also stalemate(lack of movement and progress)
Give a brief description of Machine guns
Could fire up to 600 bullets per minute. Heavy and needed 2 people to operate them. Responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers as they tried to cross no man’s land walking toward enemy trenches.
Defence weapon
Give a brief description of Grenades
Millions produced. Soldiers would throw them into enemy trenches when crossing no man’s land to cause explosions
Attack weapon
Give a brief description of gas
Several types were used. Mustard gas caused severe burns and blistering. 4 thousand British soldiers were killed by this.
Chlorine gas had a pepper like smell and caused breathing difficulties. It was less deadly but cause over 150,000 casualties.
Give a brief description of tanks
Used for the first time in the Battle of Somme. Slow, travelling at about 5 miles per hour. Quite unreliable. Many broke down or got stuck in the mud. However, they were good at protecting soldiers from machine gunfire as soldiers could walk behund the tanks across no mans land. Could cut through barbed wire
Give a breif description of planes.
Used for surveillance over enemy lines, could provide valuable information to help army leaders make decisions about where to attack enemy defences or where artillery should be directed. Planes would be used to shoot at targets on the ground. They weren’t capable of carrying heavy bombs. Pilots were usually invloved in dogfights, trying to shoot each other down.
