Part Two: The First World War: Stalemate

Question 1

Who proposed the Schlieffen plan

Answer 1

General Van schlieffen the main adviser to Kaiser Wilhelm

Question 2

Cause of schlieffen plan

Answer 2

‘Ring of steel’- German belief that she was surrounded by the hostile Triple Entente and might be attacked

Question 3

What was the schlieffen plan

Answer 3

Avoid war on 2 fronts
Invade France by going through Belgium(avoid French forts on border)
Surround Paris
Remaining 10% would defend the eastern border of Germany against Russian attack
Planned to use 90% of German military forces to deliver a knock out blow to france

Question 4

Assumption about the Schlieffen plan

Answer 4

Belgium would not resist any German attack
France would be easily defeated in 6 weeks
Britain would be neutral
Russia would take at least 6 weeks to mobilise

Question 5

Reality of the Schlieffen plan

Answer 5

Russia mobilised in 10 days and Germany was forced to with draw troops from Belgium to defend her eastern border. The Germans were held up by the Bef (British expeditionary forces) which quickly arrived.
German forces were met by France and the British at the battle of the Marne(5-11 sept) which halted the German advance

Question 6

Tanks

Answer 6

British created the Tank
Used to get soldiers over no man’s land to get through barbed wire
Their speed and mechanical unreliability meant that the tank was not a war winner.
Went into action for the first time in 1916

Question 7

What does the word tank means

Answer 7

A code which suggested that the vehicle were innocent water tanks

Question 8

Guns

Answer 8

8 shots per second
Had use rifle, machine guns and artillery meant that trenches were only way to survive on the battlefield. Guns attached to dugout that were 10 meters deep; guns had no effect
End of the war the standard heavy howitzer guns fired shell weighing over 100 pounds at a range of more than 14,000 yards

Question 9

Barbed wire

Answer 9

Slow down enemies and provides more time for defenders to kill their enemies before they could get close

Question 10

Tunnels

Answer 10

Provides protection for men waiting to go to battle
Both sides initially used mines as a means of placing explosives charges over enemy defences

Question 11

Mortar

Answer 11

Mortar shells were often inaccurate and had a limited range compared to other artillery.
In 1915 the mortar was capable of firing a much larger bomb from a short stubbly barrels. Weapons destroyed wire and penetrate dug out

Question 12

Grenades

Answer 12

By 1915 all armies had these weapons. Some were capable of being tried from a rifle, which added to the range and the effect.

Question 13

Gas

Answer 13

I’m April 1915. German released chlorine gas from cylinders, which drifted with wind into allied trenches. Hundred of allied shoulders died and some fought with handkerchiefs. 5 months at Loos in France the British retaliated

Question 14

Dugout

Answer 14

Used as a place to rest and try to get some sleep

Question 15

Fire step

Answer 15

Allow soldiers to peak over trenches to shoot the enemies

Question 16

Sandbags

Answer 16

Placed in trenches to stop bullets and explosions

Question 17

Ammunition shelf

Answer 17

Soldiers will store ammunition

Question 18

Duckboards

Answer 18

Placed over the floor of the trenches to avoid flooding

Question 19

Elbow test

Answer 19

Help to steady soldiers shooting at enemies

Question 20

Planes

Answer 20

Recent invention when WW1 broke out
First use to deliver bombs and spy
In 1914 they were primitive unreliable highly dangerous and losses were very high
Fights between 2 planes called a “dog fight”
Not until 1915 that planes were successfully fitted with machine guns
Example France had only 140 aircraft in beginning but at the end of the war had 4,500

Question 21

Stalemate

Answer 21

Any position or situation in which no action can be taken or progress made

Question 22

When did the Battle of the Marne happen

Answer 22

September 1914
Broke out mainly between French soldiers with support of the British soldiers against Germany

Question 23

Cause of the Marne

Answer 23

At this time Germany had to pull out 100,00 troops from France to send to Russia, they were struggling to keep their troops supplied with food + equipment.
German army was weary and overstretched, whilst the French were fighting to save their country, with fresh troops

Question 24

Conflict Battle of the Marne

Answer 24

British + French forces managed to stop the German advance and push them back to the River Aisne, but allies couldn’t drive Germany out of France completely.
Neither side could make any progress so on 8th sept 1914 both sides were digging trenches for protection- it went from a war of mobility(movement) to immobility (stalemate)

Question 25

Consequence of the Marne

Answer 25

Germany realised they couldn’t break through so tried to outflank (move around and out wit) the allies - known as ‘the race to the sea.’
As the Germans charged towards the sea, Britain +. France moved troops every time to block them- the Schlieffen plan had completely failed. Trench warfare had begun

Question 26

When was the Battle of Verdun

Answer 26

February 21st 1916 the Germans began a determined battle to capture strategic French forts around Verdun

Question 27

Cause of the Battle of Verdun

Answer 27

Germans realised that the French were leading the allied war effort at this stage. Commander Falkenhayn hatched plan
Attrition(wear down the enemies strength until resilience was no longer possible)-‘Bleed France White’

Question 28

Was Verdun salient

Answer 28

Yes it is a area of land that can be attacked from multiple sides

Question 29

Conflict of Verdun

Answer 29

140,000 German troops started the attack
1,200 artillery guns targeted 2,500,000 shells at Verdun region
Germany had air supremacy with 168 pounds located in the area
February 21st 1000 German artillery guns fired on a six mile line along french front
German tactics failed
Roughly equals terrible losses
6 months both sides poured men had fallen
Weakened both sides
French at breaking point

Question 30

Consequence of Verdun

Answer 30

In July kaiser frustrated at verdun removed falkenhayn sent him to command 9th army- Paul Von Hisburg too his place
During last 3 days of battle 11,000 German prisoners were taken till Hindersburg called a stop to the German attack.
Most savagely fought battle in World War 1
Germans fire Two mill shells in eight hour bombardment
Longest battle
800,000 soldiers dead
France emerged a victory

Question 31

What was the Somme plan supposed to be

Answer 31

A joint attack Britain and France but France was under pressure in Verdun. Haig wanted to delay but France insisted so the attacked

Question 32

What was the plan of The Somme

Answer 32

Attack beginning with a week long artillery bombardment of the German frontline bro destroy defences
After Infatry would then take hold of Herman position closely followed by a charge of cavalry who would sweep through breaking the enemy line in two
General Haig claimed, ‘not even a ray would be alive at the end of it’

Question 33

Reality of the Somme

Answer 33

Week-long bombardment actually warned the Germans when the attack was coming. Provided them plenty of time to prepare
German dugout heavily defended and well built so able to hide underground until the infantry attack started
Some British artillery shells failed to explode and some German defences hadn’t been touched

Question 34

When did the Battle of The Somme start

Answer 34

Attack start 7:30 on 1st of July 1917 wave after wave men were mown down by the enemy

Question 35

Outcomes of the Somme

Answer 35

Approximately 600,000 men were either killed or wounded at the end of the first day
French attacked German weaker defences and were successful but without the British unable to hold on
By the time Haig called off the attack on 18th November, more than 450,000 British, 200,000 French and 650,000 soldiers had been slaughtered
After 5 months of fighting the allies had advanced a distance of no more than five miles

Question 36

Conflict at The battle of Vimmy Ridge

Answer 36

Began at 5:30 am 9 April 1917
The first wave of 15,000-20,000 Canadians soldiers sleet into the face of deadly machine gun fire
Advanced behind a creeping barrage
Allowed them to capture German positions in critical moments
Most of the heavily ridge was captured by noon

Question 37

Outcomes of Vimy Ridge

Answer 37

The battle over in a matter of days
A great success 100,00 Canadians and 10,600 casualties nearly 3,600 were fatal

Question 38

Battle of Messines

Answer 38

June 7- 14 1917
High explosives mines were placed under the German lines were used to devastating effect explosion heard in London some 130 miles(209km) distant
General Sir Herbert Plummer secondary army completed army completed nineteen mines containing around one mil pounds of high explosives. Bite and hold applied

Question 39

Outcomes of Messines

Answer 39

British sustained 17,000 casualties of 216,000 whilst Germany 25,000 of 126,000
British hood Messines ridge and took 7,000 prisoners
Up British morale as it proved brits could win

Question 40

Bite and Hold

Answer 40

New tactics
They could for short advances supported by massive amounts of artillery

Question 41

Creeping Artillery

Answer 41

Shooting artillery directly in front of your own troops as they advance

Question 42

When was the Battle of Cambrai

Answer 42

November 1917

Question 43

Conflict of Battle of Cambrai

Answer 43

First mass use of tanks in any conflict. 376 tanks used. Great success against the Germans. But the Calvary exploitation was slow to develop and although more gains were made in the next nine days, German reserves halted the attack. Tanks prove very successful but Britain loses it gains.

Question 44

Outcomes of Cambrai

Answer 44

The British gain land but quickly lose it. Proves how effect tanks are. First time Blitzkrieg can help on counter attacks

Question 45

Cause of Passchendaele

Answer 45

Passchendaele was Sir Douglas Haig’s attempt to break through Flanders
Aim to breakthrough of the coast of Belgium so that German submarine pens could be destroyed. Admiral Jellicoe had already advised both Haig and the British government that the loss of shipping (primarily merchant) could not be sustained and that Britain would face severe problems in 1918 it such losses continued.
Haig also believed German morale to be low

Question 46

Conflict of Passchendaele

Answer 46

Start like the Somme
On July 18th 1917 a heavy artillery barrage was launched at the German lines. This lasted for 10days. 3,000 artillery guns fired over 4 million shells. Therefore, the German army in the area fully expected a major allied attack - so any vague hope of surprise was lost,as was true in any attack started with major artillery bombardment.
The shell craters made by the allied shelling filled with water and did not allow advancing men the opportunity to hide in them. The fields through which men should have gone became impassable

Question 47

Change in tactics Passchendaele

Answer 47

Haig blamed the lack of progress not on the abnormal weather and the conditions it caused,but on Gough. Haig moved Gough. Put Plummer in charge. Plummer used different tactics than Gough. Plummer used Bite and hold and fought a series of small battles within for example flanders-the battle of menin road bridge. Haig became convinced that German morale was on the verge of collapsing and ordered that the offensive be continued to Passchendaele ridge

Question 48

End of Battle

Answer 48

German soldiers who had been fighting on the Eastern front had been moved to the Western Front specifically moved to Passchendaele Ridge. German used mustard gas. Passchendaele Ridge failed to materialise. Haig would not concede that the attack had not succeeded. On November 6th 1917 pashendaele village was taken and Haig used this success as a a reason for calling off the attack

Question 49

Consequences of Passchendaele

Answer 49

Casualties-British 310,000 German 260000
Haig was criticised for his lack of flexibility but with weather being such a large factor some defended him
Haig was also defended as the fresh German reinforcements from east would be near impossible to account for
British had gained Some ground but the gains were minimal compared to the coast paid