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GCSE History (CONFLICT AND TENSION) > Section 2 > Flashcards

Section 2 Flashcards

1
Q

When did the BEF land in France and meet the German Army?

A

On the 23rd August in Mons.

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2
Q

How did the British scare the Germans when they arrived?

A

The small but well trained force of soldiers gave the Germans a nasty shock.

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3
Q

Who were the troops at Mons led by?

A

Lieutenant General Douglas Haig.

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4
Q

What kind of guns were the BEF using in Mons?

A

Lee Enfield 303 bolt action rifles.

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5
Q

Why was Haig (leader of the troops at Mons) criticised?

A

Because he killed lots of people with his guns.

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6
Q

What did the French do when the war broke out?

A

Launched a direct attack on Germany through Alsace Lorraine.

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7
Q

What were the consequences of the French’s direct attack on Alsace-Lorraine?

A

They lost over 200,000 men in 12 days and regrouped their forces to defend Paris from the advancing Germans.

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8
Q

When did the Battle of Marne happen?

A

September 1914.

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9
Q

What did the Germans do when the Russians had got their armies ready quicker than they thought?

A

Von Kluck decides to advance straight towards Paris.

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10
Q

What did German supreme commander Moltke do?

A

He pulled 100,000 troops out of army in Paris because Russia had invaded Germany.

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11
Q

How did the French divert troops to Paris?

A

By rail and then on the front, some by taxi.

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12
Q

What was the situation like between France and Germany?

A

The French were trying to save their country.

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13
Q

Together, the British and the French soldiers were able to…

A

Stop the German advance along the line of the River Marne. They counter attached and pushed the Germans back to the rusher Alsne.

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14
Q

Were the Germans completely out the country?

A

No - not entirely out of France.

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15
Q

When was the first signs of Stalemate formed?

A

8th September - troops were digging trenches to protect themselves From snipers and shell fire. They even introduced machine guns and barbed wires.

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16
Q

After the battle of the Marne, the German generals realised…

A

That they could not break through the enemy lines. They tried to get round the end of the enemies lines. 12th October - ‘the race of the sea’

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17
Q

When the Germans moved towards the sea, the British and French….

A

Moved troops (by rail) to lock them whenever it seemed that the Germans were about to break through.

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18
Q

Why did Stalemate happen?

A

Because both sides were protecting themselves since the German’s plan failed and both the armies were now evenly matched.

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19
Q

What was the first thing that happened during an Infantry Charge?

A

‘Barrage’ attacker’s artillery bombarded the front line trenches of the enemy.

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20
Q

What was the second thing that happened during an Infantry Charge?What happened during the race?

A

The barrage is done so the attackers climb out he trenches. It’s a rave between attackers and defense. The defenders need to set up machinery guns before attackers got over the barbed wires of no mans land.

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21
Q

What was the third thing that happened during an Infantry Charge?

A

The defenders had the advantage and swept attackers with machinery guns which sometimes set up a cross fire.

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22
Q

What was the fourth and final thing that happened during an Infantry Charge?

A

If the attackers did capture forward positions, they had to hold them.

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23
Q

What were the chances of the attackers capturing a forward position during an Infantry Charge?

A

Usually impossible , they were forced back to their original positions.

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24
Q

What was an Infantry Charge?

A

An attack using soldiers on foot rather than cavalry.

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25
What was introduced in 1916 as the war went on?
Steel helmets which gave protection against shrapnel from enemy shelling - was standard equipment.
26
What new tactics were in introduced as the war went on? (3)
Camouflage techniques, has masks and infantry/artillary attacks were more synchronised.
27
What jobs did Infantry Soldiers have? (3)
Digging or repairing trenches, carted supplies and equipment up and down communication trenches and spent long hours on sentry duty or secret listening posts in enemy trenches.
28
What were ‘Sappers’ and what were their jobs? (2)
They were ex miners who dug tunnels below enemy trenches and placed huge mines there. Also made patrols to no mans land or raided enemy trenches to capture prisoners or particular positions.
29
Why were trenches so unhygienic?
Millions of men and thousands of horses liver closely.
30
Soldiers were infested with....
Lice or ‘chats’ as they called them.
31
Why was the smell of the trenches so bad in the summer? (3)
Due to rotting corpses, sewage and unwashed soldiers.
32
What was trench foot?
In the wet weather, soldiers spent time putting their ankles or knees in water for hours or days - dirty.
33
What were trenches infested with?
Huge fat ‘corpse rats’ that thrived on dead bodies and rubbish made by armies.
34
What weapon causes the most casualties?
Artillery.
35
What were the 2 main jobs of the Artillery?
1) destroy enemy positions and defences so they can be captured.2) destroy enemy guns.
36
What were Artilleries like at the beginning of the war?
Not very accurate.
37
How did Artilleries change throughout the war?
By 1918 - artillery tactics were more sophisticated.
38
What were the vast part of the European industry doing?
Making shells for artillery.
39
Why did the British performance in the war become more effective after 1916?
Because the British industry were supplying enough guns and shells.
40
Name a artillery tactic and explain what it does:
Creeping barrage - a slowly moving artillary attack which would form a huge pall of smoke and dirt in the air which is a defensive curtain for the Infantry following closely behind.
41
When was the creeping barrage first used and who was it invented by? (Artillery tactic)
Battle of Somme 1916 by the British.Deployed by Sir Henry Horne.
42
Why was the creeping barrage (artillery attack) important?
It was a potential solution to the stalemate although it generally failed over large areas.
43
Why did people think Stalemate happened? Is this right?
Because leaders did not try new tactics - false.
44
Who invented the Tanks?
The British.
45
What happened when the idea of Tanks was first suggested?Who changed this?
Early in the war it was rejected as impractical.Winston Churchill decided it had potential and him and his department funded it.
46
When were Tanks first used? How?
Battle of the Somme 2 years after Winston funded it. Advanced ahead of Infantry and machine guns.
47
How did people react to Tanks?
It raised the morale of the British and caused alarm with the Germans.
48
What was bad about Tanks?
Not reliable or manoeuvrable - more than half broke down before reaching the German trenches.
49
What happened in Cambria?
November 1917 , Tanks were a hug success but Infantry couldn’t keep up.
50
What did the Germans do to Tanks?
1918 - using armour piercing machine gun bullets to shoot Tanks. They never missed because Tanks were large and slow.
51
What was the weapon that people thought caused the most casualties? Was this true?
Machine guns - false.
52
What were machine guns like at the start of the war?
Large and heavy - not useful but effective as defensive weapons.
53
How much bullets could machine guns fire?
8 bullets a second or more.
54
Each trench had...
A number of machine guns.
55
What could a machine gun do during an Infantry Charge?
Cut downs a whole brigade in minutes.
56
When was the machine guns most devastating?
Against the British forces during the Battle of the Somme.
57
Did the British underestimate the machine guns?
Sir Douglas Haig said it was overrated - they were criticised for underestimating it.
58
What did the British establish in 1915?
The ‘Machine Gun Corps’
59
What happened by 1918 with machine guns?
Most platoons has their own machine guns and troops had lightweight sub machine guns.
60
Give a time when machine guns were very effective:
The capture of St Quentin Canal in 1918.
61
What kind of a reputation did Aircrafts gain?
A glam reputation - there was the thrill of flying and being a hero.
62
Countries had brilliant... (aircrafts)
Pilots.
63
What were aeroplanes like by 1914?
Unreliable and dangerous. High death rates especially among new pilots.
64
What were aircrafts specifically used for?
Like observation balloons - speed and mobility meant they were used for reconnaissance work over enemy trenches - very valuable photos.
65
How did ‘dog fights’ emerge? (Aircraft)
Because the enemy aircrafts would be trying to shoot down the reconnaissance flights.
66
What did the pilots use in the early war while they had aircrafts? How did this change?
They used pistols and rifles.April 1915 - planes had machine guns.
67
What became common by 1918 with aircrafts? How did this affect the enemies?
Aerial battles over the western front - slowed down Germans in the German advance in 1918.
68
In the space of 4 years, how did the aircrafts owned by the Royal Naval Service change?
From 37 planes to 23,000.
69
Why was air power more valuable at sea?
Because the aircraft could observe and attack shipping.
70
The first poison gas attack was...
In April 1915.
71
Who was the first Poison gas attack released by?
1915 Germans released chlorine which wafted on the wine across no mans land, soldiers struggled to breathe - become a regular tactic.
72
At first, what was the aim of poison gas attacks?
To disable enemy troops so that your Infantry Charge can steal positions.
73
How did the aims of poison gas attacks change?
Aim to make lethal gas e.g. Mustard Gas would burn, blind or slowly kill victims over 4/5 weeks - evil.
74
How did the British respond to poison gas attacks?
Developed gas masks. As a result, only 3,000 British troops died from this in the whole war.
75
How did poison gas attacks have a physiological impact on people?
They were constantly fearful.
76
Grenades had not been widely used since...
The Napoleonic Era but was reinvented in 1914 for the trenches.
77
Grenades were often...
Handmade - donating of old cans filled with nails and bits of metal and packed with gun powder.
78
Name a dominant British grenade and state who designed it and when:
‘Mills Bomb’ by William Mills in 1915, It was the dominant British grenade.
79
How much grenades did the Germans have?
They were ahead with grenades.70,000 hand grenades.106,000 rifle grenades.
80
What were the 2 ways grenades were detonated:
1) on impact.2) via a timed fuse.
81
How much grenades did the british use at a time?
Up to 24 at a time during an attack.
82
What happened to bombing parties?
Grew in Number and frequency as the war progressed - it formed a major component for the Infantry attack.
83
What did a British bombing party consist of? 9 men...
An officer, 2 throwers, 2 carriers, 2 bayonet men to defend the team and two spare men for when casualties incurred.
84
Explain how Humour was part of a British soldiers life:
It kept up morale - soldiers produced funny newspapers and publications poking fun at the commanders.
85
Explain how Comradeship (friendship) played a part of a British soldier’s life:
Battalions - made up of close friends who joined army together.Allied soldiers came from all over the world, soldiers missed the sense of friendship after the war.
86
Explain how Patriotism was part of a British soldier’s life:
They were all generally patriotic - believed they were there to do a job for their country and it was worth doing well.
87
Explain how soldiers had Comforts:
They received luxuries such as chocolate, regular letters, british forces suffered less disease than other armies, very well fed - gained weight when went in the army.
88
Explain how Adventure was part of a soldier’s life:
Fighting took them to different countries (travelled), men enjoyed the risk, people liked a challenge and war was the ultimate challenge.
89
Explain what Discipline was like in a soldier’s life:
Soldiers who disobeyed orders, fell asleep on sentry duty could be executed.
90
How much British soldiers were punished by the army?
3,080 soldier’s condemned to death.346 sentences actually carried out.
91
Explain how soldiers had leisure time:
60% of the time they were out the trenches. Officers organised hours of duty so that soldiers could rest. Concert party every week, playing football etc.
92
In 1915...
The french, British and Germans all failed to break the stalemate.
93
What happened to the trench early in 1915?
They lost many thousand in an unsuccessful offensive in CHAMPAGNE.
94
What did the British gain in 1915?
Gained some ground at Nueve Chapelle (battle) in March but at a heavy cost.
95
What happened to the Germans in April 1915?
They were drives back from Ypres with heavy losses.
96
What did the Germans do in February 1916? Why?
Began a battle to capture French forts surrounding Verdun - they recognised that the French were leading the allied effort at this stage of the war.
97
What did the German commander come up with in 1916? (Verdun)
Falkenhayn came up with ‘attrition’ which was to wear down the enemy’s strength until resistance was no longer possible. His tactic was to ‘bleed France white’.
98
How did the German leaders tactic ‘attrition’ end with the French? (Verdun)
Failed and both sides suffered equally the same losses. By 1916, 700,000 men had fallen.
99
Germans VS French (Verdun)How were the French holding up?
Held out by summer but in 1916 - were close to breaking as they had suffered huge losses. The Germans had greater resources at this point.

GCSE History (CONFLICT AND TENSION) (2 decks)

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