Strategies and tactics to break stalemate

Question 1

When was Verdun?

Answer 1

February to December 1916

Question 2

Casualties at Verdun?

Answer 2

360,000 French

330,000 German

Question 3

Which weapon was first used at Verdun?

Answer 3

Flamethrowers and phosgene gas

Question 4

What was the strategy at Verdun?

Answer 4

‘Bleed the French white’-strategy of attrition. Deliberate selection of location-great symbolic importance; Falkenhayn correctly predicted French would defend at almost any cost

Question 5

How did Verdun end?

Answer 5

Following capture of Fort Vaux in June, German attempts to gain more ground were unsuccessful; ammunition shortages, artillery unable to stay within range of retreating French. Called off in December

Question 6

When was the Somme?

Answer 6

1st July to November 1916

Question 7

Casualties at the Somme?

Answer 7

620,000 Allied

500,000 German

Question 8

Aim of the Somme?

Answer 8

To relieve pressure on French at Verdun and to achieve breakthrough

Question 9

Gains at the Somme?

Answer 9

8km in some places, less in others

Question 10

How did the Somme commence?

Answer 10

Week long artillery bombardment, 1.7 million shells fired (but many failed to penetrate chalky ground surrounding heavily fortified German trenches, failed to explode)

Question 11

Death toll on the first day of the Somme?

Answer 11

60,000 casualties, 20,000 dead, 60% of officers involved on the first day dead

Question 12

What were British forces ordered to do on the first day of the Somme?

Answer 12

Walk across no man’s land. They were met by machine gun fire

Question 13

When was the first use of tanks?

Answer 13

15th September, Battle of Flers-Courcelette

Question 14

When was Passchendaele?

Answer 14

July-November 1917

Question 15

Casualties at Passchendale?

Answer 15

400,000 British casualties

380,000 German casualties

Question 16

Aim of Passchendaele?

Answer 16

Decisive breakthrough, capture Passchendaele Ridge, then advance to occupied channel ports of Zebrugge and Ostend, from which u-boats were operating

Question 17

How did Passchendaele begin?

Answer 17

Heavy artillery and shelling-4.5 million. Created holes which filled with water due to heavy rain–>mud; extremely difficult for soldiers to advance

Question 18

What happened in early October at Passchendaele?

Answer 18

Heavy rain–>ground became impassable

Question 19

When did Haig call off Passchendaele?

Answer 19

November, after Passchendaele Ridge had been captured

Question 20

What were 4 types of gas commonly used?

Answer 20

Chlorine, mustard, phosgene, prussic acid

Question 21

When was gas first used, and which type?

Answer 21

Chlorine-2nd Battle of Ypres (April 1915)

Question 22

Was the first use of gas successful?

Answer 22

Highly-8k gap opened but gains not exploited

Question 23

What were the casualties due to gas?

Answer 23

91,000 deaths; 1.2 million injured

Question 24

What inhibited the effectiveness of gas as a weapon?

Answer 24

1. Changing wind direction

2. Improvised–>effective gas masks (urine-soaked handkerchief–>rubber gas masks, charcoal filled box respirators)

Question 25

When were tanks first used?

Answer 25

Battle of Flers-Courelette (Somme)

Question 26

What were issues with early tanks?

Answer 26

Slow (6kph), prone to mechanical failure

Question 27

When were tanks first successfully used?

Answer 27

Battle of Cambrai, November 1917 (Mark IV)

Question 28

How were tanks effective as assault weapons by 1918?

Answer 28

Could cross NML, crush barbed wire, carry same amount of equipment as 1000 men

Question 29

What was the creeping barrage, and who was it used by?

Answer 29

British-attempts to protect troops by providing artillery fire as a screen of cover while troops advanced

Question 30

How was the creeping barrage further developed by late 1918?

Answer 30

Brits combined creeping barrage with tanks, planes

Question 31

What was the box barrage, and who was it used by?

Answer 31

British-artillery fire would surround an area creating a safe area where advancing troops could move and retire after raiding a section of enemy trenches

Question 32

What were stormtrooper tactics, and who were they used by?

Answer 32

Germans-elite formations of shock troops armed with light artillery, machine guns

Question 33

When were stormtrooper tactics used?

Answer 33

first used 1916; further developed late in war

Question 34

What were Bruchmuller tactics, and who were they used by?

Answer 34

Germans-adapted version of the box barrage, combining artillery and gas shells

Question 35

When were Bruchmuller tactics used?

Answer 35

1916

Question 36

What were strategies to break the stalemate beyond the Western front?

Answer 36

Naval warfare (Battle of Jutland 1916), blockade (attempting to lead to collapse of German home front), propaganda (sustain home front, attempt to influence US position on war)