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history > The Era Of The Great War #3: New Technology > Flashcards

The Era Of The Great War #3: New Technology Flashcards

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1
Q

What technology was used?

A
  • Machine guns
  • tanks
  • artillery
  • aircraft
  • submarines
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2
Q

How many bullets could machine guns fire per minute?

A

400 - 600 (more than a rifle)

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3
Q

How were machine guns operated?

A

They were placed on a tripod and 4-6 men were needed to operate them

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4
Q

Machine guns weaknesses

A
  • Often overheated because of speed which they fired, stopping them being completely useful
  • heavy and could not be moved easily around the battlefield
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5
Q

Machine guns strengths

A
  • Kill large numbers of soldiers in a short period
  • Their quick firing nature meant that precise aim was not an essential part of firing, making them easy and deadly to use
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6
Q

When were tanks first used?

A

Battle of the Somme (1916)

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7
Q

Tanks were originally known as…

A

Lanships

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8
Q

The first tank was nicknamed…

A

Little Willie

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9
Q

What were tanks armed with?

A

Guns, as well as metal armour

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10
Q

Strengths of tanks

A
  • Tanks could provide defensive cover for soldiers as they crossed No Man’s Land
  • Tanks were also used to destroy barbed wire, making it easier for soldiers to advance
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11
Q

Weaknesses of tanks

A
  • Very slow (up to 4mph)
  • Often got stuck in muddy fields, or their tracks could become removed from the body
  • Tank crews often got sick due to petrol fumes
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12
Q

What 3 types of gas were used?

A
  • Chlorine
  • Phosgene
  • Msutard
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13
Q

Generally, what injured would you sustain from gas?

A
  • blisters
  • damage to lunges when inhaled (injury or death)
  • internal bleeding
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14
Q

Smell & Appearance of tear gases (ethyl bromoacetate, chloroacetone, xylyl bromides )

A
  • Both ethyl bromoacetate & chloroacetone are colourless to light yellow with fruity, pungent odours
  • Xylyl bromide is a colourless liquid with a pleasant, aromatic odour
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15
Q

Effects of tear gases

A
  • lachrymatory agents
  • irritate mucous membranes in the eyes, mouth, throat & lungs
  • this led to crying, coughing, breathing difficulties, and temporary blindness
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16
Q

Effects of tear gases

A
  • lachrymatory agents
  • irritate mucous membranes in the eyes, mouth, throat & lungs
  • this led to crying, coughing, breathing difficulties, and temporary blindness
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17
Q

When was tear gas first used?

A
  • August 1914
  • French forces used against Germany to little effect
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18
Q

When did tanks bring success?

A
  • Battle of Cambrai, 1917
  • Brought success to Britain as it destroyed barbed wire defences easily and crossed no man’s land
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19
Q

Estimated tear gas causalities

A
  • 0
  • used to incapacitate for around 30mins, not for killing
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20
Q

Smell & Appearance of chlorine gas

A
  • yellowish-green
  • strong bleach like odour
  • soldiers described it as a mix between pineapple and pepper
21
Q

Effects of chlorine gas

A
  • reacts with water in the lungs
  • this forms hydrochloric acids
  • can cause coughing, vomiting, and irritation to the eyes at low concentrations, and rapid death at concentrations of 1000 parts per million
22
Q

When was chlorine gas first used?

A
  • By Germans at Ypres in April 1915
  • By Brits at Loos in September 1915
23
Q

Estimated casualties from chlorine gas

A
  • > 1100
  • it was devastating as troops were initially un equipped to deal with it
  • later, gas masks limited effectiveness
24
Q

Smell and appearance of phosgene & diphosgene gas

A
  • phosgene is a colourless gas with a musty odour, like newly mown grass or hay
  • diphosgene is colourless and oily
25
Q

Effects of (di)phosgene gas

A
  • react with proteins in lung air well, causing suffocation
  • coughing, difficulty breathing, irritation to throat and eyes
  • can cause delayed effects only shown 48hrs after, including fluid in lungs and death
26
Q

First use of phosgene gas?

A
  • December 1915
  • Germans used against Britain at Ypres
27
Q

Casualties from (di)phosgene gas

A
  • 85%
  • it is estimated that 85% of all gas-related fatalities in WW1 were from phosgene and diphosgene
28
Q

How was (di)phosgene gas used?

A

Fired in artillery shells

29
Q

Smell and appearance of mustard gas

A
  • when pure, it’s colourless and odourless, but it’s used as a chemical agent in an impure form
  • these are yellow/brown in colour and smell like garlic/horse radish
30
Q

Effects of mustard gas

A
  • powerful instant blistering agent that can damage the eyes, skin, & respiratory tract
  • causes chemical burns on contact with skin
  • forms intermediates that react with DNA leading to cell death
31
Q

When was mustard gas first used?

A
  • 12th July 1917
  • German forces used against Britain at Ypres
32
Q

Mortality rate of mustard gas

A
  • 2/3%
  • but effects were debilitating, and patients required elaborate care
33
Q

Strengths of poison gas

A
  • disorienting/ killing
  • with the development of gas filled shells it became easier to target enemy soldiers without hurting your own
34
Q

Weaknesses of poison gas

A
  • a change in wind direction could send it back to a sides own soldiers (ie happened to Britain at Loos in September 1915)
  • over the course of the war, development of gas masks made it easier to limit effects
35
Q

What was artillery?

A
  • highly explosive shells that could be fired great distances at the enemy
36
Q

How did both sides use artillery?

A
  • to pound enemy defences
  • creeping barrages - fired just in front of advancing soldiers
37
Q

What was Big Bertha?

A
  • A German super gun which could fire projectiles weighing up to 810kg as much as 6 miles
  • 12 used during war
  • most famous example of artillery used in ww1
38
Q

Strengths of artillery

A
  • very difficult to defend against and caused more casualties than any other weapon
  • up to 60% of deaths on the western front were from artillery
39
Q

Weaknesses of artillery

A
  • as soldiers advanced it was difficult to measure where to fire, causing casualties to a sides own soldiers
  • barrels of artillery cannons needed regularly replaced, slowing down their use
40
Q

What was aircraft used for?

A
  • WW1 saw aircraft being used for the first time as a significant part of war tactics
  • Zeppelins (hot air balloons) and airplanes formed different parts of each sides battle and preparation plans
41
Q

What was aircraft used for?

A
  • WW1 saw aircraft being used for the first time as a significant part of war tactics
  • Zeppelins (hot air balloons) and airplanes formed different parts of each sides battle and preparation plans
42
Q

Strengths of aircraft

A
  • Used to spy on enemy positions, helping battle plans (reconnaissance)
  • planes later had guns and zepppelins were used in bombing raids (Edinburgh 1916)
43
Q

Weaknesses of aircraft

A
  • airplane guns were not always effective, including jamming
  • zeppelin raids were countered by anti-aircraft artillery, or barrage balloons to limit locations
44
Q

What were submarines?

A
  • underwater ships that could move without easy detection
  • they could fire torpedos capable of sinking enemy ships
45
Q

When and what was the first ship to be sunk by a German U-boat?

A
  • September 1914
  • HMS Pathfinder
46
Q

Strengths of submarines

A
  • Not easy to spot and so military and civilian ships feared them
  • Germans used submarines to great effect to try and stop supplied from reaching great britain
47
Q

Weaknesses of submarines

A
  • using submarines rather than engage in open battles was felt by some military personnel to be dishonourable
  • Germany sinking the Lusitania helped bring the USA into the war against them
48
Q

How were planes used at the Battle of the Marne in 1914?

A

A pilot spotted a gap between the advancing German armies, and the British and the French quickly pushed into it

49
Q

How were planes used?

A

Tactical and strategic bombing
Ground attack
Naval warfare
Dogfights

(First plane fight was in 1903, so not very advanced by 1914)

history (38 decks)

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