The Schlieffen plan and deadlock on the Western front Flashcards
Reasons why the Schlieffen Plan failed
- The Battle of Mons, the BEF slowed the German advance for 48 hours before British troops were forced to retreat.
- Collapse of Plan 17, French armies failed to re-capture Alsace Lorraine but slowed German advance by 2 weeks.
- Russian Mobilisation, Russia mobilised quickly and on 19 August invaded eastern Germany, German troops had to be moved from the Western front to defend Germany’s eastern borders.
- The battle of the Marne, the German army, not strong enough to take Paris, swung east towards the river Marne. There they clashed with French forces retreating from Alsace Lorraine, with the BEF, were beaten back to the river Aisne.
Reasons for deadlock on the western front
Failure of Schlieffen plan, the strength of defences, ineffective weapons- real keys were tanks and planes which were not developed enough. The mud and lack of new tactics
Soldiers on the western fronts timetable
4 days in the front-line trenches, 4 days in the support trenches, 8 days in reserve trenches and 14 days resting.
What is gangrenous
Flesh decays because blood has stopped flowing.
Two animal problems in the trenches
Rats and lice
Why did so many soldiers die of infection
anti biotics had not been invented (1930)
Trench system
Dug in zigzag lines so if an artillery shell gets fired it will only affect a minor part of the trench.
Dugouts could fit 4 men in to find shelter.
Communication trenches connect trenches together so that the soldiers do not have to climb over in enemy sights.
Impact of the trench system
Stalemate Soldiers experienced boredom Trench foot rats, flies and lice. Protection from bullets.
Artillery
Destroy enemy lines
fire high explosives shells
shells could go further and at a higher rate.
Enemies were no longer safe and could be fired upon at any given time.
60% of casualties were caused by artillery.
Shrapenal wounds were particularly bad
Cavalry
Used a reconnaissance
Horses were trained to stamp and bite
Could not face machine guns and artillery.
Physically intimidating
Infantry
More soldiers were being trained full-time soldiers were being paid many people were signing up well equipped British terittrorial army specialised troops- snipers Use of machine guns movement across land was agile.
Gas
could clear trenches for invasion catch troops of guard could be thrown blind 91,000 gas deaths most commonly used was mustard gas.
Tanks
Armour side-mounted machine guns 4 mph top speed support infantry cross 8 feet gap climb 5 feet Push through enemy lines used as cover frequently got stuck
Machine guns
Rapid-fire bullets
could fire at a rate of 400-600 rounds per minute
this allowed defenders to dominate advancing soldiers
could take out cavalry quickly
soldiers struggled to use them because of in-experience
guns frequently jammed
machine guns cause many casualties.
Aircraft
Reconnaissance armed with machine guns minimal training safety systems were basic aircraft was fragile.
In total how many soldiers died from the battle of the Somme
620,000 allied and 450,000 germans
Why was the first day of the Somme regarded as a military tradegy?
20,000 dead on the first day.
Artillery was not powerful enough to break down into German dugouts.
Some enemy points were captured but later re-captured.
35,000 wounded on the first day.
The objective of the battle of Passchendaele and events
General Haig believed that he could break through the German lines in Flanders and aim for the coast. He wanted to capture the Naval bases at Blankenberge and Ostend and make it harder for the Germans to carry out submarine attacks on British shipping. The offensive was joint between Britain and Canada. The battle started with an artillery bombardment, turning the wetland into a sea of mud. Haig ordered for the troops to advance. The troops struggled in the mud and filth, some up to their waists. The bodies of dead men and horses sunk into the mud. Finally, in November 1917 the allies were able to capture the village of Passchendaele.
The objective of the Battle of the Somme and what happened
Full-scale attack on the river Somme. The battle of Verdun had killed many French soldiers. Britain was on their own in the offensive. Germans were aware of the attack. German observers in plans and balloons had noted newly constructed roads and railway lines, and they had watched thousands of soldiers arriving with guns, ammunition and supplies. They were not taken by surprise, Germany retreated out of their from line trenches and when the allied bombardment started general; Haig believed they had knocked out most of the German front line, but he had actually been shelling empty trenches. When the shelling stopped the Germans moved back to their front line trenches. When the offensive started men were slaughtered in the thousands.
Results of the battle of Passchendaele
Allies captured the village of Passchendaele after 3 months of fighting, Haig was able to claim victory.
Negatives about General Haig
The strategy resulted in the British army suffering 60,000 casualties on the first day of the some.
Battle of Passchendaele suffered many casualties.
Positives about General Haig
relieved pressure on the French at Verdun by starting the Somme offensive.
Willing to use tanks
Victory at passchendale.
