Trench Warfare on the Western Front, 1914-18 Flashcards
Who became Secretary of State for War on August 5th 1914
Lord Kitchener
How many men joined Kitchener’s ‘new armies’ in August/ September 1914?
761,000
Who commanded the British Expeditionary Force? (BEF)
Sir John French
In 1914, were officers well prepared for war?
Most officer training had not prepared the officers for a modern war, they were committed to offensive action as the only tactic
How many machine guns were available to each battalion at the start of the WWI?
2
How many motor vehicles did the army have in 1914?
80
How many rifles were being produced a month in August 1914?
6000
How many German troops marched through Belgium in 1914?
1.5 million
What was the name of the German’s war plan in 1914?
the Schlieffen Plan
How many men were in the BEF when it was first deployed?
120,000
Where was the BEF first deployed to?
Mauberge
How many BEF troops fought at Mons? How many Germans did they meet?
75,000 BEF troops
300,000 German troops
On what day was the battle of Mons?
23rd of August
What happened at Le Cateau and on what date?
On the 26th August 1914 the BEF met the Germans whilst retreating after the clash at Mons.
When was the Battle of the Marne?
6-12th September 1914
Casualties at the Battle of the Marne?
British and French - 100,000
German - 250,000 ish
What signified the switch from a war of manoeuvre to a war of attrition?
the construction of trenches with barbed wire
What river did the Germans retreat to after the battle of the Marne?
The river Aisne
What did the Allies success at the First Battle of Ypres ensure they kept control of?
Ports on the Channel.
It also crucially blocked the German Schlieffen plan’s route into the rest of Belgium and France.
When was the 1st Battle of Ypres?
19th October - 22nd November 1914
How many miles of trenches had been dug by the end of 1914 overall?
nearly 500 miles
How many miles did the British hold by the end of 1914?
35 miles
When did the British attempt an offensive at Nueve Chapelle?
10-13th March 1915
How many British casualties at Neuve Chapelle 1915?
13,000 (7000 British, 4000 Indian)
When was the second battle of Ypres?
April 22nd - May 25th 1915
What weapon was used for the first time at the second battle of Ypres?
Chlorine Gas (used by the Germans)
How many British casualties occurred due to the first chlorine gas attacks at Ypres?
60,000
What British attacks in May 1915 failed with 16,500 casualties?
Aubers Ridge and Festubert
When was the first machine gun invented?
1884
How many machine guns had the German army deployed by 1914?
12,000
What machine gun’s did the British use?
The Vickers gun, followed by the American Lewis gun from 1915 which was lighter and more reliable.
What happened when the British first used gas?
It blew back onto the troops
When did Britain develop the gas shell?
1916
What were the benefits of the gas shell?
It increased the range of attacks
What gas was found to be more efficient than chlorine?
Phosgene