WW1 Flashcards
What were trenches like in 1914
. The first trenches were shallow , made in a hurry and collapsed easily
How did Trenches develop as the war continued
. Trenches contained infrastructure like kitchens , aid posts , telegraph lines and hospitals
. Trench systems were complex and contained sharp bends
. Men were rotated from the front line after usually 1 week
What was trench-fighting like
. Raiding parties were sent into no mans land to attack the enemy trench , either throwing grenades or taking prisoners
. Face-to-face confrontations were fought with bayonets , clubs , spades and knives
What were trench conditions like
. Sanitation was very basic
. Washing was a luxury
. Rats were everywhere - sometimes as big as cats
. Lice infestation was often a problem
. Trench foot was caused by soldiers feet being constantly wet - later on in the war they were ordered to change socks 3 times a day
. Shell shock came from daily exposure to shellfire and was not always treated sympathetically
What was communication like within the trenches
. Officers based in dugouts could use buried telephone landlines to give and receive orders
. Often relied on runners instead
. When attacking soldiers communicated through shouts , horns , whistles , bugles and bagpipes - any signal that could be recognised and cause confusion
. Headquarter commanders had maps and feedback from aerial reconnaissance, but often had little idea of progress, or lack of it.
How did Rifles change in WW1
. A 1914 rifle could fire up to 15 rounds a minute and hit a target 800 yards away
. Smokeless powder in rifles meant positions were no longer given away
. WW1 soldiers no longer stood in lines or fired volleys
What new fighting techniques were used
. The french used ‘fire and move’ tactics where in an attack one group of soldiers would rush forward under covering fire by supporting groups
. Such tactics required high levels of training and led to attacks on a narrow front
. British preferred ‘wave and flow’ where they would attack on a mile-wide front with hundreds of men in waves leaving the trenches
. Artillery would precede the attack to blast holes in the wire
. Each wave would advance in four lines - 500 men per line
. Men would be 2-3 yards apart and each line 50-100 yards apart
. Once in the German trench the first wave would hold it until the next wave arrived
. The next wave would move onto the next line of trenches and so on
What were Machine guns like in WW1
. Machine guns had a greater killing power than a rifle
. Rifles required a high degree of skill , machines guns could spray a wide array of targets at typically 60 rounds a minute
. Machine guns were sited in pairs , or in batteries of 4 to 8 and hidden in dugouts or pillboxes
. They were hard to destroy , except at close range
. The British Lewis gun could be operated by one man and used in attacks and defences
. The heavier bickers gun needed 3 gunners
. In 1914 the ratio of rifles to machine guns in a regiment was 12:1 , in 1917 this was closer to 2:1
. The machine gun made cavalry obsolete and infantry attacks very costly
Grenades , flamethrowers and mortars
. The British used the mills bomb and the Germans the stick grenade
. Germany tried flamethrowers in 1915 but they were not widely used because the equipment was bulky and the soldiers carrying them were an easy target to rifle fire
. Mortars were more effective , small artillery that lobbed small bombs into a trench
. In 1915 the British got the stokes trench mortar that could fire 25 bombs a minute over 800 yards
Artillery and creeping barrages
. Generals clung to the motion that stalemate could be broken by artillery
. Artillery was supposed to destroy trenches , flatten barbed wire and machine guns and demoralise enemy troops
. By 1916 artillery guns on the western front ranged from light 18 pounders to heavy howitzer guns
. Artillery could lay a creeping barrage just ahead of advancing infantry , the barrage moved forward as the infantry did
. If the shells were too far ahead then it did little support to the infantry
. Relied on good communication with the gunnery
. Fuse 106 was a key breakthrough for artillery as it exploded sideways and was effective at breaking barbed wire
Poison Gas
.Chemical weapons were first used in 1915 at Ypres
. June 1915 the first gas mask were issued to allied troops and in September 1915 the french used gas for the first time
. Phosgene gas was used by both sides and was responsible for 80% of casualties
. Germans were first to use mustard gas - caused lung and skin damage and blindness
. Gas mask were improved to respirators with goggles and a canister filter
. Gas caused 8000 deaths within British forces and was deemed as humane
Tanks and the return to movement
. British used 380 tanks at Cambria and by 1918 their were nearly 10,000 tanks on the western front
. Offered a physiological impact on German soldiers
. Tanks offered commanders an artillery gun that could move on its own and crawl over most obstacles
What was the public mood on the outbreak of war
. War began in a mood of patriotic optimism
. In 1914 anti-government protests groups suspended their protests
. On the whole the public remained supportive of war and demanded victory
. Anti-war meetings were held and protects were held
What Government control and censorship was their
. The government judged public mood from reactions to the news from the western front
. The government let the press censor themselves but controlled direct war reporting by the official correspondents through censors at the front and agreements with newspapers
. Soldiers letters home were read by army censors who removed all references to plans , battles or unit names
. Many newspapers printed casualty lists in full in the summer of 1915
. Somme battle in 1916 had a film produced about it and was shown in more than 2000 cinemas across Britain
What was propaganda like
. Charles Masterman headed the war propaganda Bureau , set up in 1914
. Propaganda for home consumption often focused on war aims
. Propaganda posters were patriotic
. Some were anti-German and alleged German atrocities like rape and child murder caused national outrage
. Some anti-German feelings like shops with German names were attacked
. Royal family renamed itself in 1917 to house of Windsor
What were War correspondents like
. In May 1915 , 5 correspondents were sent to the Western Front
. They were under control of army press officers
. The correspondents could tour the rear of the front only , and talk to wounded men
. The journalists suspected the army only wanted them their for propaganda
. Press officers were told to waste correspondents time
. Despatches were sent to censors too
What was controlling war imagery like
. Sir John French issued an order banning any soldiers from taking photographs or sending pictures or letters to newspapers
. In March 1915 any soldiers carrying a camera risked arrest
. The daily mirror offered £1000 for the best western front snapshot
. London news relied on drawings by artists since no official photographers were in the BEF
. Magazine illustrations portrayed heroic incidents, usually avoiding the stark realities of trenches
Who was Ernest Brooks
. He was the first British official war photographer , sent to the front in 1916
. By the wars end their were 16 camera men
. Official war photos were censored and published to show the positive side of the army in action
War artists
. The BEF took official war artists to the western front
. The First artist was Muirhead Bone , in May 1916
. The Bureau of propaganda tried to control what the artists painted though their efforts were largely unsuccessful
. War paintings showed a more realistic portrayed of the front then the many often idealised popular magazine illustrations
Trench Humour and literature
. The government had no control over trench humour and soldiers on the western front produced a newspaper called ‘ Wipers Times’
. The paper first appeared in 1916
. Character ‘ Old Bill ‘ was created - a grumpy infantryman with a droopy moustache
. The army disapproved of Old Bill as vulgar but his popularity was relentless
. Black humour was abounded in the trenches
What was Haigs offensive strategy like
. Haig was a former cavalry Man and a believer in attack, on the western front he set out to regain the initiative
. Haig believed his soldiers needed details orders to maintain the continues forward flow of a textbook attack
. By June 1916 Haigs army had 56 infantry divisions and the government bought in conscription to maintain numbers
. Haig was an ambitious commander who preferred larger gains over small ones
What was the Battle of the Somme like for the British
. British casualties on the first day were 58,000
. Total British losses in the battle mounted to over 400,000
. The Somme battle lasted from July 1st to November 19th
. British attackers failed because the Germans were too well entrenched and the British did not know this
. The British also had insufficient big guns and about 1 in 3 shells fired did not explode
What was Passchendaele like for the British
. Haig aimed to push west to the sea and drive the Germans out of Belgium
. Tunnel mines were used to blow up German defences at Messiness Ridge
. Haig launched a 2 week bombardment that launched 4.5 million shells
. The offensive stalled due to effective German artillery and heavy rain turning the ground into mud
.Bite and hold tactics were first utilised at the battle of Passchendaele
. By the end of the offensive the British army had achieved 5 miles and 325,000 Casualties
. The battle lasted from July 31st to November 6th
The Hundred Day offensive 1918
. In 1918 German commander Ludendorff launched the spring offensive with 1.6million men
. The offensive drove a wedge into the British front but in July the allies counter attacked
. The Second battle of the Marne saw French and US troops push back the Germans
. In August Haig used 500 tanks at the battle of Amiens
Why was the 100 day offensive so effective
. 6500 new guns and howitzers in 1917
. Technology and preparation weakened German artillery through aerial reconnaissance - flash spotting and sound ranging
. At the battle of Amiens 95% of German guns were identified and hit by artillery
. Each battalion now had 30 machine guns , compared to previously 4
. Troops advanced miles and took thousands of prisoners
. These successes came from Haigs improved infrastructure , experienced commanders and fresh divisions
. The 100 day offensive still resulted in over a million casualties
