WW1 1914-15 Flashcards
how many Germans marched into Belgium?
1,500,000
how string was the BEF sent to Maubeuge?
120,000
when was the Battle of Mons?
23 August 1914
what was the result of the Battle of Mons?
75,000 British troops were forced to retreat further south towards Paris
when was the Battle of the Marne?
5 September 1914
what was the BEF’s involvement in the Battle of the Marne?
they did very little in assisting the French
what happened at the Battle of the Marne?
the French decided to attack the exposed right flank of the German offence which allowed them to push the German Army back
what was the result of the Battle of the Marne?
the German retreated to the River Aisne and dug in
START OF TRENCH WARFARE
when was the First Battle of Ypres?
19 October 1914
what was the result of the First Battle of Ypres?
BEF retained control of the Channel ports and forced the Germans into a stalemate
how many British dead at First Battle of Ypres?
30,000
which 2 battles did the Germans win on the Eastern Front?
Tannenburg
Masurian Lakes
by December 1914 how long were the trenches on the Western Front?
475 miles
how much of the trenches did the BEF hold?
35 miles
how was French as a military commander?
operated by intuition instead of rational calculation
what was the Ypres salient?
section of trenches held by British which could be attacked by the Germans from several sides
who was recalled as First Sea Lord in 1914?
Lord Fischer
who lost their role as Commander of the Grand Fleet and why?
Prince Louis of Battenberg
due to his German origins
who became the new Commander of the Grand Fleet?
Sir John Jelicoe
what was the Grand Fleet composed of?
20 Dreadnoughts
26 pre-Dreadnoughts
where was the Grand Fleet stationed?
Scapa Flow in the Orkneys
what gave the Royal Navy control of the seas?
lack of German naval action
how did the Royal Navy prevent the German Navy from being active?
held a blockade of German ports for the entirety of the war
what were the positives of a naval blockade against Germany?
allowed for free troop movement for British troops and her colonies
prevented goods and supplies from reaching Germany (starving them)
what was the main danger to the Royal Navy?
the U-Boat
why did Jelicoe move the Grand Fleet to Ireland?
it was not well defended from U-Boat attacks
when did Jelicoe return to Scapa Flow?
mid-1915
which cities were bombed by a German naval squadron in December 1914?
Hartlepool
Whitby
Scarborough
122 people dead
when was the Battle of Dogger Bank?
January 1915
what was the result of the Battle of Dogger Bank?
British victory
BUT
poor British gunnery had allowed the Germans to escape
who replaced Moltke the Younger as the CiC of German forces?
von Falkenhayn
what were von Falkenhayn’s orders?
to hold the Western Front while the Eastern Front was being dealt with
how large was the BEF in January 1915?
250,000
how much of the BEF were Indian troops?
1/5
what increased recruiting going into 1915?
lowering of required heigh to 5’3
when did the Ottomans join the Central Powers?
October 1914
what was the split between members of the War Council in January 1915?
Easterners vs Westerners
what did the Easterners believe in?
that the BEF should be pulled out of France and sent to the East where operations in the near-East could occur
they believed that the Royal Navy dominance would allow the British to take the Dardanelles and thus kick Turkey out of the war
what did the Westerners believe in?
that the only way to win the war is by defeating Germany and thus pushing them out of France and Belgium
it also believed that if France was lost then the whole war would be lost
what compromise did the War Council agree upon?
agreed to maintain efforts on the Western Front
agreed to open operations in the East
where did the British hope to attack to take control of the Dardanelles?
the Gallipoli Peninsula
who was in charge of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force?
Sir Ian Hamilton
how was Hamilton poorly equipped?
was given one map of the area
no intel on Turkish fortifications
no staff
why was the Gallipoli attack delayed by 3 weeks?
Hamilton saw the disarray amongst the British troops and decided to head to Egypt before attacking
what had the 3 week delay allowed?
the Turkish troops were able to fortify
they increased their forces from 2 divisions to 6 divisions
when did the Allied force land in Gallipoli?
25 April 1915
who were the Anzacs?
NZ and Aus troops
why was the British landing in Gallipoli so ill-prepared?
troops lacked ammunition and artillery
did not have proper landing craft
lacked element of surprise
why was Hamilton such a poor leader?
he left military matters to his subordinates
stayed in his battleship on the coast
where in Gallipoli did the Allied troops land?
Cape Helles
when was the Battle of Neuve Chapelle?
10 March 1915
how many casualties did the BEF suffer at Neuve Chapelle?
13,000
when was the Second Battle of Ypres?
22 April 1915
what was special about the Second Battle of Ypres?
first time chlorine gas was used in WW1
how many casualties did the BEF suffer at the Second Battle of Ypres?
60,000
what did the British do in response to the German’s use of chlorine gas?
they set up their own gas unit which weaponised phosgene gas which was more deadly than chlorine
how did French cover up his failure on the Western Front?
he complained about a shell shortage
what had caused a shortage in artillery?
Kitchener had not agreed to expand on the number of authorised firms who could produce artillery for the BA
he had also gave the authorised firms targets which were too advanced to achieve
why did Admiral Fisher resign?
he was unhappy with the wasting of resources in the Dardanelles
when was a national government formed?
25 May 1915
what happened to Lloyd George after the formation of a national government?
he became the Minister of Munitions
what impact did Lloyd George have on the production of munitions?
his appointment led to major growth in the munitions industry
change in shell deliveries
5 million before
35 million after
change in machine gun output
300 before
33000 after
when did Lloyd George have to override Kitchener’s decisions?
the light mortar
the tank
how did Lloyd George help the production of the light mortar?
it was rejected by the War Office
BUT
Lloyd George found funding from an Indian prince
ended up being an influential weapon
how did Lloyd George help the production of the tank?
Kitchener was unimpressed by the Tank
BUT
Lloyd George supported its production
what replaced the Vickers machine gun?
the Lewis Gun
when were the Suvla Bay landings?
6 August 1915
why were the Suvla Bay landings a failure?
the British manage to take the beaches by surprise
BUT failed to make any advances
General Stopford slept during the advance
British troops were sunbathing instead of pushing for the Ottoman hills
who replaced Hamilton as the Commander of the Mediterranean Expedition Force?
Sir Charles Monro
what did Munro immediately do?
reccomended the British retreat from the Gallipoli Peninsula
when did the British government order the retreat from Gallipoli?
December 1915
how many British died during the Gallipoli campaign?
300,000
by August 1915 how many British men at the Western Front?
900,000
when was the Battle of Loos?
25 September 1915
what happened at the Battle of Loos?
German defences led to British troops being mowed down by machine gun fire
poor French decisions meat little advancements were made
what was the result of the Battle of Loos?
German victory
how many British died at Loos?
50,000
when did the Germans announce unrestricted submarine warfare?
February 1915
what was USW?
German U-boats were given permission to attack any ship in British waters
how many U-boats did Germany have?
37
when was the Lusitania sunk?
May 1915
what was the result of the torpedoing of the Lusitania?
President Wilson gave Germany an ultimatum in which it had to stop USW
what happened to Kitchener’s role in November 1915?
the CIGS was set up which took the responsibility of war planning and decision making from the War Office and therefore Kitchener
when did Haig replace French as the commander of the BEF?
December 1915
