WW1 1916-17 Flashcards
why did the British Army need to play a larger role by 1916?
the Russians had failed on the Eastern Front
the Germans hd launched a massive offensive into Verdun which was causing the French major problems
to deal with German pressure at Verdun what did the British and French decide upon?
a joint operation at the Somme which would wear down the German defences and relieve the pressure on Verdun
when did the Battle of the Somme begin?
1 July 1916
what did the British first do at the Battle of the Somme?
a heavy bombardment of the German positions
how many shells were fired in the first week?
1.7 million
why was the artillery bombardment a failure?
it had failed to destroy the German barbed wire
it notified the Germans of a British attack and allowed them to prepare and fortify their positions
it had made the terrain of no mans land very difficult to pass
how many shells were unexploded?
1/3
how many British were killed or injured on the first day at the Somme?
60,000
when were tanks first used at the Somme?
September 1916
how did the 36 tanks fare at the Somme?
almost all of them broke down
when was the Somme offensive called off?
19 November 1916
how many casualties had the British suffered at the Somme?
420,000
what was the outcome of the Battle of the Somme?
it did relieve pressure on Verdun
BUT
massive casualties
little ground made
when was the British failure in Mesopotamia?
April 1916
what was the British failure in Mesopotamia?
General Townshend surrendered to the Turks defending Kut
what was a major breakthrough in the naval war in 1916?
the British had obtained the German code books which allowed them to decipher German communications
when was the Battle of Jutland?
31 May 1916
who was in charge of the German High Seas fleet?
Scheer
what were Scheer’s plans for the battle?
he was hoping to lure the British Grand Fleet into open waters and destroy them
this would have ended Britain’s naval blockade of Germany and would have allowed Germany to attack British troop convoys
why had Jellicoe and Beatty been separated?
breakdown in communication as well as a mistrust in the intel from London informed Jellicoe that the German High Seas fleet was still in port
how many battleships did Jellicoe have?
28
how many battleships did Scheer have?
16
what was the outcome of the Battle of Jutland?
the German High Seas fleet retreated back to port
the British Grand Fleet had suffered more losses
why was the Battle of Jutland seen as a victory for Britain?
maintained the blockade of German ports
asserted naval dominance in WW1
why was the Battle of Jutland seen as a disappointment for Britain?
the much anticipated Grand Fleet and Admiralty had failed in having a major impact on the German Navy
the government lost trust in the Admiralty
who replaced Jackson as the First Sea Lord after Jutland?
Jellicoe
who replaced Falkenhayn as the commander of the German armed forces?
Hindenburg
Ludendorff
when was USW restored by Germany?
1 February 1917
what did Germany hope would happen by restoring USW?
they hoped that they could destroy Britain’s supply lines and force them to surrender before the Americans arrived
how many U-boats did Germany have by 1917?
over 100
in April 1917 how many ships leaving British ports did the U-boats sink?
over 1/4
what caused a major dent in American-German relations?
the reintroduction of USW
what caused the anti-German sentiment in the USA?
the discovery of the Zimmerman telegram
what was the Zimmerman telegram
a telegram from the German Foreign Secretary to the German ambassador in Mexico
it promised Mexico that if it declared war on the USA then they could have American territory when the war was over
what was another major reason why the USA entered the war?
once the Russians had left the war after the March revolution, USA saw the war as a war between democracy and autocracy
when did the USA declare war on Germany?
6 April 1917
how did Britain deal with the U-boat threat?
laying mines near German ports to prevent the U-boats leaving port
introduction of the convoy system
why were the Admiralty sceptical of using the convoy system?
merchant ships would struggle to hold position
convoys gave a larger threat to German U-boats
2500 ships were leaving British ports, so too many ships needing a convoy
who pushed through a new convoy system?
Lloyd George in April 1917
what was the new convoy system composed of?
convoys of destroyers and patrol boats
supported by aircraft and airships
how were aircraft important in containing the U-boat threat?
they could destroy U-boats
they could alert the navy of any U-boat presence
which sections of the army grew in importance by 1917?
engineers
tank corps
flying corps
where was the January 1917 general allied conference?
Rome
who took supreme command of the Allied armed forces in February 1917?
Nivelle
what were Lloyd George’s feelings about Nivelle?
he had more trust in him than his own British generals
which line did Germany retreat in 1917?
the Hindenburg line
what was the Hindenburg line?
a heavily fortified German defence system which was prepared in the winter of 1916-17
when was the Battle of Arras?
9 April 1917
how much did the British forces advance on the first day at Arras?
3.5 miles
how had the Allied forces created an element of surprise?
shorter opening bombardments and the use of tunnels gave the British the element of surprise
what was the new fuse bomb used by the British?
106 fuse
what was special about the 106 fuse?
it exploded on the slightest impact and blasted horizontally which would destroy barbed wire
what had the Battle of Arras shown for the nature of warfare?
showed how effective the use of combined arms tactics for breaking the enemy lines
what was the outcome of the Battle of Arras?
it was a stalemate
British lost 10,000 men
BUT
gained control of the region
WHILE
Germany recovered and prevented an allied breakthrough
when was Nivelle’s offensive?
mid-April
how many French died during the offensive?
29,000
what did a large majority of the French army do after the failed offensive?
they mutinied
who saved the French army from complete mutiny?
Petain
what had the Nivelle failure shown about Lloyd George?
his faith in Nivelle was a failure and thus made a strategic error
after the French failure, who was the main force in the Western Front?
the BEF
where did Haig hope to defeat the Germans?
at Flanders at the Ypres salient
why did the Admiralty support an operation at Flanders?
because there were U-boat bases in Belgium which they hoped to capture
why was the German position at the Ypres salient a strategic strength?
they were positioned on the heights which gave them the height advantage
what were Lloyd George views on the Flanders offensive?
he was sceptical and wanted to avoid a bloodbath
why was the Flanders offensive something which needed to happen?
- confidence was high after the success at Messines Ridge
- the situation in Russia was poor
- Lloyd George understood that British intervention was needed because France were turning to a pro-peace government
what was the designated aim of the Flanders offensive?
to wear down and exhaust the German forces
what was the name given to Flanders offensive?
the Third Battle of Ypres
or
the Battle of Passchendaele
when was the Battle of Passchendaele?
31 July 1917
what started the Battle of Passchendaele?
an opening heavy bombardment of the landscape
how many guns were used to bombard at Passchendaele?
2300 guns
what had been caused by the bombardment at Passchendaele?
destroyed many German guns
destroyed the drainage system
led to the terrain becoming a quagmire
how long was the opening bombardment?
2 weeks
what followed the opening bombardment?
a creeping barrage
how had the Germans prepared after the bombardment?
- they had built concrete bunkers
- had divided their troops into 2 separate garrisons with one trench force and one counter-attack force
what was different between the Somme and Passchendaele?
the British attack at Passchendaele showed more imagination so there were less losses
how many casualties at Passchendaele by August 1917?
35,000
what intel was Haig given by Charteris?
that the Germans were almost finished and that he should push
what happened in September and October 1917 at Passchendaele?
British failures with many casualties
what marked the end of the Battle of Passchendaele?
when the Canadians had captured the village of Passchendaele
when did the Canadians take Passchendaele?
6 November 1917
what was the outcome of Passchendaele?
stalemate
both sides suffered heavy losses
little ground was made by the British
how many British casualties at Passchendaele?
250,000
what was significant about the British losses at Passchendaele?
they were less than the Somme which shows some progression
when was the British attack at Messines Ridge?
7 June 1917
why was the British attack at Messines Ridge successful?
1 million lb of high explosives were detonated under German trenches
what was the ‘bite and hold’ tactic?
tactic of taking a trench and then defending the trench from a counter-attack
which general successfully utilised the ‘bite and hold’ tactic?
General Plumer
when was the Battle of Cambrai?
20 November 1917
what was used by the infantry at Cambrai to surprise the Germans?
smokescreens
how many tanks were used at Cambrai?
350 tanks
what did the use of tanks achieve?
it was able to destroy the barbed wire and thus making it easier for the infantry to advance
when did Cambrai end?
7 December 1917
how many British casualties at Cambrai?
45,000
how many tanks lost at Cambrai?
2/3 of the tanks used
when was the Supreme Allied Council set up?
November 1917
what was the purpose of the Supreme Allied Council?
discuss and advise how the war would be carried out
allowed for a coordinated allied force
what made developments on the Eastern Front in 1917?
- Nicholas II was overthrown
- the new provisional government failed to have an impact
- the new Bolshevik power had seized control
- Lenin had signed a treaty to end Russian involvement in the war
what was the treaty between Russia and Germany?
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
when was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?
December 1917
when was the Battle of Caporetto?
October 1917
what was the result of Caporetto?
the Italians were forced to retreat 50 miles
British troops were sent to Italy to provide support
what was the result of Caporetto?
the Italians were forced to retreat 50 miles
British troops were sent to Italy to provide support
what was the result of Caporetto?
the Italians were forced to retreat 50 miles
British troops were sent to Italy to provide support
