Transcript WWI “The Modern War” - University of Nebraska Omaha

Single Shot Rifle
Soldiers were issued a single shot rifle like
the one you see below.
 The disadvantage to this rifle was it’s
inability to shoot long distances.
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Machine Guns
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firepower equivalent of 60-100 rifles
heavy, hard to move
positioned on a flat tripod
required a gun crew of four to six
operators
reality: rapidly overheated and become
inoperative without the aid of cooling
mechanisms
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fired in short rather than sustained bursts
cooling generally took one of two forms: water cooled
(one gallon water jackets) and air cooled (air vents)
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water cooled machine guns would still overheat
relatively quickly (sometimes within two minutes)
large supplies of water would need to be on hand in
the heat of a battle or they urinated on them
result: machine guns would often be grouped
together to maintain a constant defensive position.
Trenches: A response to
machine guns
Trench network in France
•WWI began with
sweeping advances by
the Germans through
Belgium and France
towards Paris
•Advances not restored
until towards the close
of the war
•Trench warfare began
•Trench warfare
was essentially
the warfare of
stalematenobody really
advanced
•Death was
everywhere- by
raid or attack,
peeking over the
edge, (many died
in their first
day), disease,
etc.
The Realities of Trench
•Cold
•Mud
Life
•Waste
•Rats
•Rotting feet
•Lice
•Disease
•Rain
•Snow
•Humidity
•Heat
Mud:
Waste:
•Sticky, smelly, wet
•Boots/ weapons got stuck
•Water did not drain
•Latrine pits dug to a depth
of 4-6 feet and usually
approached by a short
trench
•provided an all-pervading
smell
•chemicals used to try to
cover smell just as bad
Rats:
•thrived literally in their millions
•a single rat couple could produce up to 900 offspring in a
year, spreading infection and contaminating food
•Empty food cans were piled in their thousands throughout No
Man’s Land, heaved over the top of the trenches on a daily
basis
•rats ate rotting food in such cans or invade dug-outs in search
of food and shelter
•crawled across the face of sleeping men
•the sound of rats constantly ferreting in No Man's Land kept
men awake all night
•rats openly fed on the decaying remains of soldiers killed
while advancing across No Man's Land
Rotting feet:
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Trench foot- a fungal
infection of the feet
caused by cold, wet and
unsanitary trench
conditions
could turn gangrenous
and result in amputation
20,000 casualties
resulting from trench
foot suffered by the
British Army alone
during the close of 1914
Lice:
•Bred in the seams of
filthy clothing and caused
men to itch unceasingly
•when clothing was washed
and deloused, lice eggs
remained hidden in the
seams
•within a few hours of the
clothes being re-worn the
body heat generated would
cause the eggs to hatch.
Disease- Trench Fever
•Chief symptoms- headaches, skin rashes,
inflamed eyes and leg pains
•went from
extreme heat to
extreme cold
•lack of
equipment and
protection
The Smell:
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rotting carcasses lay
around in their
thousands
overflowing latrines
no bathing- sweat,
smelly feet, etc.
creosol or chloride
of lime, used to
stave off the
constant threat of
disease and
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Cordite (an
explosive powder)
the lingering odor
of poison gas
rotting sandbags
stagnant mud
cigarette smoke
cooking food
Set up in no man’s
land to discourage
attacks
Poison Gas
Caused blindness and
nausea
 Destroyed respiratory
system
 Caused blisters, skin
burns
 Caused death from
choking
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Types used- chlorine,
phosgene, mustard gas, nerve
gas
 Gas masks were essential
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•Austria-Hungary- 100,000 injured, 3,000 dead
•British Empire- 188,706 injured, 8,109 dead
•France- 190,000 injured, 8,000 dead
•Germany- 200,000 injured, 9,000 dead
•Italy- 60,000 injured, 4,627 dead
•Russia- 419,345 injured, 6,000 dead
•USA- 72,807 injured, 1,462 dead
•Others- 10,000 injured, 1,000 dead
Mortars:
•a short, stumpy tube
designed to fire a
projectile at a steep
angle (by definition
higher than 45 degrees) so
that it falls straight
down on the enemy
•chief advantage - it could be fired
from the (relative) safety of the
trench, avoiding exposure of the
mortar crews to the enemy
•lighter and more mobile than
other, larger artillery pieces
•the mortar bomb fell
almost straight down so
that it would (with
luck) land smack in the
enemy trench.
Flamethrowers:
•The basic idea of a flamethrower is
to spread fire by launching burning
fuel
•Used mostly to clear forward
defenders preceding the infantry
•Useful when used at short-range, but
not for long-distance fighting
•When using, the cylinder carrying the
fuel might unexpectedly explode –
then they were marked men (rifle fire
was then centered on the
flamethrowers)
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Armored vehicles used
to support infantry
attacks
Named for their shape
resembling a water tank
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Britain and France
produced the most4,000-5,000 per country
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Tanks:
Able to cut through
barbed wire, approach
and fire on a trench,
engage in tank-to-tank
combat
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Aircraft:
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Used for observing enemy
armies, shooting and
bombing troops, and airto-air combat
Dyragables, balloons and
airplanes were used
When war broke out the
number of aircraft on all
sides and all fronts was
very small
France- less than 140
aircraft at the start of
the war, by the end of the
war- 4,500 aircraft
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France
produced no
less than 68,000
aircraft during
the war but
52,000 of them
were lost in
battle- a loss
rate of 77%
Not a primary
weapon but
became more
useful as time
went on
•Terrorized merchant
ships, passenger ships
and military ships
•Totally undetectable
until the end of the
war- radar and sonar
developed
•Developed by Germany
but later used by the
allied forces
•Aircraft were used
to keep them
underwater
Submarines- U-Boats
Each symbol represents 100,000 dead