Trench Warfare and Weapons of WWI

What is "No Man's Land"?

Area between opposing trenches

What is Western Front?

Area in Eastern France/Belgium where a lot of the war was fought

What is front?

Area where battles are taking place during war

What did all countries agree to in 1925 regarding poison gas?

Ban the use of poison gas in warfare

What were some weaknesses of the Zeppelins? How did they help the Germans?

Bomb aiming was far from accurate. It is estimated that only 10% of the bombs dropped from Zeppelins actually hit their target. They were more expensive to make then to repair the damage. It help the Germans for bombing, and scared the people

Which two countries seemed to be the first to utilize most of the new weapons in WWI?

Britain, Germany

Which country 1st used tanks in WWI?

British

When and where was the most successful zeppelin raid of the war?

Center London, September 8, 1915

What were some of the effects of poison gas?

Choking, blisters, respiratory problems, death, bad eyesight

What is the key to success in the trenches?

Communication

Describe the Communication

Communications trenches linked the rear areas with the forward lines, and it was along these that all men, equipment, and supplies were transported.

What is Trench Warfare?

Defensive style of fighting used in WWI

Were machine guns used as a defensive or offensive weapon in WWI?

Defensive---they were positioned to guard the trench and you could not carry them around

What was the soldiers' regularly rotation of the trench cycle?

Fighting in the front line, followed by the time in the support lines, then being in reserve, then a rest period

There were 4 different types of trenches, what were they?

Front Line, Support, Reserve, Communication

Which country 1st began to use the machine gun?

Germans used them 1st---British initially rejected the idea

Which country used poison gas the most during WWI?

Germany

Who created the machine gun?

Hiram Maxim

What is Stalemate?

Military term used to describe when neither side gains any ground

What did the soldiers do at night?

Patrol no man's land

What were 3 of the different types of poison gas used?

Phosgene, Chlorine, Mustard, tear Gas

What were the new weapons that are used in WWI?

Poison Gas, Machines Guns, Tanks, Fighter Planes, U-Boats, and Zappelins

What is 'Saps'?

Saps is often beyond the protective belts of barbed wire and terminated. Somewhere in no-mans land in a listening post manned by 1 or 2 infantrymen

What is Sentry duty?

Sentry duty is when a men would fall asleep at his post and falling asleep on duty was considered the penalty was death by firing Squad

What were 3 problems with the early tanks?

Some early problems with tanks were too slow, broke down often, and could not cross trenches

Write down 5 words to describe trench warfare

Some words are: death, rats, smell, loud, boredom, pointless, etc.

For the most part WWI was a what? (military term)

Stalemate

What was the first thing soldiers did in the morning?

Stand-To

Describe the Front Line

The front line is where the soldiers have to faced the enemy, and fight with t hem. It is the most tried out of all the type of trenches.The front line, it's not a straight line and is dug in sections, so if an artillery shell explodes in one section, only that section is affected.

Describe the Reserve

The reserve trench was dug several hundred yards further back and contained men and supplies that were available in emergencies should the first trenches be overrun.

Describe the Support Line

The support line is behind the front line. You can find 'dugouts' cut into the side of the trench wall, often very small but with room for perhaps 3 or 4 men.

What were 2 problems with the early machine guns used in WWI?

They overheated quickly, jammed up, and were big/bulky

How was the poison gas fired? What did you have to consider when deploying poison gas?

They were shot out of artillery pieces and you had to consider the wind direction

What was the purpose of using tanks during WWI?

To cross through No Man's Land

What medical problem did many soldiers in the trenches face?

Trench Foot

What were some typical things soldiers in the trenches did on a daily basis?

wrote letters home, trained, cleaned weapons, played cards, slept, filling the sandbags, repairing duckboards, pumping out the water that had gathered, and digging latrines