World War 1 part 4

Air Warfare 1

-Airplanes underwent many improvements many improvements during World War I. Early war aircraft were not much different in design from the original Wright Flyer. -While early air spotters were unarmed, they soon began firing at each other with handheld weapons and even throwing spears. An arms race commenced, quickly leading to increasingly agile planes equipped with machine guns.

Tanks 1

-Although the concept had been suggested as early as the 1890's, few authorities showed interest in them until the trench stalemate of World War I caused serious contemplation of unending war and ever escalating casualties.

Air Warfare 2

-As the stalemate developed on the ground, with both sides unable to advance even a few miles without a major battle and thousands of casualties, planes became greatly valued for their role gathering intelligence on enemy positions and bombing the enemy's supplies behind the trench lines. -Germany led the world in the design of Zeppelins, and used these airships to make occasional bombing raids on military targets, London and other British cities, without any great effect.

Trench Warfare 2

-Many new weapons were being designed and used during World War I. -Application of these weapons made it difficult or nearly impossible to cross defended ground.

Trench Warfare 4

-Sensitive listening devices that could detect the sounds of digging were a crucial method of defense against these underground incursions. -The British proved especially adept at these tactics, thanks to the skill of their tunnel-digging "sappers" and the sophistication of their listening devices.

Interrupter Gear

-A key innovation was the interrupter gear, a German invention that allowed a machine gun to be mounted behind the propeller so the pilot could fire directly ahead, along the plane's flight path.

Poison Gas 1

-At the beginning of the war, Germany had the most advanced chemical industry in the world, accounting 80% of the world's dye and chemical production. -Although the use of poison gas had been banned in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, Germany turned to this industry for what it hoped would be a decisive weapon to break the deadlock of trench warfare.

Caterpillar Track

-Based on the caterpillar track (first invented in 1770 and perfected in the early 1900s) and the four-stroke gasoline powered Internal combustion engine (refined in the 1870s), early tanks were fitted with Lewis guns, armor plating, and their caterpillar tracks were configured to allow crossing of an 8-foot-wide (2.4 m) trench.

Trench Warfare 3

-Because attacking an entrenched enemy was so difficult, tunneling underneath enemy lines became on of the major efforts during the war. -Once enemy positions were undermined, huge amounts of explosives would be planted and detonated as part of the preparation for an overland charge.

No Man's Land

-Between the trenches was no man's land. It was pitted with craters and blackened tree stumps from constant shelling. The difficulties of successfully taking an enemy's trenches defended with machine guns and lined with barbed wire meant that the war on the western front lapsed into stalemate. -It was not until the end of the war that a weapon capable of breaking the stalemate was invented, the tank.

Poison Gas 2

-Chlorine gas was first used on the battlefield in April 1915. The unknown gas appeared to be a simple smoke screen, used to hide attacking soldiers, and Allied troops were ordered to the front trenches to repel the expected attack. -The gas had a devastating effect, killing many defenders. -Eventually, mustard gas, phosgene, and other gases were used. Britain and France soon followed suit with their own gas weapons.

German Strategic Bombing

-Later in the war, Germany began attacking English cities with long range strategic bombers. As with the Zeppelin attacks, Germany's strategic bombing of England had limited tactical value, but it was demoralizing and showed the British they could not be completely immune from the effects of the war in their own country.

Artillery

-Of all the types of weapons in existence in 1914, artillery underwent the most revolutionary and scientific advances. During the war, the following improvements were made: -the wire-cutting No. 106 fuse, was developed, specifically designed to explode on contact with barbed wire, or the ground before the shell buried itself in mud, and equally effective as an anti-personnel weapon -the first anti-aircraft guns were designed out of necessity -the creeping barrage was perfected -factors such as weather, air temperature, and barrel wear could for the first time be accurately measured and taken into account when firing indirectly -the majority of casualties inflicted during the war were the result of artillery fire.

Poison Gas 3

-The first defenses were makeshift, mainly rags soaked in water or urine. Later, relatively effective gas masks were developed, and these greatly reduced the effectiveness of gas as a weapon. -Although it sometimes resulted in brief tactical advantages and probably caused over 1,000,000 casualties, gas seemed to have had no significant effect on the course of the war.

Trench Warfare 1

-This is a form of occupied fighting lines that consists of large trenches dug into the ground. The trenches keep soldiers sheltered from small arms fire and artillery. -Trench warfare is a form of attrition warfare. The use of the trenches allow for a slow wearing down of opposing forces.