A NEW KIND OF WAR PART 2

PDN Enduring Understanding: Guns, tanks, airplanes, and submarines were also utilized in the fighting Essential Questions: 1. What were the effects of major new military technologies on World War I?

Objectives Identify and describe the impact of modern technology on the fighting Explain how WWI was a global conflict

GUNS rapid-fire machine guns were used early machine guns: were big & heavy needed a crew of four to six people to operate lacked cooling mechanisms shot 400-600 small caliber rounds per minute could weigh 65-130 pounds (30-60kg) w/out mountings, carriages, & supplies ammo was fed on fabric or metal strips guns would overheat quickly they often looked like this picture, propped up on a tripod http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/machineguns.htm

GUNS later machine guns were lighter & more portable lighter weight, but still too heavy 1918  guns for infantrymen now existed lighter weight lacked enough ammuntion by end of war, guns had been added to tanks, warships, & aircraft light machine guns could be carried by advancing infantrymen = assault rifle 26 pounds/12kg = too heavy for rapidly advancing infantrymen by 1918, one-man portable machine guns were being used (20 pounds) 9-14kg hard to keep sufficient ammunition the guns on aircraft had to be lightweight & also had to be specially adapted so the pilot could shoot the gun, but the bullets would pass between the propeller blades (called “interrupter equipment”, developed by the Germans) I’d hate to be the guy who first tried to shoot a gun in the air and realized it shot the prop apart Bergmann MP18

TANKS aka: landships armored vehicles could cross rough battlefield terrain such as no man’s land first tank, “Little Willie” 14 tons (weight) with 12-foot long track frames space for three men (cramped) maximum speed of 2 mph (on rough terrain) caterpillar track first used as early as 1770 (tractors) http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/tanks.htm

TANKS first developed in Great Britain France & the US soon became interested not very reliable or useful at first used later in the war November 1917, Battle of Cambrai armored vehicles typically used for transportation trench warfare was stagnant (stayed in same place) later in the war, the usefulness of tanks were seen Battle of Cambrai British used tanks to breach 12 miles of German front captured 10,000 German soldiers, 123 guns, & 281 machine guns by end of war, Britian had produced 2,636 tanks; France, 3,870; Germany, 20 http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/tanks.htm

AIRCRAFT Uses of aircraft: observe enemy positions armed with machine guns & bombs attacked battlefields & cities attacked enemy planes (“dogfights”) useful from beginning of war Picture is Manfred von Richthofen, aka “The Red Baron” German “ace” (a person who shoots down many enemy planes) credited with 80 kills http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_baron

AIRCRAFT most countries had few planes at start of war production of planes increased rapidly planes had to be easy to fly first, designed for stability later, designed for maneuverability generals began including planes in planning France had had 140 planes at the start of war  ended with 4,500 planes had to be easy to fly because pilots had little to no training on how to fly most generals had seen planes as tools for only observation & reconnaissance  by end of war, planes were included in the strategic planning of assaults

Sopwith Camel/F.1 Camel British WWI one-seat, bi-plane fighter empty weight: 930 pounds Maximum speed: 115 mph armed with two 7.7mm Vickers Machine Guns http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel#Specifications_.28F.1_Camel.29

SUBMARINES U-boat: submarines used by Germans in WWI and WWII developed by Germans unrestricted submarine warfare any ship traveling in water around Great Britain was subject to attack

SUBMARINES easy to attack without being seen attack merchant ships cut off (British) supply lines Great Britain developed convoys helped against threat of attack United States entered war on Allied side Americans had been killed because of unrestricted submarine warfare

MISCELLANEOUS WEAPONS flamethrower different sizes for different circumstances spread fire by launching burning fuel Richard Fiedler, German small for single man = 18 meter range; bigger = 36 meter range carbon dioxide or nitrogen = expensive fuel http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/flamethrower-ww1-battle.jpg

grenade detonate two different ways: impact or timed-fuse grenade with a pin that was pulled, triggering the fuse, became much more popular grenade that detonated by impact/percussion was dangerous because, if it was dropped, it could explode http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa310/bz6568/WWI/WWI%20-%201/GermansLaunchingGrenades.jpg

bayonet had more of a psychological use bayonets were useful in close combat because you would only injure the enemy a bullet fired at close range could go through your enemy and into a friend http://www.pammachon.gr/old/images/bayonet%20training%20WWI.jpg

mortar could be fired from inside a trench mortar is shot up at a steep angle so it comes down right on the enemy lighter and more mobile than many artillery weapons http://www.flyingpioneers.com/pixlg/a13595.jpg