WWI Artillery and tactics

MORTARS Mortars became known for there ability to be able to move faster than cannons and there ability to flank and flush troops out of there trenches and into no mans land.

Mortars just like machine guns could dig in and pin enemy troops down during an advance.

Due to trench warfare cannons became largely infective because of the angle they fired at. With trenches explosions were not effective innless they exploded directly in the trench, so shells had to be dropped at a high angle to make it in leaving few weapons affective but the mortar.

The only draw backs were the lack of fire power The only draw backs were the lack of fire power. The larger the mortar the slower the crew but if a mortar was too small it would be fast but lack fire power.

Mortar teams teems were often stuck in the trenches on the front with infantry, the demand for ammunition and the danger of traveling in the open forced them to stock pile, crowding space and making a direct hit disastrous.

This was not the first war mortars had been used in, mortars had been used in the United States sense the French and Indian war. Many models like this one were relics from that era.

CANNONS Cannons and machine guns were the biggest contributors to trench warfare.

The most common of cannons were the 105mm howitzer, the 155mm howitzer, and the French 300mm was lightly used because of its large apatite of gun powder. And there range did not make them immune to air and gas attacks.

Smaller cannons were more economically friendly than the rail guns but not quit as devastating, cannon barrages would last for hours even days to “shake up” the enemy, before a large attack.

The best applications for cannons during world war 1 were gas shells, instead of just explosives the shell would carry chemicals when burned would become a toxic gas, if a unit were caught off guard they would meet horrible deaths.

Cannons had three weakness's , they were most of the time bogged down in mud, smaller cannons had limited range, and they could not shoot at a high enough angle to score a direct hit on a trench

RAIL GUNS A Rail Gun is a cannon placed on a rail road cart, usually made just for the gun.

Most rail guns could launch a two ton projectile up to five miles, some barrels had a two foot bore and were 6-9 inches thick. When time came for cleaning men often crawled in the barrel and scrubbed the inside of the barrel by hand to prevent a jam an a possible explosion.

The range considered massive back then kept the gun out of range of other cannons but was restricted by the tracks it was on.

Rail cars like the one shown here, would house the ammunition an extra parts for the gun, other passenger cars would house the troops.

The explosion from the shell was so massive that it was only half the danger. If you found yourself in the blast range and still alive you were quickly covered in hundreds some times even thousands of pounds of dirt.

Rail guns had a reputation of instead of blowing up pillboxes tanks, and trenches but just completely burying them, that’s why many soldiers referred to them as grave diggers.

Rail guns left such big craters you can still see them today.

ROCKETS Rockets saw little action in world war 1 because of its lack of accuracy and failure to carry a big enough charge.

Rockets were used more as a signaling device then a weapon Rockets were used more as a signaling device then a weapon. Used to signal a charge or retreat, or a warning to a gas attack.

BIBLIOGRAPHY photoshelter.com http://castinet.castilleja.org/private/faculty/peggy_mckee/wwi/ww1.html http://www.cyberheritage.org/armynavyclip/ http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cacunithistories/73rd%20regiment.html cannonsuperstore.com http://forum.pakistanidefence.com/lofiversion/index.php/t44506-100.html http://www.historynet.com/victor-of-verdun.htm/1