WORLD WAR ONE: A soldier’s story

Technology of World War One In World War One, technology was used to create new weapons of mass destruction. Because of the efficiency of modern weaponry, the # of casualties on the battlefields of Europe was beyond imagination.

Machine Guns Heavy artillery dropped hundreds of kilograms of explosives on troops- blasting the ground out from under them Machine guns were a new invention that changed the art of warfare They could take out vast amounts of soldiers in the blink of an eye

Shrapnel Fast-firing field artillery guns spat out shells that burst into showers of deadly exploding shell SHRAPNEL: sharp-edged metal fragments released from shell as it explodes

Chemical Warfare The Germans started using poison gas at the beginning of the war Three types were Chlorine, Phosgene, and then Mustard Gas Most common and deadliest was Mustard Gas There were no gas masks for the first years of WWI and even the ones that were developed were often ineffective

Gas Masks

Trench Warfare Trenches: an intricate complex of tunnels, barbed wire, and command posts Were set up in zigzags Trenches closest to front (enemy guns) were the firing lines

DRAW A TRENCH

The armies’ defense systems were a maze of trenches zigzagging across mud, shell craters, minefields, and barbed wire.

Machine guns were placed at key positions to rake enemy lines with bullets Three or more lines of support trenches at the rear served as command and supply posts Running along side these were communication trenches which contained lookout posts Soldiers stayed on front line for 6 days, support trenches for 6 days and then a few days “off”

Going “over the top” Climbing out of trenches and charging across no-man’s land in an attempt to capture enemy trenches. Attacking troops were often cut down by machine gun fire or they would get tangled up in barbed wire, only to be shot Men who lay wounded in no-man’s land could not be rescued. Sometimes it took days before they died, and their companions could hear them crying for help READ LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

The reality of the trenches

Trench Foot Condition that occurs from standing in water for days on end Swelling of feet/numbness After swelling goes down there is agonizing pain Normally gangrene set in and the foot was amputated

SHELLSHOCK: