The First World War The Western Front

The Strategies and Plans Weapons and Technology Life in the Trenches Weapons and Technology

The Strategies and Plans

The Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen plan was drawn up by Count von Schlieffen in 1905 to show that if a war were to break out between the Entente and the Central Powers, Germany would not have to fight on two sides at once.

The Plan The idea of the Schlieffen plan as was not to make Germany face France in the west and Russia in the east. So Germany would need to defeat France within six weeks before Russia mobilized her troops. As most of the French army was in Alsace/Lorraine, the Schlieffen Plan aimed for the quick defeat of France by invading it through neutral Belgium and Holland to then to move rapidly on to capture Paris.

The Problems There were many reasons why the Schlieffen plan failed: The Belgian army managed to delay the Germans. Britain sent the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) to stop the Germans, who thought that the British would not follow out the London Treaty of 1839 (where Britain would aid Belgium if it was ever attacked). The Russian Army mobilized much quicker than expected; attacking East Prussian in a matter of weeks. The French Army managed to help the BEF using their advanced trains. The Germans did not carry out the Schlieffen Plan; doubling back towards Germany to help at the Eastern front. The supplies did not arrive to the German soldiers quickly enough.

The Race to the Sea Once the fronts were set up both sides wanted to make to the sea; where there were ports and supplies. This was known as the race to the sea.

The Battle of the Somme Plan: The British planned to attack on a 24km front on the Somme. French divisions would attack an 13km front south of the Somme. British commanders were so confident they ordered their troops to walk slowly towards the German lines.

The Battle of the Somme What Happened: However, unconcealed preparations for the assault and the week-long bombardment gave the Germans clear warning. As the British walked towards the German lines, the machine guns started and the slaughter began. By the end of the day, the British had suffered 60,000 casualties, of whom 20,000 were dead: their largest single loss.

The Battle of Passchendaele The plan was to break through the border of belgium to destroy German submarine pens. The battle began on the 18th of July when the allies fired a barrage of heavy artillery at the German trenches that lasted ten days. Then on the 31st of July, infantry started attacking. The Germans were prepared so the allies didn’t move much. Then heavy rain started pouring and the field was full of water. On November 6th, the allies captured their objective.

The Black day of the German Army August 8th 1918 was known as “the Black day of the German Army”. Which started the beginning of the end. With continuous attacks the Allies were driving the Germans back. In October 1918 the Allies broke through the Hindenburg Line and the Germans surrendered.

conditions in the Trenches Trench Warfare conditions in the Trenches

The Trenches After the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, the war quickly turned into a defensive war. The system adopted by both sides was the Trench System. This consisted in digging out trenches to protect the soldiers. This is where they would spend their time fighting. The area between the two enemy trenches was called “no man's land”.

Trench Construction Trenches could be dug in two ways: Entrenching: This consisted in digging downwards. It was the most efficient technique as several men could do it at once. Sapping: This involved extending the two extremities of the trenches. Trenches were generally dug in Zig-Zags to avoid shell damage. Tunnels between trenches were constructed to facilitate movement Once they were dug, they would sometimes be fitted with wood and sandbags. The wood would help the soldiers avoid having to walk in mud. The sandbags helped protect the top of the trenches. Loopholes where created so that soldiers could look out of the trench without exposing their head. Barbed wire was placed in front of the trenches. Fro protection.

Conditions in the Trenches The conditions in the trenches were extremely poor. These conditions attracted rats and lice. Decomposing bodies attracted rats into the trenches. Due to this food supply, the rats have been reported to grow as big as cats. The cold and muddy water in the trenches could give an infection referred to by the soldiers as trench foot.

Weapons and Technology

Rifle The main weapon used by the British soldiers in the trenches was the bolt-action rifle. It could shoot 15 bullets in a minute. The bolt-action rifle.

Machine Guns Machine guns needed 4 men to operate them and had to be on a flat surface. Large field guns had a long range and could give devastating blows to the enemy.

Gases The German Army was the first to use chlorine gas. Chlorine gas causes a burning sensation in the throat and gives chest pains. Mustard gas was the most deadly weapon used. It was fired into trenches in shells. Some effects are: blistering skin, vomiting and sore eyes.

Torpedoes and Submarines A torpedo is an underwater missile that is shot from a submarine. Torpedoes were mostly used by the Germans to blow up ships carrying supplies from America to Britain.

Planes Before WWI planes we hardly ever used, and even in WWI the were used as spy planes. Towards the end of the war they became fighter aircrafts armed with machine guns and sometimes bombs.

Thank You Created by: Amedeo Cimenti, Thomas Seleiro and Christopher Mackin