War at Sea & Air Combat

The War at Sea Although most of the fighting happened in the Trenches, the war at sea was one of the most important aspects of the war Both sides needed supplies from foreign countries to equipment their armies and feed their people at home Items such as food, rubber, iron, coal, and colonial soldiers were needed to continue to fight the war Therefore both sides attempted to blockade (using a Navy to block ships from entering or leaving a country) their enemies

The British Blockade of Germany The mighty British Navy was very effective at blockading Germany The German people slowly starved as they could not produced enough food for the population and their army The German army also suffered as they slowly ran out of equipment The Germans attempted to break the blockage at the Battle of Jutland but failed This was the first and only time dreadnought battleships engaged in battle

The German Blockade of Great Britain Germany attempted its own blockade using U-boats (submarines) The Germans sunk dozens of allied ships in the early stages of the war However, the allies developed the Convoy System to defeat the u- boats The Convoy System was simple; instead of being alone, supply ships would cross the ocean in large groups protected by warships

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare As Germany slowly lost the war, they became more desperate They believed that if they sank every ship entering of exiting Britain, they could win the war Therefore, Germany began to attack anything on the water, including cruise ships Early in the war, the Germans sank the Lusitania, killing over 1000 innocent people, many of them were Americans In 1917, when Germany declared unrestricted Submarine warfare, the USA entered the war

The War in the Air At first airplanes were only used to spy on enemy positions However, as the war continued, Airplanes became powerful weapons Two types of planes were developed Bombers – large, heavy planes that would drop bombs on enemy positions Fighters – small, fast and manoeuvrable planes designed only to dogfight (fight other planes)

The Life of a Fighter Pilot Fighter pilots became celebrities and were called the “Knights of the Air” Pilots did not have to live in the trenches and used individual skill and courage in combat Although being a Pilot was glamorous, it was the most dangerous job in the war The average lifespan of a WWI pilot was only three weeks Most pilots didn’t were parachutes because it was considered unsportsmanlike

The Greatest Pilots of the War 5 Air Kills made a pilot an Ace, this was an extremely difficult task Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron) scored more air combat kills than any other with 80 Canadians were also some of the best pilots in the war William Avery “Billy” Bishop was the top Ace of the entire British Empire with 72 kills Raymond Collishaw and Roy Brown were also famous Canadian Pilots

Key Points The British effectively blockaded Germany The convoy system helped allied ships cross the ocean safely The Lusitania was sunk, angering the USA Unrestricted Submarine Warfare brought the USA into the war Being a pilot was glamorous but dangerous The Red Baron and Billy Bishop were famous Aces