Modern Warfare

Methods of fighting before 1914 How were wars fought before 1914? Cavalry would charge at the enemy on flat ground. Think about how William Wallace and Robert Bruce fought during the wars of independence.

Britain was industrialising at a huge rate, this meant that new weaponry was produced in great quantities which could be used in war. The development of the Trench system meant that a new method of fighting had to be introduced Reasons for a change in the methods of fighting

Defensive Fighting During WW1 the stage of development which weaponry had reached gave the advantage to the defending army. Defensive weapons were much more effective than attacking weapons. In battles casualties were usually much heavier on the attacking side The weapons used during WW1 caused soldiers to suffer the most horrific deaths. Copy this into your jotter…

What were the main weapons used on the western front? Rifles Every soldier in the British army had a Lee Enfield. A professional soldier could fire up to 15 rounds a minute and could kill someone up to 1,400 metres away. New recruits could only manage between 8 and 12 rounds. In the trenches snipers sometimes used rifles to fire at any sign of movement.

Machine Guns In 1914 machine guns were heavy and required a crew of up to 3 men to work it. 1 man to hold it, another to feed through the ammunition and another to pour water into the cooling sleeve. Machine guns were far more deadly than rifles, as some could fire up to 400 bullets per minute and had the fire power of 100 guns. The British Vickers gun weighed about 20 kilograms (3 and a half stone!) and was difficult to move around the battlefield and had to be positioned on a flat surface. For this reason it was replaced by the lighter and faster- firing Lewis gun after 1915.

Machine Guns British Vickers gun

Barbed Wire Barbed wire was used to strengthen trench defences by both sides on the western front. In places the barbed wire in front of the German lines was 20 metres wide. Soldiers emerged from their trenches at night to string the wire from steel posts which screwed into the ground. Imagine trying to cross barbed wire while under rifle and machine gun fire. One method used to solve this problem was to throw a corpse onto the wire and use it as a bridge.

Barbed Wire

Artillery World War 1 was the war of the guns. It became more important to have long-range guns that were capable of firing heavy shells over a great distance. These guns were known as howitzers, by the end of the war some of these guns could fire 900kg shells over 18 kilometres. Therefore heavy artillery could destroy a trench before an attack began.

Artillery It also softened up enemy soldiers by raining down lethal shellfire that left many injured or dead. Shells churned up the ground around the frontline, making movement almost impossible for both men and equipment. Artillery could be used to knock out opposing artillery positions, disrupt lines of communication and break up a full-frontal attack.

Shells There were 3 different types of shell: 1. High explosives - designed to explode on impact and could wreck buildings 2. Shrapnel - packed with round iron balls and fitted with a timer which would detonate the shell over enemy lines 3. Armour piercing - specially hardened so they could break through toughened steel before exploding.

Shells

Here is an early photograph from the battle field. We see men walking and then explosions from shell fire.

The Zeppelin The Zeppelin, or blimp as it is also known, is an airship. It was used during the early part of the war in bombing raids by the Germans. They travelled at speeds of up to 136 mph and heights of 4250 metres! They usually carried machine guns and around 4,400lbs of bombs. They carried out many raids but were eventually abandoned as they were easy targets for artillery. Write the heading, The Zeppelin and stick in the picture of the Zeppelin into your jotter and then copy the points from above.

Poisonous Gas The war saw the introduction of a number of new and terrifying weapons. None was more frightening than toxic gas, which poisoned and often killed its victims within minutes. Poisonous (chlorine) gas was first used by the Germans on the Western Front in April 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres. From then on both sides used gas – the Germans about 68,000 tonnes, the French almost 37,000 tonnes and the British more than 25,000 tonnes. The types of gases used were chlorine and mustard. The long-term effects depended on the type of gas used. In total some 1.2 million soldiers on both sides were victims of gas attacks, of whom at least 90,000 died.

Chlorine Gas METHOD OF USE Chlorine gas was brought to the front in cylinders and released when there was a light wind to blow it towards the enemy line? Can you think of a danger for this for the side using this gas? It formed a green cloud and, being heavier than air, would quickly fill a trench.

Chlorine Gas Symptoms When breathed in it dissolved in the fluids of the lungs to form hydrochloric acid thus burning out the lungs. It is the equivalent of drowning on dry land. Victims experience headaches, thirst, a knife edge pain in the lungs and the coughing up of a greening froth…ending in insensibility and death.

Mustard Gas Mustard gas was devised in July METHOD OF USE Mustard gas was put into shells and fired behind the enemy lines if the wind was blowing in the wrong direction for a conventional attack.

Mustard Gas Symptoms Mustard gas was a liquid which looked like sherry and smelled of onions. It reacted vigorously when it came into contact with body fluids. It could burn out a man’s lung and if a little got onto a sweaty part of the body it caused horrific burns and blisters. Many men were blinded by mustard gas.

Effectiveness of gas Because of the effectiveness of countermeasures – gas masks, gas proved to be an ineffective weapon. It did not kill enough soldiers to give either side a breakthrough. In total some 1.2 million soldiers on both sides were victims of gas attacks, of whom at least 90,000 died.