The War to End All Wars Chapter Four World War I
Why Did War Begin? Reasons for war –Alliance system in Europe –Imperialistic objectives –Militarism –Nationalism Devotion to one’s nation and a desire to secure one’s national interests over the interests of other nations Own national agenda competed –Economically –Diplomatically –Militarily
Why Did War Begin? Assassination of heir to Austria-Hungary –Austria-Hungary blames Serbia –Declares war on Serbia Germany declares war on Russia –Germany allied with Austria-Hungary –Germany declares war on Russia Russia allied with Serbia –Germany declares war on France France allies with Russia –Britain declares war on Germany Germany invades Belgium
War Begins Troops moved by: Train, truck, car, horse, on foot Aircraft Observed situation Reconnaissance Recorded position and reported Trench warfare
German Airships & Dirigibles German Zeppelins –Pride of German people –Mostly reconnaissance, occasionally bomb –Vunerable Large Highly visible Low-flying Slow-moving
German Airships & Dirigibles Flew about 250 Army missions –England first bombed 1915 – Yarmouth hour round trip Weather over seas Searchlights Anti-aircraft guns Airplanes Wire nets Weather/ mechanical problems –Downed more than enemy Army dismantled program
German Airships & Dirigibles Navy continued program –Over 1,000 reconnaissance missions –Couple hundred bombing missions –Technology increased –6 weeks to build –Cost 80 airships to one battleship –Required Large facilities Large ground crews
German Airship Effectiveness Army –Lost 26 of 52 airships –52 men Navy –Lost 53 of 73 airships –389 men Damage –52 raids –0ver 500 lives Effectiveness?
Allied Airships & Dirigibles France –All Army at start of war –Reconnaissance/artillery ranging –Suspended use for awhile Instances of damage by friendly fire Didn’t recognize nationality of airships –63 missions/ then transferred to Navy –Navy Dirigible division Protection for naval vessels 37 when war ended
Allied Airships and Dirigibles British –Used as naval weapons –Reconnaissance/surveillance of sea coasts –Designs based on down German Zeppelins –103 airships at war end
Drachen Balloon Kite balloon –Tethered to ground or naval vessel –Direct telephone line with ground –Very effective Observation Sector reconnaissance Battery ranging Artillery spotting Verification of demolition –Later equipped with parachutes
Balloons Modified Drachen Balloon –Barrage Balloon Linked by horizontal cables Additional cables dangled Free Balloons –Bombs –Bombsights –Drift indicators
What damage was done? Shelters For All ! Raid on Antwerp Night after night during the bombing raids shleter became very much a necessity. The air raid siren would sound - the children would be woken and hurriedly ushered from their beds, and half asleep they would trudge wearily to the garden to spend yet another night huddled on some make shift bed in a dark, damp cold shelter - waiting for the all clear to sound and praying that the nearby explosions would not come any closer.
Early World War I Military aircraft Suitable for reconnaissance and scouting Bi-planes Two-seats Low powered Limited maneuverability/load-carrying capacity
Aircraft Germany – 230 airplanes Russia – 190 airplanes Austria-Hungary – 110 airplanes Great Britain – 80 airplanes United States – 15 airplanes
Aircraft Germany 15 Army flying schools Goal of 1,000 airplanes 2 types Taube - monoplane Arrow - biplane Austria-Hungary Relied on German support Mixture of monoplanes and biplanes
Aircraft France 4 military airports 300 airplanes on order 3,500 military aviation personnel Great Britain British Royal Flying Corps – 1912 Not state-of-the-art 63 aircraft sent to France
Aircraft Russia 50 airplanes combat ready Italy Small at start of war Domestic production increased Combat experience Italo-Turkish War
Aircraft United States Army/Navy Recruited Trained Transported airmen to Europe Canadian Royal Flying Corps British Royal Flying Corps French Foreign Legion Lafayette Escadrille Transferred to U.S. Army Eugene Bullard First black American military aviator
Early World War I Strategic Goal - ports on English Channel Airfields Created as they moved “One night stands” Expansion Britain expanded the Royal Flying Corps Wireless officers (Radio operators) Reconnaissance photos German development Maintained dominant aerial position Pilots carried pistols
Aviation Developments Aerial Combat France – first kill Voisin biplane Pivoting Hotchkiss machine gun Shot down German reconnaissance airplane Bombing Consisted of small pocket bombs Enemy trains were prime targets
Aviation Developments Communications Dropping message bags Wireless communication (radios) One-way Sent in code Radio problems Weight Danger of fire (sparks from equipment) Required radio operator Skilled in Morse Code Lamps Grubb reflector
Military Aviation Developments Aerial Combat –Pilots carried pistols –Machine guns mounted on planes –Hotchkiss Machine gun
Military Aviation Developments Forward firing –French pilot Roland Garros –Metal deflector plates to propeller blades –Bullets ricochet off deflector plates –April 1915 Downed 5 German airplanes First ace of war –Shot down Germans captured airplane
Military Aviation Developments Forward firing –Innovation turned over to Anthony Fokker –Improvement Machine gun synchronized with propeller Interrupter gear –Fokker scourge Late 1915/Early 1916 –Allies captured German airplane
Aerial Combat Gentleman’s Warfare –Classic dogfight –Fokker scourge Max Immelman – 16 victories Oswald Boelke – 40 victories Manfred von Richthofen –80 victories –Allies Rene Fonck – France (75 victories) Edward Mannock – Great Britain (61 victories) United States? –Eddie Rickenbacker – 26 victories
Ace The Red Baron
Ace Eddie Rickenbacker (American Ace) “Fighting in the air is not a sport. It is a scientific murder.”
Aerial Combat Gentleman’s Warfare –Pilots dropped message News of captured, killed, missing Upcoming bombings Fighter Planes –Fly higher –Climb quicker –Turn sharper –Loop, circle, and dive –Survive and kill
Aerial Combat New tactics –Formation flying Germany first Squadrons of up to 10 planes Mass attacks “Classic” dogfights declined April 1917 –Allies lost 83 planes
Military Aviation Developments Bombing Artillery spotting Bomber Still Meant… Soldier tossing bombs from plane Enemy Supply Trains main target Recon to Bombing Missions
Bombers Sikorsky Ilya Mourometz (S-22) Luxury commercial passenger transport 4 engine Internal bomb bay Bomb sighting device Armor added to engines Defensive weapons Mythical status First loss to 4 fighters 3 of 4 destroyed
Ilya Mourometz
German Bombers Gotha Unique Steel used in construction Fuselage, nacelle, landing gear, wings
German Gotha
Allied Bombers British Handley Page One of largest in world O/400 Model Carry 1,650 pound bomb Deployed in force Up to 40 in a raid Night missions Established first independent Air Force Royal Air Force Royal Flying Corps Royal Navy Air Service
Allied Bombers France Breguet XIV First airplane mass produced Metal instead of wood in structure Fast and agile 5,500 produced
Allied Bombers France Most bombs dropped during war Flew en masse V Formations 3 – 5 planes Missions involved hundreds Caudron fighter provided support Daytime raids
Allied Bombers United States None during war Pilots flew French planes Suffered heavy losses Inexperience
Flying Boats/Seaplanes Patrolled coasts, ports, convoys Submarines France Expanded from 8 planes to over 1,200 Deployed aircraft carrier
Military Aviation Developments Artillery –Battle of Neuve Chapelle –Artillery Spotting –Wireless Messages
Military Aviation Developments Communications –Air to ground communication –Wireless equipment was too heavy –Danger of fire –Airborne radio operator had to know Morse code –Signaling by lamps/Grubb reflector
Military Aviation Developments Forward firing French pilot Roland Garros First shoot-down by airplane firing through tractor propeller Fokker impovement Synchronization device Led to Fokker Scourge German aces Immelmann – 16 kills Boelcke – 40 kills Von Richthofen – 80 kills
Military Aviation Developments Early aircraft resembled Wright Flyer Fighters New technology Formation flying Germans Bombers German - Gotha French – Breguet XIV
Aircraft Production War – stimulate to industry –Demand exceeded prewar capacity –Government contracts subsidized expansion Build new wing on factory Leading airplane producers? –France 51,700 airplanes –British 55,092 airplanes –Germany 48,537 airplanes –Italy 20,000 airplanes –U.S. 15,000 airplanes
U.S. Production Concentrate on one airplane –De Havilland 4 British gave free use of license French required royalties –Avoid confusion –Employed more than 200,000 –Run by inept people No experience with aircraft Contract awarded to companies without experience Failed to place orders with established companies Shipped less than 1,400 planes to Europe
U.S. Production Curtiss –Produced 5,221 planes 1/3 of U.S. production JN-4 Jenny trainer Spruce production –Propellers/framework –Lightness and strength –Allied government relied on spruce –Wooblies on strike –Army established Spruce Production Division Mobilized 25,000 men
U.S. Engine Production Wanted one engine –Foreign engines Not adaptable to machine tool production All American engine –Compared designs and performances –First engine completed on 4 July 1917 –“Free of dependence on foreign engines” –24,478 produced/23 engine plants 6,000 to AEF in France
Peace Armistice – agreement to stop fighting –Preliminary to peace Negotiations follow –Series of agreements (Treaties) Eastern Front – 8 Nov 1917 Bulgarian/Macedonian Line – 29 Sep 1918 Austria-Hungary – 3 Nov 1918 Germany – 11 Nov 1918
Peacetime Production War supplies need disappeared –Governments cancelled: Existing contracts Pending orders High wartime shortage prices Negotiated settlements –Workers laid off –Factories closed –Companies out of business –Liquidating unneeded assets –War surplus equipment
Peace Major peace conference –Paris Peace Conference –Big Four Nations attended France United States Italy Britain Russia—did not attend
Peace Treaty of Versailles –Germany June 1919 Treaty of St-Germain –Austria September 1919 Treaty of Neuilly –Bulgaria November 1919 Treaty of Trianon –Hungary June 1920 Treaties of Sevres and Lausanne –Ottoman Empire 1920 and 1923
Treaty Of Versailles 15 Parts –Germany accept responsibility for provoking war Public humiliation for Germans –Germany lost: Land –25,000 square miles Colonies Money –Reparations: 132,000 Marks –Contributed to economic depression Rights Freedoms Alsace and Lorraine to France
Part V. Air Clauses Harshest terms of treaty –German restrictions No naval or military air force of any kind Max size restrictions of military forces and equipment Reduction of men, supplies, ships, aircraft Prohibited conscription/all-volunteer force –Inter-Allied Commissions of Control received 15,000 airplanes/2,500 airplane motors 30% each to France and Great Britain 15% each to United States and Italy 5% each to Belgium and Japan
Aerial Navigation Clauses Temporary restrictions on civil aviation –Open airways to aircraft of Allied and Associated Powers –Enforced until 1 Jan 1923
Summary WW I 1914 – 1918 Airships Race to the Channel Military Development Airplane Production Treaty of Versailles