1. A NEW KIND OF WAR PART 2

2. PDN
Enduring Understanding: Guns, tanks, airplanes, and submarines were also utilized in the fighting Essential Questions: 1. What were the effects of major new military technologies on World War I?

3. Objectives
Identify and describe the impact of modern technology on the fighting
Explain how WWI was a global conflict

4. GUNS rapid-fire machine guns were used early machine guns:
were big & heavy
needed a crew of four to six people to operate
lacked cooling mechanisms
shot small caliber rounds per minute
could weigh pounds (30-60kg) w/out mountings, carriages, & supplies
ammo was fed on fabric or metal strips
guns would overheat quickly
they often looked like this picture, propped up on a tripod

5. GUNS later machine guns were lighter & more portable
lighter weight, but still too heavy
1918  guns for infantrymen now existed
lighter weight
lacked enough ammuntion
by end of war, guns had been added to tanks, warships, & aircraft
light machine guns could be carried by advancing infantrymen = assault rifle
26 pounds/12kg = too heavy for rapidly advancing infantrymen
by 1918, one-man portable machine guns were being used
(20 pounds) 9-14kg
hard to keep sufficient ammunition
the guns on aircraft had to be lightweight & also had to be specially adapted so the pilot could shoot the gun, but the bullets would pass between the propeller blades (called “interrupter equipment”, developed by the Germans)
I’d hate to be the guy who first tried to shoot a gun in the air and realized it shot the prop apart
Bergmann MP18

6. TANKS aka: landships armored vehicles
could cross rough battlefield terrain
such as no man’s land
first tank, “Little Willie”
14 tons (weight) with 12-foot long track frames
space for three men (cramped)
maximum speed of 2 mph (on rough terrain)
caterpillar track first used as early as 1770 (tractors)

7. TANKS first developed in Great Britain
France & the US soon became interested
not very reliable or useful at first
used later in the war
November 1917, Battle of Cambrai
armored vehicles typically used for transportation
trench warfare was stagnant (stayed in same place)
later in the war, the usefulness of tanks were seen
Battle of Cambrai
British used tanks to breach 12 miles of German front
captured 10,000 German soldiers, 123 guns, & 281 machine guns
by end of war, Britian had produced 2,636 tanks; France, 3,870; Germany, 20

8. AIRCRAFT Uses of aircraft: observe enemy positions
armed with machine guns & bombs
attacked battlefields & cities
attacked enemy planes (“dogfights”)
useful from beginning of war
Picture is Manfred von Richthofen, aka “The Red Baron”
German “ace” (a person who shoots down many enemy planes)
credited with 80 kills

9. AIRCRAFT most countries had few planes at start of war
production of planes increased rapidly
planes had to be easy to fly
first, designed for stability
later, designed for maneuverability
generals began including planes in planning
France had had 140 planes at the start of war  ended with 4,500
planes had to be easy to fly because pilots had little to no training on how to fly
most generals had seen planes as tools for only observation & reconnaissance  by end of war, planes were included in the strategic planning of assaults

10. Sopwith Camel/F.1 Camel
British WWI one-seat, bi-plane fighter
empty weight: 930 pounds
Maximum speed: 115 mph
armed with two 7.7mm Vickers Machine Guns

11. SUBMARINES U-boat: submarines used by Germans in WWI and WWII
developed by Germans
unrestricted submarine warfare
any ship traveling in water around Great Britain was subject to attack

12. SUBMARINES easy to attack without being seen attack merchant ships
cut off (British) supply lines
Great Britain developed convoys
helped against threat of attack
United States entered war on Allied side
Americans had been killed because of unrestricted submarine warfare

13. MISCELLANEOUS WEAPONS
flamethrower
different sizes for different circumstances
spread fire by launching burning fuel
Richard Fiedler, German
small for single man = 18 meter range; bigger = 36 meter range
carbon dioxide or nitrogen = expensive fuel

14. grenade detonate two different ways: impact or timed-fuse
grenade with a pin that was pulled, triggering the fuse, became much more popular
grenade that detonated by impact/percussion was dangerous because, if it was dropped, it could explode

15. bayonet had more of a psychological use
bayonets were useful in close combat because you would only injure the enemy
a bullet fired at close range could go through your enemy and into a friend

16. mortar could be fired from inside a trench
mortar is shot up at a steep angle so it comes down right on the enemy
lighter and more mobile than many artillery weapons