2. World War I Weapons and Technology

3. Let’s Review: What Did a WWI Battle Look Like? 2. Men go “over the top” and into No Man’s Land. 1.Launch heavy artillery (bombard -ment).

4. Video Break: What a WWI Battle Looked Like

5. WWI Weapons

6. Rifle  Main weapon used by soldiers.  15 rounds could be fired in a minute.  Deadly up to 600 yards (1/3 of a mile).

7. Artillery  Large guns.  Caused the most deaths and injuries in WWI.  Could shoot up to two or three miles.  Critical in trench warfare.  Why?

8. Machine Gun  Caused many casualties in WWI.  Made it difficult to attack positions because the guns weren’t portable.  Used more for defense.  Overheated easily.

9. How did the Machine Gun Change Warfare?  Made horse-mounted cavalry (Remember the Napoleonic Wars clip?) obsolete (no longer useful; out of date).  Could wipe out waves of attackers and so it made it very hard for forces to advance.

10. Gas  First uses of gas in war.  Initially was shot out and wind carried the gas.  Later there were shells that released gas.  Had some horrific effects, but didn’t play a huge role in deciding the war (only 3% of combat deaths were due to gas).

11. How Did Gas Change Warfare?  The number of non-fatal casualties was high.  It was impossible to develop very effective protections against gas attacks, so gas became one of soldiers’ greatest fears.

12. Tanks  Developed in 1916, but didn’t become an effective tool in battle until 1918.

13. Video Break: Tanks

14. How did Tanks Change Warfare?  Basically, it put an end to trench warfare.  Just FYI (No need to write this down): By World War II, the tank had evolved to a fearsome weapon which made the trench obsolete.

15. Submarines  World War I was the first conflict in which submarines were a serious weapon of war.  Attacked warships (which carried men, weapons, and supplies) using torpedoes.  On 22 September 1914, the German U-9 sank the British warships HMS Aboukir, Cressy, and Hogue in a single hour.  During World War I more than 5,000 Allied ships were sunk by U-boats.  Unrestricted submarine warfare will get Germany in trouble later in the war and will be a factor in U.S. entry to the war.

16. How Did Submarines Change Warfare?  Provided a new way to destroy enemy ships carrying important cargo (i.e. men, weapons, and supplies)