Warfare of the Great War

War of the Sea

• Royal Navy

• Merchant ships– Cargo ships– Plant underwater mines

U-Boat

• Unterseeboot – German term

• Attacked merchant convoys bringing supplies to Allied forces from US and Canada

• Sank three American merchant ships in 1917 – prompting US to enter war

Torpedoes

• Torpedoes were used by submarines• The Germans used torpedoes to blow

up ships carrying supplies from America to Britain

• The Germans torpedoed the passenger liner Lusitania on May 1st, 1915– 1,195 lives are lost– Americans were outraged and joined the

war in 1917 on the side of the allies.

• U-boat garage

Convoy of merchant ships and battleships

War of the Air

Planes

• Used to deliver bombs

• Spy work

• Later became fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, bombs and some times cannons

• Dogfights– Fights between two planes in the sky

Zeppelin

• Blimp• Greatly used by Germans• Used for passenger transport and military

purposes– Bombing, machine guns, and scouting

• Not very successful!– Vulnerable to gunfire

• Most successful as reconnaissance – lead German ships to Allied ships in Sea

War on Land

• Trenches– Good ones were built

in a zig-zag pattern– Underground cities

• Western front– 6,000 miles of trenches

Machine Guns

• 4-6 men to work them

• Had to be on a flat surface

• Fire-power of 100 guns

No Man’s Land

• Area of land between opposing trenches

• Many men died within first days of war because of the allure of it (peering over the edge – sniper bullet)

Tanks

• “Little Willie”• Daimler engine (Chrysler), Caterpillar

track, crew of 3• Maximum speed was 3mph• COULD NOT cross trenches• End of War – modernized tank

– Fits 10 men– Revolving turret (gun)– 4mph

Chlorine

• German army were the first to use chlorine gas in 1915

• Chlorine gas causes a burning sensation in the throat and chest pains

• Death is painful - you suffocate! • The problem with chlorine gas is that the

weather must be right. If the wind is in the wrong direction it could end up killing your own troops rather than the enemy

Mustard Gas

• Mustard gas was the most deadly weapon used

• Fired into the trenches in shells• Colorless and takes 12 hours to take effect• Effects include: blistering skin, vomiting, sore

eyes, internal and external bleeding• Very painful – victims had to be tied to bed!• Death can take up to 5 weeks• Remain in soil for several more weeks

Trench Problems

Lice

• Would breed in the seams of filthy clothing (warm areas) and cause uncontrollable itching

• Lice caused Trench Fever– painful disease that began suddenly with

severe pain followed by high fever– Recovery - away from the trenches - took up

to twelve weeks. 

• Lice were not actually identified as the culprit of Trench Fever until 1918

Rats• Millions of them infected trenches• Black and brown rats• Gorge themselves on human remains

– disfigured dead bodies by eating their eyes and liver

– could grow to the size of a cat • A single rat couple could produce up to 900

offspring in a year – ultimately spreading infection and contaminated food.