THE USE OF

TECHNOLOGY

IN WWI

AIRCRAFT

This was the first

time that aircraft

were used to fight

a war.

AIRCRAFT

Role in the War

• At the start of the war, planes could

only drop grenades, bombs were too

heavy.

• Sometimes there were dogfights in

the air between opposing planes

• Main role: To spy on the enemy.

Where should we aim our shells?

AIRCRAFT

Role in the War

•By 1918, the role aircraft played was

much more important.

•By 1918 Britain had 22,000 aircraft

•German Zeppelins could fly for 10

hours non-stop and carry 2,000kg of

bombs!

SUBMARINES

SUBMARINES

Role in the War• Germany used UNRESTRICTED

SUBMARINE WARFARE against Britain at

beginning of war.

• This meant they would SINK ANY SHIP

HEADED TO BRITAIN

•The waters around Britain were declared

a “war-zone” by Germany

• U-BOATS were a big threat until…

SUBMARINES

Role in the War

SUBMARINES

Role in the War•The British passenger ship, Lusitania, was

sunk in 1915, killing many American

passengers

•The US demanded Germany stop

unrestricted warfare or they would enter

the war against the Central Powers

•Germany agreed and u-boats remained a

fear but not a huge threat until 1917

SUBMARINES

Role in the War•In Feb 1917 Germany resumed

unrestricted submarine warfare (the US

then joined the Allies)

•Between Feb. & Apr. 1917, 2 mil.+ tons of

Allied shipping was sunk by Germany, which

only lost 9 U-Boats.

•U-Boats were a real threat at the

beginning and end of the war, but by the

time the USA joined the Allies, THE TIDE OF

WAR HAD TURNED

GAS

GAS

Estimated gas production

(in tons)Austria-Hungary 5,335

Britain 25,400

France 37,390

Germany 69,090

Italy 4,275

Russia 3,705

U.S.A. 5,770

Total 150,965

Soldiers in contact with gasCountry Mortal Non-mortal

Russia 56,000 419,340

Germany 9,000 200,000

France 8,000 190,000

British Empire 8,109 188,706

Austria-Hungary 3,000 100,000

U.S.A. 1,462 72,807

Italy 4,627 60,000

Total 88,498 1,240,853

GAS

Role in the War• About 7% of gassed soldiers died.

• Used for the first time (by Germany) at

Ypres, Belgium in 1915 against

Canadians.

• Not very useful after invention of the

gas mask.

• Another problem: the wind!

GAS

Role in the War•Chlorine gas caused asphyxiation and

death.

• Mustard gas caused horrible burns.

• Gas became mostly a psychological

weapon. Imagine a large yellow-green

cloud of poison coming towards you!

WORLD WAR I

BATTLE OF YPRES

• After the gas attack,

the Canadians stayed

in position.

• To protect

themselves against the

effects of the gas, the

Canadians drenched

their handkerchiefs in

mud or urine and

covered their faces.

Soldier burned by mustard gas

GAS

Role in the War•Final Verdict:

• Horrible but unpredictable

•Did not impact war’s outcome

MACHINE GUNS

MACHINE GUNS

Role in the War• Machine guns are the reason why

millions of soldiers were killed in WWI.

• Soldiers who went “over the top”

had no chance against machine guns.

• It was common to be hit by a bullet

– even before entering No man’s land.

MACHINE GUNS

Role in the War•Germany had 12,500 in 1914, Britain

had only a few hundred

• The British didn’t realize how useful the

weapon would be until the start of the

trench warfare.

• This weapon killed 90% of British

soldiers at the Battle of the Somme on 01

July 1916.

TANKS

TANKS

Role in the War• Used for the first time at the Somme in

1916.

• Used en masse by the Allies to scare

the Germans

• The Germans started to build tanks in

1918, but by then it was too late to

change the outcome of WWI.

TANKS

Role in the War•Tanks could get shot, run over barbed

wire, and cross trenches without getting

damaged.

• But, tanks had MANY technical

problems and were NOT RELIABLE.

•They became more servicable by the end

of the war

A

COMPARISON OF

THE EASTERN

AND WESTERN

FRONTS

FRONT …

WESTERN / EASTERN

UKRAINE

RUMANIA

BULGARIASERBIA

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

GERMANY

RUSSIA

ESTONIA

BELARUS

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

POLAND

EAST vs. WEST

1. The length of the

Eastern Front was

much longer than that

of the Western. This

theatre of war

extended from the

Baltic Sea in the

north to the Black Sea

in the south – a

distance of 1,600 km.

UKRAINE

RUMANIA

BULGARIASERBIA

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

GERMANY

RUSSIA

ESTONIA

BELARUS

LATVIA

LITHUANIA

POLAND

EAST vs. WEST

2. This great distance affected the war in

the East. While in the West there were

trenches, war in the East was too unstable,

so permanent trenches were never dug.

3. Because the Eastern front was so long,

soldiers were spread out thinly & the lines

were much easier to break through by the

enemy.

EAST vs. WEST

4. Once the lines were broken, an already

bad communication system got worse. So

getting reinforcements to help was a much

longer process.

5. The soil in the East is much harder than

in the West. Add the harsh winter, and

trenches are almost impossible to dig.

EAST vs. WEST

6. On the contrary, the

Western Front was

created after the First

Battle of the Marne

(1914) and expanded to

stretch from the Swiss

border to the English

Channel in the north – a

distance of 700km.

THE BATTLE OF

TANNENBERG

(1914)On the EASTERN FRONT

between Germany and Russia

from August 20-31, 1914.

Tannenberg 1914

Situation• The French wanted to force

Germany to split up her army,

and thus pressured Russia to

attack in the east – 2 fronts!

• The Russians accepted the

French request, despite being

nowhere near ready to fight.

Tannenberg 1914

Attack• On 20 Aug.1914, the Russians,

commanded by Samsonov in the

South and Rennenkampf in the

North, attacked the Germans.

• The German General von Prittwitz,

panicked and retreated.

• Von Prittwitz was seen as cowardly

and was replaced by von Hindenburg.

Tannenberg 1914

Attack• In the North, Rennenkampf was

content with his ‘victory’ so Samsonov’s

army moved to join Rennenkampf’s.

• But the Russians made the HORRIBLE

ERROR OF COMMUNICATING THEIR

MESSAGES OVER RADIO.

• The Germans could now figure out

where the Russians were going and

when.

Tannenberg 1914

Attack• By Aug 28th, the Germans had started

to encircle the Russians.

• This trapped the Russians in bogs and

forests. They were sitting ducks.

• Samsonov managed to escape and kill

himself instead of facing Tsar Nicolas II.

• On Aug. 30th, the Russians tried to

break past the Germans, but were

slaughtered.

Tannenberg 1914

Result

RUSSIA 30,000 killed

100,000+ captured

500+ pieces of artillery lost

GERMANY 10,000 to 15,000 killed

Tannenberg 1914

Result

*** GERMANY FAILED IN THE

WESTERN FRONT WITH THEIR

SCHLIEFFEN PLAN, BUT

DELIVERED A NEAR MORTAL

BLOW TO THE RUSSIANS IN THE

EAST IN THE FIRST MONTH OF

THE WAR!!!

THE BATTLE

OF THE SOMME

(1916)The most bloody battle of WWI and one

of the most bloody in all history

(57,470 victims, of which 19,240 died).

Somme 1916

Situation• The Allies wanted to break

through a Ger. line 40km long

near the Somme (river).

• For 7 days before the battle,

the Allies threw 1.7 million

shells on the Ger.

Somme 1916

Situation• Also, 17 mines were dug

underneath the Ger.

trenches – the 3 biggest

had 20 tons of explosives

each!

Somme 1916

Situation

• BUT, the shells failed to

eliminate the barbed wire and

did not destroy the Ger.

trenches.

• Even today, French farmers

do an “iron harvest”.

• The mines did very little.

Somme 1916

The Attack• Zero-Hour: 7:30am

• Hawthorn Ridge exploded at

7:20am.

• This signaled to the Ger. that a

major attack was coming.

Explosion at Hawthorn Ridge

Crater left at Hawthorn Ridge

Somme 1916

Result• The battle lasted 5 months

• More than three million

soldiers fought in the battle

• More than one million

casualties

•The battle gained the Allies

about 8 kms of land

WORLD WAR I

BAT. OF BEAUMONT-HAMEL• A battle of the Battle of the Somme.

• Started at 9:15am.

• Ended at 9:45am.

• The Royal Newfoundland Regiment

had to capture a line of German

trenches.

• Unfortunately at 9:15am when the RNR

got the signal to attack, they were the

only soldiers on the battlefield ...

• and even worse – the Newfoundlanders

had cut holes in their barbed wire so they

could more easily enter no mans land.

• Therefore, the Ger. had a target.

WORLD WAR I

BAT. OF BEAUMONT-HAMEL

Higher

Terrain

• German victory.

• 790 Newfoundlanders entered No man’s land

on 01 July 1916 …

• … only 68 answered roll call on 02 July.

WORLD WAR I

BAT. OF BEAUMONT-HAMEL

The Royal

Newfoundland

Regiment was

91% annihilated!

World War One

BEAUMONT-HAMEL