Tuesday, January 10, 2011

Goal: 10.5.2 Examine the impact of new weapons and machinery that made WWI a modern war

In-class: Weapons of WWI & Trench Warfare

Warm-up: What was trench warfare?

Homework: WWI Soldier Letter due FridayCauses of WWI Quiz tomorrow!

Wednesday, January 11, 2011

Goal: 10.5.2 Explain in detail the events that caused the U.S. to join WWI

In-class: Causes of WWI Quiz, 13.3 Notes

Warm-up: Why were the Balkans referred to as the “powder keg” of Europe?

Homework: WWI Soldier Letter due Friday

A NEW KIND OF WAR

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 400-600 small

caliber rounds perminute

GUNS

• later machine guns were lighter & more portable• lighter weight, but still too heavy

• 1918 guns for infantrymen now existed– lighter weight– lacked enough ammunition

• by end of war, guns had been added to tanks, warships, & aircraft

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)

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

• mortar– could be fired from inside a trench

Other Weapons

German soldier showing off their captured British tank

AIRCRAFT

Uses of aircraft:• observe enemy positions• armed with machine guns & bombs• attacked battlefields & cities• attacked enemy planes

(“dogfights”)• useful from beginning of war

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

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Ricthofen (Red Baron)

• German fighter pilot in the Imperial German Army Air Service

• Considered the aces of aces

• Was a national hero in Germany in 1918

• shot down and killed on April 21, 1918

• Probably the most famous fighter pilots of all time

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

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

MISCELLANEOUS WEAPONS• flamethrower– different sizes for different circumstances

• grenade– detonate two different ways: impact or timed-

fuse

Other Weapons

• bayonet– had more of a psychological use

Other Weapons