The War On Land Lesson Outcome and Objective

The War On Land

Lesson Outcome and Objective Today we will look at initial troop movements , trench warfare and technological advances introduced in WWI You will learn: o How Germany tried to avoid a two front war. o Why that plan failed. o About “attrition”. o The hardships of Trench warfare. o How technological advances impacted the war.

The Opening Move • The Germans faced a 2 front war with France & Russia. • Solution: The Schlieffen Plan • Weaker German units would hold along the French Border. • Stronger units would attack Belgium, moving quickly to N. France, encircling Paris. • With France defeated, Germany could turn and attack Russia.

Schlieffen Plan

Schlieffen Plan-Problems The plan assumed Belgium would not fight. WRONG- they did, slowing German progress. The plan assumed Britain would not honour an old treaty guaranteeing Belgium’s neutrality. WRONG- they did. France was going to get help. The plan assumed that it would take old Russia a long time to mobilize. WRONG- it took only 10 days, meaning German troops had to be moved immediately to the Eastern front.

• Because of these problems, the German offensive stalled • Faced with a retreat, the Generals insisted that the soldiers dig in defensive trenches so they could hold the parts of France and Belgium they already had taken.

Trench Warfare • The Allies realized they couldn’t break through the German lines. • They were forced to dig opposing trenches, but often in lower positions, as the Germans had taken the high ground. • Many of the Allied trenches hit ground water and were very muddy. • The Allies had to live in the worst conditions.

Foot Inspection

• Soldiers often got “Trench foot”.

• • • Trench lines and territory didn’t change much. It soon became a war of attrition, rather than movement. Trenches were never dug in straight lines There were often 3 -4 rows of trenches Machine guns and barbed wire protected trench lines. To attack the enemy, soldiers were ordered “over the top”, into the horror of “no mans land”.

The Ideal Trench

Ask yourself… Just ask yourself, what would it be like to live in a ditch? • Rats the size of cats, millions of them • Trench Foot • Enemy machine guns, snipers, artillery, tanks, airplanes, mines, etc. • Mud and water everywhere • Cold and never enough food

Life in the trenches • My memories are of sheer terror and the horror of seeing men sobbing because they had trench foot that had turned gangrenous. They knew they were going to lose a leg. Memories of lice in your clothing driving you crazy. Filth and lack of privacy. Of huge rats that showed no fear of you as they stole your food rations. And cold deep wet mud everywhere. And of course, corpses. I'd never seen a dead body before I went to war. But in the trenches the dead are lying all around you. You could be talking to the fellow next to you when suddenly he'd be hit by a sniper and fall dead beside you. And there he‘d stay for days. o Arthur Savage, Age 92

Chlorine Gas • • • Chlorine 1 st used by the German Army, 1915 at Ypres. Fr. soldiers saw yellow-green clouds drifting towards them Thought Germans were moving behind a smoke screen. Soldiers experienced chest pain & burning in their throats Chlorine gas destroyed the respiratory organs of its victims and this led to a slow death by asphyxiation. • Fr. realised it was gas & ran, left a 4 mile gap in the line. • BUT the German soldiers hesitated, also scared of the gas • Canadian and British troops retook the position before the Germans burst through the gap

Mustard Gas • First used by the German Army in 1917 • Was the most lethal of the gasses used during the war • Was almost odourless & took twelve hours to take effect • Once in the soil it remained active for several weeks • Caused skin to blistered, eyes burn, vomiting, as well as internal and external bleeding • Was extremely painful & soldiers were strapped to beds. • It took 4 to 5 weeks to die of mustard gas poisoning.

Contamination in Verdun

Red Zone- France

Machine Gun This new development changed the nature of war • It literally mowed soldiers down as they advanced

The Ross Rifle • Sam Hughes issued Canadian soldiers the Ross Rifle to replace the Lee Enfield Rifle • It was inferior & frequently jammed • Hughes refused for a long time to replace it. • In the meantime, Canadian soldiers took Lee Enfield rifles from fallen British soldiers. • The Lee Enfield eventually replaced the Ross Rifle Lee Enfield Rifle

Tanks • • A British idea that came late to the battlefield in WW 1 They were an attempt to deal with the machine gun They were not used effectively and use was limited They were unreliable and became easily stuck in the mud. • They were easy targets for artillery

The Aeroplane • • • First airplane flight was in 1903 by the Wright brothers Early pilots dropped bricks & shot pistols Soon guns were mounted on the planes They were also used for reconnaissance (spying) The top WW 1 allied ace was William (Billy) Bishop, (CAN)

U-Boats • German submarines harassed & destroyed many ships. • Moving undetected, the U-boat was a effective weapon

Shift in Technology

Canadian Commanders and Leadership • Minister of Militia Sam Hughes was plagued by scandals and when he challenged the PM in 1916, he was fired. • Julian Byng (British) commanded the CEF from 1916 -17. He was promoted after the success of Vimy Ridge.

• Arthur Currie (Can) Commanded the Canadian Army after the promotion of Julian Byng. He was mostly responsible for the success at Vimy. • He was known for careful planning and was a fierce advocate for the safety & cohesion of Canadian soldiers. • He too faced a scandal- embezzlement of government funds.

• PM Robert Borden sought more Dominion input into the war, and got it in 1917 when British PM David Lloyd George established the Imperial War Cabinet, comprised of the Prime Ministers of all the Dominions.

What a difference a few years makes…. • The war had begun with foot soldiers supported by cavalry ( soldiers on horses) however, the new technologies developed over the course of the war demanded new battle tactics. • Generals were slow to understand this and over the next three years the war became one of attrition and there was a stalemate on the Western Front. • War of Attrition- a military strategy based on exhausting the enemy’s manpower and resources before yours are exhausted, usually involving great losses on both sides. • With advances in technology, by 1918 the trench system was itself obsolete.