WWITRENCH WARFARE What was Trench Warfare a type
- Slides: 21
WWI-TRENCH WARFARE
What was Trench Warfare? a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other.
A Continuous front -For a couple of months, both sides attempted to outflank the other but were unable to achieve any lasting victory. -After a few months these trenches had spread from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier. -The landscape was flat and digging trenches into the ground was the only way to protect themselves from enemy fire
A typical trench system -Trenches were usually about seven feet deep and six feet wide -often possessed deep underground dugout that housed large groups of soldiers.
German Trenches -As the Germans were the first to decide where to stand fast and dig, they had been able to choose the best places to build their trenches. The possession of the higher ground not only gave the Germans a tactical advantage, but it forced the British and French to live in the worst conditions
Allied Trenches -Most of the area that the Allies were forced to build their trenches was rarely a few feet above sea level. -As soon as soldiers began to dig down they would invariably find water two or three feet below the surface. -Water-logged trenches were a constant problem for soldiers on the Western Front.
Time in the trenches The British army worked on a 16 day timetable: 8 days on the front line 4 days in the support trench 4 days of rest in the reserve trench However, if they were short on men, some soldiers had to stay in the trenches for longer periods of time; sometimes up to 30 days.
Trench Details ● ● ● ● Barbed-Wire No-Man’s Land Artillery Poison Gas Zig-Zagging Trenches Blind Alleys Underground “Saps”
Barbed-Wire ● ● ● placed far enough away to prevent the enemy from approaching but close enough to lob grenades in. difficult to cut shelling usually only tangled it up No Man’s Land ● ● ● is term used by soldiers to describe the ground between the two opposing trenches. averaged 200 -250 meters Neither group could gain ground and millions died
Artillery ● accounted for as many as 7 out of 10 casualties in WWI ● heavy artillery became vital in the war in order to penetrate the trenches While not common, massive artillery guns such as the German “Big Bertha” shown above could fire one ton shells more than ten miles
Poison Gas ● German Army first used chlorine gas cylinders in April 1915. ● The use of Chlorine gas was soon followed by more potent chemical weapons like Phosgene and Mustard Gas. ● Although these new weapons did not help one side win the war, they did increase the level of suffering for both sides. It has been estimated that the Germans used 68, 000 tons of gas against Allied soldiers.
Zig-zagging trenches These led nowhere and they were built to confuse and slow down the enemy. Underground “saps” prevented attackers from firing along a long length of a trench. Blind Alleys tunnels driven under enemy trenches so that explosives could be placed under them and detonated.
Conditions in the trenches Apart from being cold, hungry, and wet most of the time, the soldiers also suffered from: -Rats -Lice -dysentery -trench foot -and a host of other problems
Rats Lice -corpses, as well as the food scraps that littered the trenches, attracted rats and with rats came disease. Men in the trenches suffered from lice that left blotchy red bite marks all over the body. As well as causing frenzied scratching, lice also carried disease. This was known as trench fever.
Dysentery Trench Foot a disease involving the inflammation of the lining of the large intestines. The inflammation causes stomach pains and diarrhea and can be fatal if the body dehydrates. This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary conditions. This disease struck the men in the trenches as there was no proper sanitation. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots.
Other problems in the trenches ● quality of food ● corpses ● weather (rain and snow) ● shell shock ● if you survived, you often were tormented by the memories, amputated limbs, and/or disfigurement.
TRENCH WARFARE Advantages Disadvantages ● coverage from enemy bullets ● felt some sort of security from constant tension of war going on all around ● limited use of destructive weapons ● nowhere to run or retreat ● difficult to bring supplies in ● many health complications ● took a long time to gain small ground ● limited use of destructive weapons
Why Was WWI so deadly? ● New technologies and weapons the world had never seen ● Scientists and inventors worked tirelessly to improve current technologies/weapons and to invent more powerful ones
Airplanes Tanks ● ● ● Debuted in September 1916 Used by Allies Very hard to steer Unreliable ○ Constantly broke down on the battlefield Eventually improved and were used to break though German lines ● ● Spy planes ○ Collect intelligence about the enemy Dog fights ○ Machine guns mounted on plane ○ Enemy planes fight each other Bombings ○ Dropped bombs on cities and troops Advancements ○ Allied and Central powers wanted airplanes that were fast, easy to maneuver, and stronger ○ Better planes= more success
Machine Guns Vicker Gun ● ● ● Chemical Weapons Invented by British 500 bullets per minute It took 6 men to operate the gun Very effective Placed along Western front to defend against the enemy Chlorine Gas - First used by Germans in 1915 Effects - Eyesight: caused blindness - Lungs: caused suffocation - Skin: caused rashes and burning - Nose: caused burning Psychological effect: Soldiers spent much of their days worrying about and guarding against this terrifying death Mustard Gas - Used by allied and central powers - Could take up to 12 hours to effect - Death could take 5 weeks! Deadly but… - Gases were largely ineffective - Why? Weather conditions and how it was delivered - Wind changes- kill own troops
U-Boats Battleships Fighting at sea -Had long-range guns -Attack other ships and land targets from safe distances Blockades -allies prevented supplies/food from reaching Germany German Retaliation: -submarines used to sneak up on Allies and attack with torpedoes No ship was safe: -germans also attacked Allied passenger ships -Sinking of Lusitania (British passenger ship) killed 1200, including 128 Americans→ brought USA into war
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