Weapons of the Great War

1. Weapons of the Great War

2. Trenches

3. Trenches • Reasons for the Trenches • Bothe the Allies and the Central Powers realized they could stop an enemy attack by digging trenches • Were a permanent feature of the war • Trench lines changed very little in 3 years • Create a stalemate • The war becomes stagnant • Machine gun fire from trenches makes crossing “No Mans Land” near impossible

4. Trenches • Trenches • Sand bags – protect soldiers from bullets and shrapnel • Barbed wire – delayed and entangled enemy soldiers , difficult to cut and bombing only tangled it up • Duck boards – were meant to help keep soldiers feet dry and drain trenches • Timber Siding – meant to keep trench wall from crumbling down

5. Trenches • Trenches • No Man’s Land – ground between enemy trenches • Crater Holes • Machine gun fire • Mines • Barbed wire • No cover • Zigzagging Trenches • Keep enemy from shooting down an entire line of a trench

6. MACHINE GUNS • Gatling gun- one of the earliest machine guns. • Developed during the American Civil War • Early machine guns had many mechanical glitches • They were heavy and unwieldy • They tended to overheat • They were difficult to use since they were hand cranked • Early machine guns could fire more than 120 shots per minute.

7. MACHINE GUNS • Sir Hiram Maxim invented a truly automatic gun The Maxim Gun • Was capable of ejecting spent cartridges • Loaded a new cartridge • Worked without needing a soldier to crank it. • This was achieved by using the energy from the gun’s recoil

8. MACHINE GUNS • Maxim’s gun was fully automatic • The barrel was enclosed in a thin water jacket • This gun could be fired accurately at a rate of 600 shots per minute How It Worked: Ammunition – 250 cartridges fitted to a belt Breech Loaded – first cartridge is inserted into the gun Recoil – ejected one cartridge and another was moved into the barrel, the firing pin was cocked, and the process is continued as long as the trigger is pulled.

9. MACHINE GUNS • Do we believe in Honor in victory? If so what is dishonorable or in other words “a cheap victory” • European nations believed the machine gun took the honor out of war. • It made killing to easy • One did have to face the enemy, be skilled, or brave to fight.

10. MACHINE GUNS • European countries used the machine gun in their colonies • Small colonial armies could control large hostile populations

11. Problem • How do get across “No Man’s Land” without getting gunned down? Let’s Discuss

12. The Tank • First Armored vehicle • Automobile fitted with machine guns • Designed to guard Allied airfields. • Developed by the British • Limited by barbed wire, mud, craters in the road. • Ernest Swinton – British Colonel comes up with the idea to combine armor with an American farm Tractor with a caterpillar track • Became known as the “Landship” • “Little Willie” Prototype for tanks to come in the future

13. Little Willie on Trials

14. The Tank • Britain’s Tank the Mark I • Tanks were designed to: • climb a vertical earth barrier 5 feet high • Cross a trench eight feet wide • Reach a top speed of 4 mile per hour • Maintain a crew of eight to ten men to navigate and man the guns

15. WWI British Tank

17. The Tank • First model Mark I • Male – armed with a six pound cannon • Female – lighter and equipped with machine guns • Captain H. W. Mortimore of the Royal Navy took a Mark I into action at Delville Wood during the Battle of Somme on Septembre 15, 1916. • The first successful use of massed tanks in combat occurred at the Battle of Cambrai on November 20 1917.

18. Mark I in Action

19. The Tank • Unreliable, most broke down before the battle began. • Used in small groups at first. • Slow!!!!!! • Terrible conditions inside these early beasts. • Vulunerable to wider trenches, artillery, and anti-tank shot.

20. Mark I in action

21. WW I Airplanes • The Airplane Become Important for War • First employed as aerial surveillance (reconnaissance). • Slowly guns are taken to the sky and you start shooting at the other guy’s plane. • Planes develop into the major categories. Fighter (Pursuit), Reconnaissance, Bomber,

22. How do you use an Airplane? • Reconnaissance is to look for the enemy. • Take pictures of important information • Fighters are to shoot down enemy planes. • Bombers are to destroy ground targets.

23. WW I Airplanes • First seen as a interesting gadget. • First employed as aerial surveillance (reconnaissance). • Slowly guns are taken to the sky and you start shooting at the other guy’s plane. • Planes develop into the major categories. Fighter (Pursuit), Reconnaissance, Bomber, • WWI also sees the development of the Airship.

24. Day Sopwith F.1 Camel, Fokker Dr.1 triplane,

25. WW I Airplanes • Dog fight is a common term used to describe close-range areial combat between military aircraft. • The term originated during W.W. I, • probably derived from the preferred fighter tactic of positioning one's aircraft behind the enemy aircraft. • From this position, a pilot could fire his guns on the enemy without having to lead the target, • the enemy aircraft could not effectively fire back. • When two fighter aircraft circled each other trying to achieve this position, it resembles two dogs chasing each other's tails.

29. Chemical Warfare of WW I • The French were the first to use chemical weapons during the First World War. • Tear Gas • The first full-scale deployment of chemical weapon was during W.W. I, in the Second Battle of Ypres, April 1915. • The Germans attacked France, Canadian and Algerian troops with chlorine gas. Deaths were light, though casualities relatively heavy. • This yellowish-green gas was a little heavier than the air it poisoned • It crept along the ground like fog and could penetrate defensive trenches.

30. Chemical Warfare of WW I 100,000 tons of poisonous chemicals were used in World War I These chemicals caused more than 1 million deaths

31. Chemical Warfare of WW I • Chlorine Gas • Extremely toxic • When inhaled it seared the windpipe and lungs • Cause the victims to choke • Skin turned a shiny gray-black • Lungs filled with a yellowish substance that could not be coughed up. • Cause a slow and agonizing death

32. Chemical Warfare of WW I • Another gas that was used was phosgene • 18 time more deadly than chlorine • It was invisible • Slower reaction time – those breathing the gas in only felt mild discomfort at first. • The respiratory tract would eventually shut down

33. Chemical Warfare of WW I • The King of gasses use was Mustard gas • Oily brown substance • Recognizable sharp smell – horseradish and mustard • Gas blistered the skin, eyes and throat with burns so painful victims had to be strapped to their beds • Caused external burns also

34. Submarines of WW I • Submarines Used Before WWI • The first military submarine was the Turtle. • Hand-powered egg-shaped device • Designed by the American David Bushnell • Revolutiory War. • CSS Hunley – Civil War • Spar torpedo - long pole in the bow, attached explosive charge. • Sank USS Housatonic in the Charleston Harbor. • The first time a submarine successfully sank another ship.

35. Submarines of WW I

36. Submarines of WW I

37. Submarines of WW I

38. Submarines of WW I C.1895 John Philip Holland(US) designed submarines that, for the first time, made use of internal combustion engine power on the surface and electric battery power for submerged operations. • This is the main form of propulsion until Nuclear power. • USS Holland in 1900

39. Submarines of WW I II. Use in WWI • How do you use this new weapon? • With the fleet to sink warships? • Sink merchant ships? • German uses submarines most effectively in terms of tactics and strategy. • Blockade Britain. • Sink merchant ships – cut off supplies. • Same strategy would be used by the Germans in WWII.

40. Submarines of WW I III. Submarine Limitations • Mainly on the surface. • Short diving time. • Slow underwater. • Cramped conditions. • No rescue if you sink.