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Weapons of the Great War

Weapons of the Great War. Trenches. 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

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Weapons of the Great War

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  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

  16. 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.

  17. Mark I in Action

  18. 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.

  19. Mark I in action

  20. 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,

  21. 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.

  22. 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.

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

  24. 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.

  25. 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.

  26. 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

  27. 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

  28. 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

  29. 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

  30. 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.

  31. Submarines of WW I

  32. Submarines of WW I

  33. Submarines of WW I

  34. 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

  35. 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.

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

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