1. Combat, weapons, and tactics
World War I
Combat, weapons, and tactics

2. Cavalry Warfare
At the beginning of WWI the cavalry were still considered the primary mode of attack.
France, Germany, Austria and Russia each had over 100,000 cavalry.
Generals were very proud of the cavalry tradition in the British army and were guilty of ignoring other technologies at times.
“Cavalry will have a larger sphere of action in future wars” General Haig, 1914

3. The abundance of mud and the use of barbed wire swiftly led to the abandonment of cavalry in WWI as trench warfare began...

4. The first industrialized conflict
1750 – 1850: British Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution helped to shape the way we live today and enabled MASS PRODUCTION – The production of large quantities of an item usually with machinery and assembly lines.
Europe had been at peace for a century before WWI was the first fully industrialized conflict to have ever taken place.

5. The Trench System & the War of Attrition...
The system of trenches stretched for 475 miles.
Between 1914 – 1918 it moved barely more than 5 miles in either direction. The fighting had reached a “stalemate”.
France, Germany and Britain mustered around 5,000 men each for each mile of front.
Area between trenches became known as “no man’s land”, because no man could survive an open charge across this area.
In 1914 military equipment made it easier to defend than to attack. In defending your trench, you could: fire machine guns, shoot bombs & gas, and remain hidden from your enemy

12. The Machine Gun
Invented by Maxim in 1884, but rejected to begin with by the British High Command – an “improper way to conduct a war”
The German army invented their own version – the Maschinengewehr 08
Machine Gun nest – fixing a machine gun in a strongpoint like this made a deadly and effective defensive weapon
Could fire 400 – 600 rounds per minute
It was heavy (>44 lbs) and often overheated
Often needed 6 men to move it around the battlefield and had to sit on a flat surface.

13. Other New Weapons/Tactics
Bombs
Deployed by ships, subs, planes
Cannons
Built to launch further & faster
Germany’s “big Bertha” could shoot an 1,800-lb shell over 9 miles
Tanks
Steel hulls defended against bullets
By 1917, tanks were being used to clear paths for infantry regiments (clearing barbed wire, drawing fire)
Chemical warfare
WWI saw the introduction of chemical weapons, including mustard gas, chlorine
Caused suffocation, burns, and blindness
Troops began using gas masks

16. Submarine Warfare
Britain & Germany blockaded each other’s ports, each hoping to “starve out” the other until they surrendered
Germany used a new fleet of submarines called unterseeboots – “U-boats” for short
Attacked any ship coming or going from British ports, even neutral ones
The U.S. remained neutral at first; later joined the Allies
Sinking of the Lusitania & violation of the Sussex Pledge
Developed ways to detect U-boats and ways to safely travel across the Atlantic

17. The convoy system was used to get ships safely across the Atlantic
Ships travelled in groups
Merchant ships (carrying supplies) were in the middle, battleships were on the outside for protection
Some ships served as lookouts or decoys

18. U.S. Joins The War
US issued a draft: a law requiring men of a certain age to serve in the military (in WWI, called Selective Service)
June 1918 – more than 1 million troops were sent to France
Known as the American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
Led by General John Pershing
Fought in many areas:
At sea – naval battles on the Atlantic
On land
Battle of Belleau Wood (June 1918; US Marines fought for 3 weeks outside Paris; many men lost, but Allied victory)
Battle of the Argonne Forest (Sept. 1918; US, French, British & Belgian troops captured German positions & forced them to retreat; Sgt. Alvin York = hero of Argonne, led small troop to big victory against Germany)

19. In the air Early on, planes only used for scouting
Planes were later built to travel faster & carry weapons (guns & bombs).
New invention synchronized a machine gun with the propellers of the plane – allowed pilots to shoot from the front without hitting their own plane!
The Red Baron = famous German pilot (“flying ace”)
By 1918, planes were used for scouting, bombing trenches & other enemy targets, and fighting aerial “dogfights” with other planes

20. WWI fighter planes:
- Bottom right: Albatros

21. 65 million soldiers fought in WWI The Allies lost almost 6 million soldiers in battle; the Central Powers lost about 4 million Millions died from diseases, starvation, and other causes 6 million went missing, presumed dead 37 million: total casualties (missing, wounded, dead)