Single Shot Rifle Soldiers were issued a single shot rifle like

the one you see below. The disadvantage to this rifle was it’s

inability to shoot long distances.

Machine Guns

firepower equivalent of 60-100 rifles

heavy, hard to move positioned on a flat tripod required a gun crew of

four to six operators reality: rapidly overheated

and become inoperative without the aid of cooling mechanisms

fired in short rather than sustained bursts 

cooling generally took one of two forms: water cooled (one gallon water jackets) and air cooled (air vents)

water cooled machine guns would still overheat relatively quickly (sometimes within two minutes)

large supplies of water would need to be on hand in the heat of a battle or they urinated on them

result: machine guns would often be grouped together to maintain a constant defensive position.

Trenches: A response to machine guns

Trench network in France

•WWI began with sweeping advances by the Germans through Belgium and France towards Paris  •Advances not restored until towards the close of the war•Trench warfare began

•Trench warfare was essentially the warfare of stalemate- nobody really advanced•Death was everywhere- by raid or attack, peeking over the edge, (many died in their first day), disease, etc.

The Realities of Trench Life•Mud•Waste•Rats•Rotting feet•Lice•Disease

•Cold•Rain •Snow

•Humidity•Heat

• Fear

•Death

Mud: •Sticky, smelly, wet•Boots/ weapons got stuck•Water did not drain

Waste: •Latrine pits dug to a depth of 4-6 feet and usually approached by a short trench•provided an all-pervading smell•chemicals used to try to cover smell just as bad

Rats:•thrived literally in their millions

•a single rat couple could produce up to 900 offspring in a year, spreading infection and contaminating food

•Empty food cans were piled in their thousands throughout No Man’s Land, heaved over the top of the trenches on a daily basis

•rats ate rotting food in such cans or invade dug-outs in search of food and shelter

•crawled across the face of sleeping men

•the sound of rats constantly ferreting in No Man's Land kept men awake all night

•rats openly fed on the decaying remains of soldiers killed while advancing across No Man's Land

Rotting feet: Trench foot- a fungal infection

of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary trench conditions

could turn gangrenous and result in amputation

20,000 casualties resulting from trench foot suffered by the British Army alone during the close of 1914

Lice: •Bred in the seams of filthy clothing and caused men to itch unceasingly•when clothing was washed and deloused, lice eggs remained hidden in the seams•within a few hours of the clothes being re-worn the body heat generated would cause the eggs to hatch.

Disease- Trench Fever•Chief symptoms- headaches, skin rashes, inflamed eyes

and leg pains

•went from extreme heat to extreme cold•lack of equipment and protection

The Smell: Cordite (an explosive

powder) the lingering odor of

poison gas rotting sandbags stagnant mud cigarette smoke cooking food

rotting carcasses lay around in their thousands

overflowing latrines no bathing- sweat, smelly

feet, etc. creosol or chloride of

lime, used to stave off the constant threat of disease and infection

Set up in no man’s land to discourage attacks

Poison GasPoison Gas Caused blindness Caused blindness

and nauseaand nausea Destroyed Destroyed

respiratory respiratory systemsystem

Caused blisters, Caused blisters, skin burnsskin burns

Caused death Caused death from chokingfrom choking

Types used- Types used- chlorine, phosgene, chlorine, phosgene, mustard gas, nerve mustard gas, nerve gasgas

Gas masks were Gas masks were essentialessential

•Austria-Hungary- 100,000 injured, Austria-Hungary- 100,000 injured, 3,000 dead3,000 dead

•British Empire- 188,706 injured, British Empire- 188,706 injured, 8,109 dead8,109 dead

•France- 190,000 injured, 8,000 France- 190,000 injured, 8,000 dead dead

•Germany- 200,000 injured, 9,000 Germany- 200,000 injured, 9,000 deaddead

•Italy- 60,000 injured, 4,627 deadItaly- 60,000 injured, 4,627 dead•Russia- 419,345 injured, 6,000 Russia- 419,345 injured, 6,000

deaddead•USA- 72,807 injured, 1,462 dead USA- 72,807 injured, 1,462 dead

•Others- 10,000 injured, 1,000 Others- 10,000 injured, 1,000 deaddead

Mortars:

•the mortar bomb fell almost straight down so that it the mortar bomb fell almost straight down so that it would (with luck) land smack in the enemy trench.would (with luck) land smack in the enemy trench.

•lighter and more mobile than other, larger artillery pieceslighter and more mobile than other, larger artillery pieces

•chief advantage - it could be fired from the (relative) safety of the trench, chief advantage - it could be fired from the (relative) safety of the trench, avoiding exposure of the mortar crews to the enemyavoiding exposure of the mortar crews to the enemy

•a short, stumpy tube designed to fire a projectile at a a short, stumpy tube designed to fire a projectile at a steep angle (by definition higher than 45 degrees) so steep angle (by definition higher than 45 degrees) so that it falls straight down on the enemythat it falls straight down on the enemy

Flamethrowers:•The basic idea of a flamethrower is to spread fire by launching burning fuel•Used mostly to clear forward defenders preceding the infantry•Useful when used at short-range, but not for long-distance fighting•When using, the cylinder carrying the fuel might unexpectedly explode – then they were marked men (rifle fire was then centered on the flamethrowers)

Armored vehicles used to Armored vehicles used to support infantry attackssupport infantry attacks

Named for their shape Named for their shape resembling a water tankresembling a water tank Britain and France Britain and France

produced the most- 4,000-produced the most- 4,000-5,000 per country5,000 per country

Able to cut through barbed Able to cut through barbed wire, approach and fire on wire, approach and fire on a trench, engage in tank-a trench, engage in tank-

to-tank combatto-tank combat

TanksTanks::

Aircraft:Aircraft:

Used for observing enemy armies, Used for observing enemy armies, shooting and bombing troops, and shooting and bombing troops, and air-to-air combatair-to-air combat

Dyragables, balloons and airplanes Dyragables, balloons and airplanes were usedwere used

When war broke out the number of When war broke out the number of aircraft on all sides and all fronts aircraft on all sides and all fronts was very smallwas very small

France- less than 140 aircraft at the France- less than 140 aircraft at the start of the war, by the end of the start of the war, by the end of the war- 4,500 aircraftwar- 4,500 aircraft 

France produced no less France produced no less than 68,000 than 68,000 aircraft during the war aircraft during the war but 52,000 of them were but 52,000 of them were lost in battle- a loss rate lost in battle- a loss rate of 77%of 77%

Not a primary weapon Not a primary weapon but became more useful but became more useful as time went onas time went on

Submarines- U-Boats

•Terrorized merchant ships, passenger ships and military ships

•Totally undetectable until the end of the war- radar and sonar developed

•Developed by Germany but later used by the allied forces

•Aircraft were used to keep them underwater

Each symbol represents 100,000 dead