ww1 - 3.2

• Reasons for Western Front Deadlock

  - Failure of the German Schlieffen Plan

  - The strength of defences.

  - Ineffective weapons.

  - The mud

  - Lack of new tactics.
• Features of life in the trenches - Dirt and Disease

  - Ground in Flanders easily turned into a sea of mud, people drowned in it.

  - (Winter 1914-15) Over 20,000 men were treated for trench foot.

  - Standard food was bully beef, hard biscuits, bread and jam.

  - Common to find 100 lice on one soldier. Only way to kill them was squashing or burning.

  - 40 tonnes of manure every day, attracted flies/rats.
• Features of life in the trenches - Casualties

  - Wounds became infected

  - Fear of death and the death of friends.

  - Many suffered with shell shock and never recovered.

  - 346 British soldiers were shot for desertion.
• New Weapons and Methods

  - Aircraft; Bitish Royal Flying Corps.

  - Dog fights: Expected life expectancy was three weeks; 50,000 airmen killed.

  - Machien guns: 450-500 bullets a minute over 2000m

  - Artillery; Only fired six shells a minute at start.

  - Gas; First used in Ypres (April 1915)

  - Tanks; 50 during marrke of the Somme. 400 Mark IV tanks used successfully furing battle of Cambrai.
• The Battle of The Somme (July-November 1916)


  - Battle of Verdun killed 542,000 French so they couldn't help as much during the Somme.

  - Aim was to push through German lines and draw German troops from Verdun.

  - German obsevers in balloons and planes noted upcoming atack.

  - Germany had 12 m deep trenches, the 1.73 million shells were not effective.

  - (1st July) On the first day 57,470 allied were killed.

  - By the end 620,000 allied and 450,000 Germans were dead for a 15km allied advance.
• The Battle of Passchendaele (July-November 1917)


  - Aim was to capture bases at Blankenberge and Ostend.

  - Started with 4 million shells lasting 10 days. Turned it into a sea od mud.

  - General headquarters 8 km away could smell rotting.

  - After 3 months 240,000 British and 220,000 German soldiers were killed for 800 m of mud.

  - British claimed Passchendaele.
• The War at Sea - The Battle of Heligoland Bight (28th August 1914)


  - British squadron of 31 destroyers, 2 light cruisers and eight submarines used for attack.

  - 3 German light cruisers and one destroyer was sunk with 3 more crusiers madly damaged.

  - 717 German soldiers died with 520 injured and 336 taken prisoners.

  - 1 British light cruiser and three destroyers were damaged, 35 sailors were killed.
• The War at sea - German Raids


  Had objectives to: Lay down mines, force British ships to chase them into ambush and to force British ships to split up.

  - Raid on Great Yarmouth (3rd November 1914). 8 Battle crusiers aimed to lay mines and shelled the town. It only killed one man. Although a German cruiser sunk and killed 235, commanders saw how easy it was to reach British coast.

  - Raid on Scarborough, Whitby and Hartepool (16th December 1914.) 50 minutes of shelling of 1,000 shells killed over 100 people.

  - British Government used raids as part of their propaganda to encourage men to enlist.
• The War at Sea - The Battle of Doggers Bank (24th January 1915)


  - British were well prepared for German raiding squadron.

  - The british didn't lose any ships but 15 men were killed.

  - Germany lost a battle cruiser, Blucher, and 954 men.

  - Considered a British victory.
• The War at Sea - The Battle of Jutland (31 May-1 June 1916)


  - 259 warships carrying over 100,000 men met off coast of Denmark.

  - British lost 14 ships and 6,000 lives.

  - Germany lost 9 ships and 2,500 men.

  - Both sides claimed victory.

  - German High Seas Fleet never again left port.