World War I – Trench Warfare

1
World War I Trench Warfare

• People expected World War I to be quick- they had
  a great deal of confidence in their countries.
• But the war eventually became a stalemate- the
  fighting tactics used resulted in enormous
  casualties- estimates suggest that 9.8 million
  were killed and at least 20 million wounded.

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World War I

• These numbers do not include
• - those who died from injuries after
• the war
• - the psychological costs for those
• who fought in the war

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The Western Front

• Fighting began when Germany passed through
  Belgium into France.

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The Western Front

• Germanys Plan was to quickly capture and secure
  Paris so the Western Front would be secure, then
  it could turn its attention East and deal with
  Russia.

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The Western Front

• Yet after initial success, the French held back
  the Germans at the Battle of the Marne River (The
  Miracle at the Marne)

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The Western Front

• The war became a stalemate-trench warfare
• Trenches were long ditches surrounded by barbed
  wire to protect the troops.

• A WWI Trench

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The Trench System
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Trench Warfare

• The system of trench warfare resulted in huge
  loss of life and little gains in territory.
• The only technique became to soften up the
  enemy trenches by bombarding them with artillery
  fire, and then send the soldiers over the top
  to try to take the enemy lines.

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Trench Warfare

• To do so was an incredibly dangerous mission the
  soldiers had to enter No mans land- the area
  between the trenches where they were exposed to
  enemy fire.
• The trench could finally be taken with brutal
  hand-to-hand combat fought with bayonets, knives,
  and swords.

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Trench Warfare

• Much of the time, however, in trenches and in
  dugouts was spent waiting.
• Soldiers had to develop ways to pass the time and
  had to deal with the smell of rotting corpses,
  body parts, rats and mud that often filled the
  trenches.

11
Weaponry

• In time, new weapons were created to try to
  increase the ability of soldiers to take an enemy
  trench.

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The Machine Gun

• The machine gun (a gun that can be repeatedly
  fired without loading each time) increased the
  danger of going over the top.

• A Machine Gun

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Grenades

• 1st made of empty bottles.
• American soldiers- many of whom had played
  baseball- introduced more accurate ways of
  throwing them.

14
Poison Gas

• First chlorine, and later mustard gas were used-
  choking soldiers and burning their skin.
• The Gas mask developed to counter this.

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Airplanes

• Airplanes are 1st used in World War I- are used
  in trench warfare to scout the position of enemy
  lines.

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Airplanes

• It is later in the war when machine guns are
  mounted to planes and zeppelins- giant blimps-
  are used to drop bombs on the enemy.