Download World War I: Technology and Colonies

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World War I
Causes
Technology /
Warfare
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imperialism
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nationalism

arms race

alliance system
Colonies
Consequences
What were the trenches really like?
According to the University of Pennsylvania’s Paul Fussell…
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It smelled bad!
It smelled bad because there were open latrines everywhere. There
were bodies rotting everywhere.
Nothing could be done about them. You could throw a shovel full of
quick lime on them to take some of the smell away, but the odor of
the trenches was appalling.
There were rats the size of cats.
 Both the Germans and the British were troubled with rats. The
rats ate corpses, then they came in and snuggled next to you
while you were sleeping. And they ate your own food, and they
were filthy creatures. They also carried disease – bubonic plague
primarily.
Frontline Trench Observer
Trench Kitchen
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Many soldiers fighting in the First World War suffered from trench
foot.
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an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary
conditions.
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in the trenches men stood for hours on end in waterlogged
trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots.
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feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue
- trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation.
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By the end of 1915 British soldiers in the trenches had to have
three pairs of socks with them and were under orders to change
their socks at least twice a day.
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Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war.

For example, during the winter of 1914-15 over 20,000 men in the
British Army were treated for trench foot.
Trench Life
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“You look at the sky constantly
from the opening of the trench,
because you can't look out to the
side…All of your view is vertical.
You consequently get very
interested in birds for the first
time, because those are the only
animated things you can see,
except for rats and lice, or other
human beings.”
Troops were isolated from home,
from normal pursuit and forced to
live with constant artillery
barrages
German infantry on the battlefield, August 7, 1914.
Over the Top
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The object of each side was to try to put
mortar shells into the enemy trench and
blow it up, or kill the people in it.
Both sides quickly recognized that assaults
against the enemy trenches were suicide if
begun in broad daylight - attacks tended to
take place just before dawn or right at
dawn.
Poison gases tended to be more effective in
the mornings, as the colder air and absence
of wind allowed the gases to stay closer to
the ground for longer periods of time
“except for artillery shelling” – which caused
most of the combat deaths, daytime was
relatively safe for the soldiers on the front
line.
Battle of the Somme (July to November 1916) –
Nearly 1,000,000 casualties
A Soldier’s Life:
As an example - and the numbers varied widely - a man might
expect in a year to spend some 70 days in the front line, with
another 30 in nearby support trenches. A further 120 might be spent
in reserve. Only 70 days might be spent at rest. The amount of
leave varied, with perhaps two weeks being granted during the year.
Anthem for Doomed Youth
British soldier and poet, Wilfred Owen
What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them from prayers or bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,—
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of silent maids,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.
Problems in the Trenches
Christmas Truce: a series of widespread
unofficial ceasefires that took place along
the Western Front around Christmas 1914
Through the week leading up to
Christmas, parties of German and British
soldiers began to exchange seasonal
greetings and songs between their
trenches
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,
many soldiers from both sides – as well
as, to a lesser degree, from French units –
independently ventured into "no man's
land", where they mingled, exchanging
food and souvenirs.
Problems in the Trenches
Joint burial ceremonies were held in
addition to several meetings that ended in
carol-singing.
Troops from both sides were also friendly
enough to play games of soccer with one
another.
Mutiny: After three years of war, men,
armies and nations were nearing a
breaking point.
Half the French army mutinied in 1917,
refusing to undertake senseless attacks.
Most of their demands were met, and only
a small number of the mutineers were
punished severely.
World War I Weapons:
Artillery [cannons] and machine
guns. Essential weapons of trench
warfare.
Tanks and airplanes represented
new innovations in warfare.
Big Bertha (Grosse Bertha in German)
The name given by the Allies to the German 420-mm
artillery that could shoot a one-ton shell 9 miles.
Tank Production 1916-18
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Year
UK
France
Germany
Italy
USA
1916
150
-
-
-
-
1917
1,277
800
-
-
-
1918
1,391
4,000
20
6
84
Explore a World War I Tank:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/launch_ani_mark_one_tank.shtml
Colonial Troops:
Since World War I
involved colonial
empires, the use of
colonial troops
became an
essential part of the
conflict.
Unlike the African troops of
Britain, who saw very little
action on European
battlefields during World
War I.
France deployed hundreds
of thousands of African
fighting men to aid its
cause, including some
300,000 North Africans,
some 250,000 West
Africans .

Germany's colonial
allies: native
infantry in East
Africa
Calls for Australians to enlist
Colonial French Posters
Over 140,000
African soldiers
fought on the
Western Front
during World
War I.

Wounded French colonial troops returning to the
Front
Airplanes in World War I
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France had fewer than 140 aircraft when her war
against Germany began;
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four years later that number had ballooned to
approximately 4,500.
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The plane did not play the decisive roll that it was to
play in later conflicts, the First World War proved
their capabilities.
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With the growing importance and influence of aircraft
came the need to control the air, and thus the fighter
was born.
A typical British aircraft at the outbreak of the war
was the general purpose BE2c, with a top speed of
116 km/h (72 mph).
By the end of the war aircraft were designed for
specific tasks. Built for speed and maneuverability,
the SE5a fighter of 1917 had a top speed of 222
km/h (138 mph).
It was during this period that the key tasks that
aircraft could perform were discovered,
experimented with, and refined:
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observation and reconnaissance,
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tactical and strategic bombing,
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ground attack,
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and naval warfare.
Airplanes in World War I
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World War I fighter pilots had a typical life
expectancy of several weeks while flying in combat.
Several weeks.

In terms of flying hours, a combat pilot could count
on 40 to 60 hours before being killed.
Pilots of World War I
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Raoul Lufbery, a French-born American. Lufbery, with 16
victories to his credit, who jumped to his death from his aircraft
even as it was already burning on its way down to crash. He
jumped approximately 1,000 meters (3,300) feet, fell into a
small garden, and according to the old lady into whose garden
he fell, got up and then fell back dead.
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Georges Guynemer, legend in France and with 53 kills to his
credit, whose famous "Vieux Charles" airplane hangs today in
the Le Bourget Air Museum was 22 when he was shot down
and killed on September 11, 1917. His body was found later,
still in the seat of his aircraft, "a slug through his skull" . He had
already crashed at least three other aircraft.
The Red Baron
The modest, publicity-shy Manfred Albrecht
von Richthofen of Germany was the best
known fighter pilot of World War I. Known
for his aerial daring, skillful flying, and
deadly marksmanship, he was nicknamed
the "Red Baron," a name that struck terror
into the hearts of Allied flyers during the
war.
In the spring of 1918, Richthofen scored his
70th victory. At that time, this tally made
him the world's leading fighter ace and the
idol and envy of fighter pilots everywhere.
Chemical Weapons:
Considered uncivilized prior to World War
One, the development and use of poison
gas was necessitated by the requirement
of wartime armies to find new ways of
overcoming the stalemate of unexpected
trench warfare
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In the last few years of World War I, poison gas—especially
chlorine, phosgene, and mustard gas—was used extensively
by all armies.
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These chemical weapons could have devastating effects,
causing choking, internal and external blistering, and
temporary blindness.
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Such hazards were not often fatal, but they could
incapacitate large numbers of soldiers during a battle.
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Troops relied on gas masks to protect themselves from
enemy gas attacks, as well as from accidental exposure
during their own use of chemical weapons.
Gas masks for
man and horse
demonstrated
by an American
soldier, about
1917.
The ships of World War I
Sea power was essential in
both conflicts with
submarines playing an
essential role in combat
operations.
World War I saw the
emergence of the U-boat.
Submarines become deadly
weapons in naval warfare
attacking merchant and
military craft.
Powerful navies fought
throughout the globe. Zeppelins
[blimps] were air ships that
performed reconnaissance and
bombing missions.
Total War
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In the spring of 1915 the trenches along the western front were
filled with millions of soldiers, at the average rate of one soldier
per four inches of trench.
The job behind the front lines was to keep the men fed, equipped
and ready to continue the fighting until the end came.
The civilians behind the lines were as important to victory as the
men on the lines. Because of their value to the war-making power
of each nation, civilians became the target of the enemy.
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Since both sides targeted both civilians and military personnel,
and mobilized men and resources at an unprecedented rate, the
Great War was a "total war."
The Rape of Belgium [total war]
August - September 1914
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a series of German war crimes in the
opening months of World War I
Belgium’s neutrality had been guaranteed
by Prussia in 1839
German war plan, known as the Schlieffen
Plan, called for Germany to violate this
neutrality - to outflank the French Army
German troops, fearful of Belgian guerrilla
fighters burned homes and executed
innocent civilians - victims included women
and children
August 25, 1914 the Germans ravaged the
city of Leuven, burning the university's
library of 230,000 books, killing 248
residents, and forcing the entire population,
42,000, to evacuate.
Recruitment
Each of the nations which participated in World War One from 1914-18 used
propaganda posters not only as a means of justifying involvement to their own
populace, but also as a means of procuring men, money and resources to
sustain the military campaign.
In countries such as Britain the use of propaganda posters was readily
understandable: in 1914 she only possessed a professional army and did not
have in place a policy of national service, as was standard in other major
nations such as France and Germany.
Yet while the use of posters proved initially successful in Britain the numbers
required for active service at the Front were such as to ultimately require the
introduction of conscription. Nevertheless recruitment posters remained in
use for the duration of the war - as was indeed the case in most other
countries including France, Germany and Italy.
The possessor of a
small professional
army and without a
policy of conscription
[they do begin
conscription in 1916]
Great Britain had an
urgent need of more
men for training within
the British
Expeditionary Force
(BEF).
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One way to understand the violence and slaughter that occurred in
the Great War is to examine the number of casualties and deaths.
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Exact figures are still in dispute, because of different definitions
used each category, the questionable accuracy of the recording
system used and the loss or destruction of a number of official
documents.
Country
Total Mobilized
Forces
Killed
Wounded
Prisoners and
Missing
Total
Casualties
Casualties as %
of Forces
Russia
12,000,000
1,700,000
4,950,000
2,500,000
9,150,000
76.3
British
Empire
8,904,467
908,371
2,090,212
191,652
3,190,235
35.8
France
8,410,000
1,357,800
4,266,000
537,000
6,160,800
73.3
Italy
5,615,000
650,000
947,000
600,000
2,197,000
39.1
United States
4,355,000
116,516
204,002
4,500
323,018
7.1
Japan
800,000
300
907
3
1,210
0.2
TOTAL
42,188,810
5,142,631
12,800,706
4,121,090
22,062,427
52.3
Deaths by
alliance and
military/civilian.
Most of the
civilian deaths
were due to warrelated famine.
No Man’s Land
The Devastation
Whereas in most previous wars,
including World War I, “fronts”
where opposite sides clashed were
identifiable, changing war
technology and military techniques
meant that the war was fought in
two large arenas or theaters; the
European theater [including North
Africa] and the Pacific Theater.