weapons

Question 1

what were the 5 types of weapons used on the front line?

Answer 1

-Artillery
-Machine Gun
-Gas
-Tanks
-aircraft

Question 2

what were artillery strenghts?

Answer 2

-Destroyed trenches, machine gun posts and cut barbed wire.
-Killed men from a distance, protected soldiers.

Question 3

artillery weaknesses?

Answer 3

-Heavy, difficult to move, expensive.
-Didn’t always destroy trenches.
-British use of artillery was predictable. Germans sat it out in deep bunkers.

Question 4

machine gun strengths?

Answer 4

-Could fire up to 600 bullets a minute. –Killed many crossing No-Man’s-Land.
-Vickers gun highly efficient and accurate
-Lewis gun [USA] lighter and portable.
Machine guns fitted to tanks and planes

Question 5

machine gun weaknesses?

Answer 5

-Team of 3-6 men to transport and use it.
-Could over-heat and jam.

Question 6

gas strengths?

Answer 6

-Types - chlorine, mustard & phosgene
-Caused panic, fear & confusion. .
-Likely to cause injury not death. Choking, blindness, blisters and burns.

Question 7

gas weaknesses?

Answer 7

-Could be seen, warning given.
-Correct weather conditions needed.
-Limited impact wide use of gas masks.
-Did not break the deadlock.

Question 8

tanks strengths?

Answer 8

-Could cross No-Man’s-Land.
-Crushed barbed-wire, destroyed enemy machine guns posts.
-Armoured/bullet proof
-Machine or six pound guns fitted

Question 9

tanks weaknesses?

Answer 9

-Frequently broke down.
- Few spare parts and specialist mechanics. Slow.
-Ran out of fuel.
-Got stuck in the mud
-Tanks could capture land but not hold it.

Question 10

aircraft strengths?

Answer 10

-Reconnaissance, spotting enemy trenches and artillery from above
-Fighter planes took part in battles.
-By 1916, British planes had machine guns attached.

Question 11

aircraft weaknesses?

Answer 11

-Early planes could only carry the weight of pilots and fuel, no weapons
-British pilots had a life expectancy of 11 days. New pilots were young and inexperienced.
German planes & pilots were better.