Strategies and Tactics to Break the stalemate?
Over the top: frontal attack often after a long artillery barrage
Gas: First used april 1915 in Ypres, hard to control due to wind
- chlorine(first), phosgene, mustard
- small box respirators introduced to British soldiers in April 1916
Tanks: introduced in the battle of the Somme in september 1916, small in number and slow
- 49 tanks used by british at the somme
- 4mph
Reasons for the stalemate?
Strategy:
-failure of the schlieffen plan, german loss at battle of the marne (september 1914)
Technology: barbed wire, artillery and machine guns (equivalent firepower per minute of 40-50 riflemen) favoured the defensive.
Tactics:
-Generals stuck in 19th century tactics focusing on the mass frontal offensive.
Why did Germany have superior trenches?
How so?
Their offensive having failed, the germans dug in first and took a defensive approach, wanting to hold their territory in france.
The allies were focused on the offensive to push germany out of france and thus did not put as much effort into their trenches.
Were built in primary positions like higher ground, steeper walls, boarded wall supports. Allied trenches often just above sea level so flooding.
Layout of a Trench:
- about 7ft deep, 6ft wide
- not dug in straight lines
- parapet (front) and parados (back) lined with sandbags
- front line trenches barbed wire and machine gun posts.
- saps outposts that stretched into no mans land, used for listening posts.
- 2 to 3 ft firestep
- dugouts and funk holes in the side of the trench for protection
- trench lines in order: front, support, reserve
No mans land average of 200m
6 worst things about trench life?
Lice Rats Sickness Food Latrines: 15m deep trench or a bucket Smell
Verdun:
feb-december 1916
- falkenhayn “bleed the french white”
- on a salient allowing germany to attack from 3 angles
- 30000 french vs 1mil german initially
- over 21million german shells throughout
- Petain sends in more troops from all over, ensure bar-le-duc stays open
- Britain and Russia launch offensives on the western front to assist
-casualties: 378000 french
337000 german
Over 300000 french and 300000 german
The Somme:
1st July-november 1916
-German reconnaissance gives forewarning, trenches w/ concrete lined dugouts, 9m deep
-24th june, 7 day artillery bombardment, 1.5 mil shells, mainly shrapnel shells useless on trenches
- british troops told to walk across no mans land, thought germany wiped out
- in the first day 20000 brits killed and 40000 wounded, worst day in british military history, Haig “the butcher”
Casualties:
- 600000 allies
- 450000 german
Passchendaele:
- july-november 1917
- aim to break through german lines an across belgium to capture german ports
- 10 day artillery bombardment before infantry assault
- unsuccessful due to strength of german defences and unseasonably heavy rain making the battlefield a quagmire
- 300000 brits dead, 260000 germans
Early response to the war:
Both sides overwhelming supportive of the war, thought itd be “over before christmas”
-men motivated by patriotism, honour, peer pressure, impressing women, a sense of adventure and a steady income
Britain: hundreds of thousands rush to enlist
Germany: still had mandatory military service
Propaganda:
Utilised to stir patriotism and feed hated for the enemy, hide horrors if war.
Britain- created and coordinated by the War Propaganda Bureau, putting 2.5mil publications out within a year.
Germany- created by private organisations thus lacked a coordinated punch. Often focus on picture of stupid allies instead of their villains
US involvement:
-at first have ideal of isolationism
Joined war due to:
- sinking of lusitania in may 1915, 128 us lives lost
- German unrestricted submarine warfare starting 1 feb 1917, in april alone almost 200 ships sunk
- allied propaganda placing germany as the villain
- zimmerman telegram- germany negotiating with mexico and japan against US
- britain owed US money
2 April-Wilson convinces congress
What is total war?
All activities of civilians and industry directed towards the war effort
“No ordinary war, a struggle between nations for life and death…“-Churchill
Change in soldiers attitudes over time:
Patriotism and eagerness already falling by 1914 christmas truce.
Bitter fatalism comes in force in 1916 after the somme
Total War- Britain/ effects on the homefront:
-1914-
DORA (defence of the realms act) entitles government to regulate any person/ aspect of life for the war.
- ‘business as usual’ through 1914
- Kitchener prepared early expanding army from 20 to 70 divisions
-1915-
shortage of shells scandal forces reality of total war
- 1916-
- march-conscription
- u-boats destroyed av. 300000tonnes if imports a month
- poor harvests causes food prices to rise
- 1917-
- government introduces price control
-harvest one of the best on record, all areas possible (over 3 million acres extra) used for farming
- 1918-
- rationing of meat, sugar & butter due to panic buying
Total war-Germany/effects on the homefront:
- 1914-
- For the war all power returned to the Kaiser and generals
- Self sufficient in food production but lack vital raw materials blocked by naval blockade
- rationing and substitutes used for this e.g. Potatoes, turnips and rye used to make war bread (K-bröt) before 1918 when sawdust and chalk were used.
(Other substitutes (ersatz): rubber, coffee, nitrates for explosives)
- 1915-
- Food price doubles and cost of living rose dramatically
- bread rationed
-enlistment and casualties lead to labour shortage for which all men 17 to 60 are mobilised. Later all men, women, juveniles and disable servicemen mobilised.
- 1916-
- Turnip winter
- most key commodities rationed
- “somme was the muddy grave of the german field army”- Ludendorff
- first big anti-war movement, the ‘spartakist’
- 1917-
- rations only half daily calorie requirements
- tuberculosis and anemia common in children
- workers wages 50% pre-war purchasing power
- major strikes in metal working and munitions centres
- 1918-
- 100000 workers on strike every month
- 300000 deaths by starvation
- mutinied rebels control kiel, hamburg and more
- government revenue 750mil, expenditure over 4 billion
Withrawal of Russia:
Reasons for and Results
Russia’s weak logistical planning lead to big losses against organised and highly industrialised opposition:
- tens of thousands dead and over 90000 as prisoners at battle of tannenburg
- by feb 1917, 8mil casualties and over 1 mil more deserters
this and economic collapse at home leads to revolution:
-tsar abdicates on 2 march 1917
- provisional government continues war leading to bolshevik revolution in october
- armistice w/ germany december
Treaty of brest-litovsk:
- Signed 3 march 1918
- lost 1/4 of european territory
- 34% of the population
- 90% of coal mines
Effects:
-allowed germany to move 1mil men from eastern to western front
Ludendorff Spring Offensive:
- 21 march 1918, get it done before america could get involved
- gained more ground than at any other time since 1914 (pushed back 65km in a week)
- 300000 allied casualties in 4 weeks
Tactics:
- small squads of shocktroopers w/ flamethrowers, light machine guns and light trench mortars.
- cross trench lines under a creeping barrage and find weak points to break through.
- got within shelling distance of paris
- april allied forces halted them at the marne
- 18 july foch counter attack sends germany into full retreat
Reasons for allied victory:
failure of schlieffen plan, ludendorff offensive
entry of us and collapse of german allies
germany planned for a short war
morale and condition of german troops/german homefront
- 65km retreat in 7days
- message of bolshevism spread
Allied superior manpower and firepower:
- 42mil vs 23mil (albeit 12mil russians)
- a 500man british battalion in 1918 packed a big punch of firepower than 1000 men in 1916 (lewis guns, light mortars and rifle grenadiers)
British Naval Blockade:
- germany had largest maritime trade on the continent pre-war
- foch “victory was due 50% to military and 50% to the blockade”
Womens contribution:
-voluntary aid detachment (VAD) and womens army auxillary corps (WAAC)
as doctors and nurses
- between 1914-18 extra 1.6mil women entered the british workforce
- over 800000 women working in munitions by 1917
- 12 hour shifts
- silvertown factory explosion 500 casualties
End of the War/ Treaty of Versailles
War ends on 11th hour of 11th day 11th month of 1918
Paris peace conference begins 18 jan, treaty of versailles signed 28 june
Main points:
- clause 231, war guilt clause
- lost 13% of territory, alsace lorraine returned to france, rhineland demilitarised (16% of coalfields)
- lost fleet
- army limited to 100000
- reparations of $40 billion US
U.S.-“Peace without victory”
France-vengeful
UK-inbetween
Schliffen Plan:
Go through Belgium and attack france from the unprotected north, take it quick before russia can mobilise
War began July 1914
Implemented in august
Result:
-invasion of belgium lead to Britain entering the war
- got to marne, just outside paris but were stopped in september
- russia mobilised far quicker than expected and had to move troops to eastern front
