Warfare In World War I

By: Zach Farrell. Pd 8

Trench Warfare
There was usually 3 main trenches for an army on a battlefield. The first one, in
the front, was called the front-line trench, which did not have much protection.
The second one, also known as the support trench, was more fortified and had
artillery such as machine guns. The third and final trench was called the reserve
trench, which communicated and relayed information with the other trenches
and the rest of the army. Long-range artillery sat behind the reserve trench, and
barbed wire sat in front of the front-line trench, to prevent enemy troops from
reaching the trench.
Trench foot was a common medical condition in World War I. It was caused by
the prolonged exposure of the feet wet and unsanitary conditions. The feet
affected would swell, turn red or blue, and gain sores and blisters. If not treated,
trenchfoot, could lead to gangrene or some other nearly fatal fungal infection.
Trench foot is one of the reasons why soldiers in combat change their socks,
because you do not want get this type of an infection.
Some trenches in World War I were actually very servicable and well-kept. These
trenches were mostly from Germans. These trenches had walls and floors that
were fortified well, and were very organized. Some of these trenches even had
running water and electricity. The trenches were a lot cleaner and drier than
other countries’ trenches. One of the reasons people think that the Germans
built these trenches because they thought that they would be in the war longer
than other countries.
While some trenches in World War I were well-kept, clean, and organized, most
were dirty, disorganized, and unkempt. Most countries had trenches like this,
because they did not plan on staying in the war long. Countries like Great
Britain, France, and the United States kept trenches like this. Diseases and
infections ran rampant in these trenches, because of the unsanitary conditions.
Aerial Combat
The Vickers F.B.5 was a British plane that was the first aircraft ever
designed for aerial combat. It was introduced in 1915, and was truly a
revolutionary invention. It was armed with 7.7 mm Lewis gun, and even
though it was not particularly a great fighter plane, it started the trend of
fighting in the air.
The observation balloon was a very important aerial platform in the war.
These balloons allowed men to spot incoming fighter planes, artillery, and
allowed them to scout the enemy troops on the ground. These balloons
were filled with hydrogen, which made them very flammable. However,
these balloons were very effective in scouting the enemy.
Strategic bombing was used many times in WWI, and it was the first war in
which it was a well-known tactic. Countries would target enemy cities or
military bases and drop bombs on them, killing civilians and soldiers. The
first case of this happening occured on August 6th, 1914, when a German
Zeppelin bombed the Belgian city of Liège.
Air combat was not used that much at the beginning of the war, but soon it
became very popular once countries realized it was effective. At first
planes would just drop bombs, but later, even the dropping of grenades, the
shooting of machine guns and the dropping of grapping hooks became part
of the war effort. The first destruction of a plane in the war occured on
September 8th, 1914, when Russian pilot Pyotr Nesterov crashed with an
Austrian plane, killing him and the others in the planes. On October 5th,
1914, French pilot Louis Quenault was the first person ever to shoot a
machine gun at an opposing aircraft while on a plane.
Aces
Manfred von Richthofen was the greatest ace in World War I. He belonged
to the German air force branch Luftstreitkräfte. He was known as the “Red
Baron”. He holds the record for the most aces scored in World War I, with
80 victories.
René Fonck was the second greatest ace in World War I. He was the greatest
allied air fighter, but not the greatest of all armies, as that position belongs
to the “Red Baron”. He was part of the French air force Aéronautique
Militaire, and racked up 75 victories.
William Avery “Billy” Bishop was credited as the third greatest ace in World
War I. He was part of Canada’s Royal Air Force, racked up 72 total victories.
Willy Coppens is credited as being the fourth best ace in World War I. He is
nicknamed the “Balloon Buster”, because of his knack of destroying enemy
observational balloons. He is credited with 37 confirmed victories. He was
part of the Belgian Military Aviation.
Tanks
Tanks in WWI first appeared at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette in September
1916, when the British sent 49 tanks into battle to try to help the French
defeat the Germans.
Tanks in WWI were very slow, and an example of this would be that they
could only travel up to 4 mph. The first tanks deployed, which were at the
Battle of Flers-Courcette, were the Mark I Tanks. Tanks, including the Mark
I Tanks used at the Battle of Flers-Courcette, had very mixed results, as
many of them broke down during battle.
The Medium Mark A Whippet ultimately became one of the most effective
tanks in WWI. It was developed by the British, and was considerably faster
and stronger than other types of tanks. It traveled up to 8 mph, and even
though it had less artillery and manpower, it allowed the British to move
faster. It also allowed them to have a significant tactical advantage.
Allied forces tended to use tanks a lot more then unallied forces. The
British and French sent a total of 6,506 tanks into battle by 1918, and
Germany had produced just 20. However, Germany and other defending
forces dealt with the tanks very well. The British only had 8 tanks left at the
end of the war. Overall, tanks were not very effective for most of the war.
Chemical Warfare
Mustard gas was first used by Germany in 1917. They filled artillery shells and
grenades with mustard gas so that when artillery was fired and grenades were
thrown, the mustard gas would deploy. It was mainly used to break the deadlock
of trench warfare. When exposed to, mustard gas created sores and blisters on
the skin, and the lungs. These blisters and sores were very painful, and if left
untreated led to imminent death.
Another commonly used chemical agent in World War I was chlorine gas. It
was first used by the Germans against the French at Ypres, Belgium in April
1915. These chlorine gas cylinders emitted a gas that formed yellow-green
clouds, and it smelled like a mixture of pineapple and pepper. It was
corrosive and irritated the lungs. It was effective at pushing back the
enemy, but it was a lot less lethal than other chemical weapons used at the
time.
A lethal chemical weapon with similar effects to mustard gas, was
phosgene gas. It was very poisonous and it was responsible for over 85,000
deaths in World War I. It was introduced by a group of French chemists led
by Victor Grignard, and first used by the French in 1915. Phosgene gas was
a colorless gas. It took longer for symptoms to occur, but it was very lethal.
It was responsible for the most gas deaths in the war.
Another chemical weapon used in World War I was Xylyl bromide gas, also
known as methylbenzyl bromide. It was mostly used as a tear gas. The first
major use of this gas was used by German forces against the Russians at the
Battle of Bolimów in January 1915. The mixture is a colorless gas, but some
older samples appear to have a tint of yellow in them. It was not as lethal as
chlorine gas, phosgene, and mustard gas.
More Weapons
And Their Effects
Shells were types of bombs dropped on the battlefield in World War I. They
were really powerful and if one landed right beside you, you were pretty
much done for. They were dropped constantly and non-stop during battle,
and were extremely loud. Some soldiers after coming home from the war
developed a type of PTSD called “shell shock”. It would cause soldiers to
walk with rigid limbs, be terrified when certain words or expressions were
made or said towards them, have a tic making them do certain things, and
cause them to be in a never-ending sense of panic. People affected could
not reason or think in a normal way, and sometimes some could not even
talk or sleep. With proper treatment, most soldiers became normal again.
A new invention during World War I was the pilotless drone. It was
developed in 1917 for the U.S. Navy by two inventors, Elmer Sperry, and
Peter Hewitt. These drones weighed about 175 lbs, and had a 12-horsepower
motor. They were outfitted with gyroscopes and a barometer for an
altitude meter. The drones were initially supposed to basically be a
controlled cruise missile. They were not very effective during the war,
because they were too hard to fly and did not yet have the technology to be
better.
Another common weapon used in World War I was the torpedo. They were
mostly used by submarines who were trying to destroy other countries’
ships who were carrying supplies. The Germans, especially, used them a lot
to destroy ships carrying supplies from the U.S. to Great Britain. Early
torpedoes did not having tracking system, instead they just traveled in a
straight line and exploded.
A new weapon developed during World War I was the flamethrower. It was
not completely new, but it started to gain more mainstream appeal during
World War I. The Germans were really the first ones to introduce it to the
war. The modern flamethrower was invented by German scientist Richard
Fiedler in 1901. The Kleinflammenwerfer was the smaller version of the
flamethrower, and was carried by one person. Its range was 20 yards. The
larger version of the flamethrower was the Grossflammenwerfer, which
had larger range but had to be held by multiple people. The flamethrower
was very deadly in this war.