Introduction Activity

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Introduction Activity

• I know not with what weapons World War III will
  be fought, but I know World War IV will be fought
  with sticks and stones.
• Albert Einstein
• What does this quote imply about the regularity
  of war? What does this quote imply about the
  progression of weapons through the ages? Why,
  ultimately, do you think that WW IV would be
  fought with sticks and stones?

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Weapons and Tactics of World War I

• Mr. Lohman
• 10th Grade Social Studies
• Middletown High School
• coachlohman_at_yahoo.com

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Weapons and Tactics of World War I

• Bolt-Action Rifle
• Machine Gun
• Artillery
• Poisonous Gas
• Zeppelin
• Tanks
• Planes
• U-Boats
• Trench Warfare
• Assignments
• Bibliography

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Bolt-Action Rifle

• Bolt-action rifles could fire up to 15 rounds per
  minute.
• Rifles could hit targets up to 1,400 meters away.

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Machine Gun

• A machine gun would need 4-6 men to operate it.
• The gun needed to be positioned on a flat surface
  in order to be fired.
• A machine gun could fire up to 400 rounds per
  minute.
• A machine gun had the fire power of approx. 100
  rifles.

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Artillery

• Artillery refers to large-caliber, mounted field
  guns.
• The caliber of a gun refers to the diameter of
  the barrel.

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Artillery Shells

• Artillery could fire shells distances of up to
  approx. 12,000 yards.
• Artillery shells could weigh up to 900 lbs.
• It could take up to 12 men to handle an artillery
  gun and load the shells.

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WWI Artillery in Action
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Poisonous Gases

• Poisonous gas was first used in WWI at the Battle
  of Ypers, 1915.
• Gases could cause choking, blistering, vomiting,
  internal and external bleeding, blinding, a
  burning of lung tissue, and ultimately, death.
• Gases were lobbed into enemy trenches, killing or
  disabling troops.

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Poisonous Gases

• Gases were often colorless and odorless, and it
  could take up to 12 hours for the gas to take
  effect.
• It could take up to 5 weeks to die from gas
  poisoning.
• Gas masks were eventually created to counter the
  effects of gas attacks.

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Poisonous Gas in WWI
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Zeppelins

• Otherwise known as blimps, zeppelins were
  airships filled with hydrogen to keep them
  afloat.
• Zeppelins weighed up to 12 tonnes.

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Zeppelins

• Zeppelins could travel at speeds of up to 136
  mph, and soar to heights of up to 4250 meters.
• Machine guns were usually mounted on the
  airships, and they each carried over 4,000 lbs.
  of bombs.

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Tanks

• Tanks were armored vehicles that traveled on
  tracks, allowing it to cross many kinds of land.
• Though tanks were used to cross over tough
  terrain, they were unable to cross trenches.
• Tanks protected advancing troops across
  no-mans land.

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Tanks

• Early tanks needed a crew of about 3 men to
  operate the navigation and guns.
• The first tanks could travel up to 3 MPH.
• By the end of the war, tank crews had grown to 10
  men, and tanks achieved speeds of up to 4 MPH.

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Planes

• Planes were one- or two-seat propeller planes
  equipped with a machine gun.
• Planes where first used as observation tools
  during battles.
• Eventually bombs and cannons where added to the
  planes.
• Pilots engaged in dogfights in the air in order
  to protect their men on the ground.

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WWI Planes In Action
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U-Boats

• Underwater ships that capable of launching
  torpedoes, or guided underwater bombs.
• Submarines ranged in length from about 200 feet
  (61 meters) to more than 550 feet (168 meters).
  Their rounded hulls were about 30 feet (9 meters)
  in diameter. More than 150 crew members can live
  and work in a large submarine.

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U-Boats

• In war, a submarine usually attacks from beneath
  the surface of the water. A submarine must remain
  underwater to be effective. Early submarines
  could not stay submerged for long periods. They
  had to surface every few hours for air for their
  engines and crews. Enemy planes and ships could
  then attack them.

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U-Boats in Action
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Trench Warfare
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• Trenches were elongated pits dug 6-8 ft. into the
  earth, and stretching out over hundreds of miles.
• Trenches were only wide enough to allow two men
  to pass side-by-side.

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Trench Warfare

• Duck Boards would line the bottom of the trench,
  to serve both as a place for the men to stand on
  the avoid enemy fire, and also to raise men above
  the mud, rats, blood, and bodily wastes that
  filled the bottom of the trench.
• Parapets served as a rest for a gun, and the
  Parados protected the men from exploding shrapnel
  from behind the line.

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Trench Warfare - Diagram
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• Barbed-wire was lined up in front of a trench to
  protect the men from attack.

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Trench Warfare

• Dugouts in the side of the trenches provided
  shelter for the men to live in, and protection
  from incoming artillery fire.

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The entrance to a dugout
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Trench Warfare Dugout
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Trench Warfare

• Three interlocking trench lines would be used a
  front line for attack and defense, a middle line
  of defense, and a rear line of reserves. An
  encampment of tents and hospitals would be
  located behind the third line. Men spent
  anywhere from one day to two weeks on the lines
  before given a day of rest.

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• The distance between opposing trenches was called
  no-mans land. This distance could be as short
  as 30 meters, or as wide as 1 mile.

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Trench Warfare

• On command, soldiers from a trench would charge
  across no-mans land and attempt to overrun the
  opponents trench.
• Once one of the sides overran an opposing trench,
  the defeated would either be captured, or they
  would retreat to another set of trenches miles
  away to renew the battle over a new no-mans
  land.

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A periscope would have been used to see the
enemy, without putting a soldier in the direct
line of fire.
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Retrieving a dead soldier from no-mans
land

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Trench Warfare

• Weapons on the front included
• Soldiers would commonly use rifles, bayonets,
  spades, clubs, shotguns, helmets, and grenades
• Armies would use larger items such as machine
  guns, mortars, artillery, gas, barbed-wire,
  aircraft, and mines

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