Why was Trench Warfare So Bloody?
“Loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders Field” (McCrae). In 1914-1918, a major conflict developed in Europe. Today it is known as World War I. The War was known to start when Franz Ferdinand, the archduke of the Austria Hungary Empire, was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist group. World War I had casualties of more than 9 million soldiers. World War I was very bloody, but why? Trench Warfare was so bloody because of machine guns, planes, and shell shock.
Trench Warfare was so bloody because of machine guns. [“The accuracy of American artillery fire… could have been considerably improved upon” (Diehl). Although accuracy wasn’t the best, machine guns made a huge difference. The machine gun was known to cause the most deaths in World War I. An estimated 92% of casualties were caused by these guns. Since the machine gun was so deadly, it made the war a different experience. *Some would say it made it bloodier.** These guns would be the solution to why there were so many more casualties in WWI than other wars.* Machine guns weren’t the only advancements during the wars industrial revolution.] Planes became an
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[“Fight on and fly on to the last drop of blood and the last drop of fuel, to the last beat of the heart” (Manfred von Richtofen). This quote is talking about fighting with planes. The pilots are flying freely until fuel runs out, or death acts upon them. Planes had missions during the war. Missions included flying above the enemy to spy on them, and to hunt down enemy planes” (Eaker). Since the planes could capture the enemy with a camera, it led to troops knowing what the enemy was doing. This meant that troops could attack the enemy, and eventually cause more deaths. *More deaths, and injuries, were caused because of planes.* ] The war didn’t just happen in the air. It was everywhere. Even when the fight ended, the pain never seized to stop on those who
World War One was a vicious four yearlong conflict that left few survivors in its wake, and devastated the world’s economy. The war commenced after the assassination of Austria-Hungary’s ArchDuke, Franz Ferdinand, and brought all the major European countries such as Germany, Italy, Great Britain, France, Serbia, Russia, and Austria-Hungary into the war. This was due to a system of alliances that linked the countries together, which forced countries even outside of Europe to join a war they had no part in, further escalating the problem. World War One was divided into two major alliances that fought against each other. As a result of Great Britain’s involvement, Canada was led into war as well, where Canadians distinguished themselves in battles
Propaganda and also, public information was a frequent method used to influence the decisions of the British public,Evi: an example of this is Source A which is a government poster issued in 1915 to inform the British people of the differences between British and German airships and aircraft. This source is useful in many ways as it includes the year of poster being issued, which suggests that this is the year that the British were expecting to be attacked, as it is one year into the war. Also there are a numerous variety of planes which implies that aerial attacks were quiet common, OP: aerial attacks may have been common due to the advancements in technology, both sides experimented with this fledging new technology, EX: this made it clear that air warfare could play a powerful and significant role in war. In addition to this, the use of British planes indicates that the British will be fighting back. Within the source it states “do not touch unexploded bombs” this
Georges Clemenceau’s Effect on France During World War I In 1914, during the events leading up to World War I, mankind was going through a time of despair. A global nightmare spread throughout the globe causing a chain reaction of problems. World War I, also known as the Great War, stands as one of the biggest conflicts in the history of mankind. Over the span of 4 years, 70 million people either fought or participated in the war effort.
This new technology cause more powerful weapons to occur. These new weapons caused the number of casualties to increase drastically. New weapons such as machine guns, tanks, flame throwers, grenade launchers, airplanes, submarines and U-boats were invented. Also chemical warfare was first introduced. Around ⅓ of all the casualties in world war 1 were a result of these poisonous gases.
It is true that war in the trenches were extremely uncomfortable and difficult, but there is debate on whether the trenches was a smart strategy to succeed. Trench warfare emerged because of the state of technology in the second decade of the 20th century. At this time there were rapid advances in military technology. Weapons and artilleries had become more advanced immeasurably more advanced that it was just a few decades before. In 1914, weaponry was made with hydraulic mechanisms for absorbing recoil, as a result the weapons did not have to be repositioned after every shot.
In order to analyze and answer the question, we must first understand the context of trench warfare. World War 1 was a time when advanced weapons and technology were invented. Weapons such as machine guns, artillery, tanks, and other long range military weapons were used at the opposing side. To defend against a wide use of artillery and other long range weapons, trench warfare was used by both the allied and central powers. Trench warfare was a very important factor in World War 1, not only because it would defend one’s own trench, but also attempt to attack the enemies at the same time.
World War I started in 1914 and ended in 1918. It is known as the trench warfare war and one of the worst wars in history. Many soldiers from the French and German sides died. The war was fought in France and is known as one of the worst wars. The book All Quiet on the Western Front is about Paul and his journey throughout the war.
However, throughout World War One, lots of new technology was made and lots of old ones were improved to make fighting more efficient for countries. The biggest war technology was, and still is today, the airplane. At first, they were used for spying and gathering information about what your enemy’s next move was. Soon after, they started being used for bombing, then became fully equipped with machine guns. Fighting in the air was one of the most dangerous jobs of the war.
Chibuike Ezenekwe Period 1 February 10, 2015 The Cause of World War I In the end, the once funny war was no longer funny at all. World War I was fought for four years, from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. About 20 million people were wounded and over 16 million people were killed.
Through the course of World War 1, technology has seen a rapid advancement and played a major role within the war as well. One specific type of technology that we truly saw advance and contribute to the war, were aircrafts. At the beginning of World War 1 no one would ever imagine aircrafts would play a big part in the war as much as they did and some even believed aircrafts were not cut-out for war. French Army Marshal Ferdinand Foch stated “The aircraft is all very well for sport- for the army it is useless”, but wasn 't he wrong. The war first started with the use of large ships called Zeppelins.
Back in World War One, airplanes were a thought of the future, but they became extremely prominent in World War Two, and essentially ruled the offensive and defensive strategies of the European and Pacific Theater. The Germans were able to defeat many countries through their use of advanced military equipment, as they notoriously demolished France, Belgium, Poland, Norway, and Denmark. Hitler was able to utilize many successful tactics such as the Blitzkrieg and the Sitzkrieg. Those deadly tactics, when combined with the use of airplanes and tanks, was virtually unstoppable. Germany kept advancing its technology until it matched Britain, who was able to consistently match and fend off Germany’s shiny new weapons.
WW1 was predominantly fought in trenches, long winding holes in the ground which soldiers dug to protect themselves from enemy artillery. When the war started the trenches were sometimes reinforced with wooden paneling, but as it progressed they became more and more makeshift. The conditions deteriorated with mud and water flooding them with the seasons, artillery shelling would cause the trench walls to cave in. Diseases such as trench foot became common, rats would feast on human corpses thusly becoming the sizes of cats. These factors took a physical as well as mental toll on soldiers.
WW1 is known as the first modern war because it saw the incorporation of mechanical weapons. The Central Powers and Allies both used a variety of weapons such as machine guns, chemical weapons , clothing, biplanes, artillery, tanks, grenades, and rifles. These weapons were state of the art for the early 20th century. These weapons caused casualties to skyrocket as the Allies and the Central Powers were in a stalemate.
“Imagine yourself in the pitch dark, after two or three days of wet, cold, hunger, sleeplessness, staggering down a trench, knee-deep in mud, carrying various burdens that almost equal your own body-weight” (Ellis, 48). This was the everyday life of the typical soldier involved in the World War I trench warfare. During WWI trench warfare was common. It began in September 1914 with the German army digging themselves in for a battle that would last what seemed like a life time for the soldiers involved. Soldiers on either side alike lived in deplorable conditions.
During the beginning of the first world war, aircrafts were used primarily for military observation of enemy states and did not play a large role until near the end of the war where they were used to bomb enemy territory on the western front. The first fighter planes produced in World War I, was rarely used due to their overall inaccuracy and inefficiency whereas the fighter planes/jets produced during world war II, had more speed, enhanced armoury and were more accurate and precise. As such, the long-range aircraft of the second world war removed the Mid-Atlantic Gap. Furthermore, technological progression had a large influence on the production rate of airpower.