TASK 1 - Trench Warfare
1. What were the features of Trench Warfare
Trenches were designed to protect troops from enemy firepower. They were protected with huge barbed-wire entanglements and machine guns. However over the course of the next three years the trenches were shored up with timber and sand bags and deep concrete dug-outs were built.
In 1915 both side's attacks followed a similar pattern where air craft located the enemy machine gun nests and trench system which were then pounded with heavy artillery shells. The infantry then went 'over the top', in which the attackers often took the first line of trenches but were then pushed back by a counter-attack. In 1915 no British of French attack managed to gain more than three miles of land.
2. How were the following used to break the deadlock?
Artillery
It became clear that only artillery could effectively destroy tench defences and give a frontal attack some chance of success. Throughout 1915 both sides sought to improve their deficiencies in heavy guns and find new techniques for their use, such as creeping barrage (involving artillery fire moving forward in stages just ahead of the advancing infantry). By 1916 Germany had developed enormous howitzers, which could fire a shell weighing nearly a tonne.
Gas
As early as October 1914 Germany had considered using gas to achieve a breakthrough, but it was not until April 1915 that it was used in Ypres. However it failed as they did not exploit the initial surprise and panic. Later, with the development of gas masks, the impact of gas was minimised.
Tanks
In March 1915 a technical solution to the problem of barbed wire, trenches and machine guns was introduced in the form of tanks. It used armour plating to protect the soldiers and caterpillar tracks to cross trenches and surmount barbed wire. However it was not until November 1917 that the tank was first used to its full potential.
Task 2 - The Other Fronts
1. Why (and with what results) did Japan declare war on Germany?
Japan seized the opportunity to declare war on Germany on the 23rd August 1914, in order to capture German territory in the Chinese province of Shantung as well as the German Pacific islands. Japan refused to send troops to the Western Front, but it's navy helped Britain to ensure security of the Pacific Ocean. Japan's main goal was to strengthen its hold on China.
2. Why did Turkey join the Central Powers?
Both Germany and the Allies tried to secure Turkish support. In the end Germany was able to outbid it's rivals by promising support for the Turkish annexation of Russian border territory, and possibly the restoration of the Aegean islands, which had been ceded to Greece. Britain failed to gain their support as they refused to give back two Turkish warships which had just been constructed in British dockyards.
Turkey declared war on the Entente powers on the 28th of October 1914.
Turkey's entry into the war was a direct threat to Britain's position in Egypt and led to the dispatch of the Anzac Corps to defend the Suez Canal.
3. Why did Italy join the war on the Allied side?
Throughout the winter of 1914-15 Italy negotiated with both Central Powers and the Allied Powers. In the end Italy joined the war on the Allied side in May 1915, and by the treaty of London was promised not only the Austrian territories of South Tyrol, Istria and nearly half of the Dalmatian coastline, but also territory in Africa and the Middle East.
4. What did Britain hope to achieve at Gallipoli?
By January 1915 the Royal Navy controlled the seas. Given the stalemate on the Western Front, British politicians increasingly wondered whether sea power could somehow break the military deadlock and lead to a quick end to the war. Inspired by Winston Churchill, the decision was taken to force the Dardandelles. This plan would have knocked Turkey out of the war and opened up Russia to military supplies from western Europe and the USA, and in turn allowed them to export wheat to Britain. The plan could well have altered the course of the war and prevented the Russian revolution.
British and Anzac troops landed on Gallipoli on the 15th of April, but an earlier naval bombardment had eliminated the element of surprise. The campaign rapidly degenerated into another trench war and troops were withdrawn in December. This failure showed that there was no 'easy fix' and that only on the western front could a decision be obtained.
5. What advantages would the defeat of Russia bring to the Central Powers?
In France the Germans remained on the defensive throughout 1915. 8 German divisions were moved from the Western to the Eastern Front and formed the basis of the new German army there. The aim was that, with Austria, they could deliver a knock out blow against Russia. A successful attack was launched against the Russians in Southern Poland in early May. The central powers broke Russian lines of communication and advanced 95 miles within 2 weeks. In August Warsaw was taken and by Autumn there was great success achieved for the Central Powers. Russia suffered nearly 2 million casualties.
A consequence of this was that Bulgaria joined the central powers in September. However Russia had not been defeated and the Central Powers were still locked in a two front war with no decisive victory in sight.
TASK 3 - The Battles of 1915
1. Why did the offensive of 1915 fail to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front?
During 1915 both sides attacked with considerable ferocity, but were not able to sustain a victory for very long. Offensive action was limited as the demand for artillery ammunition was greater than the supply they were receiving. The army had expected a static war of movement, which would need far fewer shells than that of a static war so they ended up in short supply. It would also be a long time before the factories at home could satisfy the demand of various weapons, especially since the manufacture of high-explosive shells was more difficult and dangerous than shrapnel. Thus, in early 1915 the progress of the war was determined by capacity of the factories to supply them.
Germany attacked near Ypres in April 1915 in an attempt to show that they were still strong in the west and to cover up up the movement of troops to the east. This assault was notable for the first systematic use of poison gas. Because this weapon was used with surprise, it's effects were impressive. The Germans won the body count with half of that of the British and French combined. The attack also narrowed the salient that was formed the previous year when the allies refused to surrender Ypres. The salient was now extremely dangerous and abandonment of the town may have been a wiser choice.
Joffre turned his attention to the area around Artois. On the 9th of May 1915 the French attacked Vimy. A British thrust upon Aubers Ridge was timed to happen at the same time, but achieved little success. Attacks continued until mid June when exhaustion and lack of ammunition dictated a halt. This convinced the Germans that they had mastered the art of defence, however France and Britain were sure that with a reliable supply of weaponry and men, a breakthrough could be achieved.
Later, a simultaneous attack was launched by the British and French in Artois and by the French in Champagne. However German reinforcements stifled the attack in Champagne.
Entente forces managed to achieve some small successes however the German defence and shortage supply in ammunition meant that on the battle field they were usually met with the equivalent of a brick wall.
2. To what extent can the commanders of the allied forces be blamed for this failure?
The British and French responded to the stalemate by applying old principles of warfare. The artillery would 'soften' a section of the enemy line where upon the infantry would then attack, and the cavalry would then turn the flank. They, rather naively, believed that these tactics would still work to their advantage, and even after they failed to achieve a breakthrough, did not change these strategies, but instead intensified their attack. They believed that given sufficient munitions and men, they could restore mobility to the war. It would have been more advantageous to the allies if had they not fought a war of attrition and instead accepted the immutability of stalemate.
Battle strategies followed two different trains of thought; 'westerners' like Haig and Joffre thought that victory would come if all effort was concentrated in France and Belgium and eventually the Germans would crack. 'Easterners' believed that an attack on Germany 'through the back door' was the best strategy.
Haig and French did not often agree. Haig thought that, had French released the reserves in time, they would have achieved a breakthrough at the battle of Loos. French was a good man and a competent commander but too sensitive to direct a war of such appalling tragedy. In contrast, Haig held an iron nerve.
TASK 4 -1916: Deadlock Still Unbroken
1. What plans did the allies have for an offensive in 1916?
Both sides had failed to achieve a breakthrough. France had been weakened but it's army remained the strongest on the allies side. The British Empire was mobilising its resources effectively and Britain now had over a million men in France. Italy was also an ally, and Russia had unlimited man power, if only it could be exploited.
The plan was to create a co-ordinated attack on the central powers by all four allied nations. This was agreed at the Inter-Allied Military Conference at Chantilly in December 1915.
2. What were the German plans for 1916?
The central powers had limited manpower resources and needed to force one of their enemies out of the war. They could:
- Renew the offensive against Russia
- Weaken an already unstable France to the point of leaving the war
- Or eliminate Britain or France
General Von Falkenhayn, the German chief of Staff, argued that defeating France would be the best option. If the French were forced to surrender, the British would soon lose the desire to fight alone on French soil. He decided to attack at Verdun. The Germans would begin the attack with a series of short intense artillery bombardments they would then advance and consolidate their position before France counter attacked.
The attack began on February 21st. The Germans gained 336,831 casualties and the French had 362,000.
3. How did France's allies try to relieve the pressure on the French?
To relieve the pressure in Verdun, Italy, Russia and Britain all launched offensives in the summer of 1916. Italy attacked in May on the Trentino front, Russia attacked in June and on the 1st of July Britain advanced on German positions in the north of the Somme.
The Italians were stopped on the 10th of June. The Russians initially achieved great success against the Austrians on the Carpathian Front. This persuaded Romania to join the war on the side of the Allies and forced Falkenhayn to transfer reserves from the Western Front. However this all ground to a halt in Autumn.
The British attack in the Somme was successful in taking some pressure off of the French. However there were around 415,000 British casualties.
4. To what extent can military leadership be blamed for the lack of a breakthrough in 1916?
Much of the British army was raised from Kitchener's new volunteer scheme, who had little or no experience in battle. The battle in the Somme on July 1 was based upon a tragically flawed assumption that British artillery could destroy German wire, when in actual fact, they did not have the ammunition or the guns to achieve such a feat. Another disadvantage to the British soldiers was that they were told to walk towards the German line instead of run. Because of their limited experience, this allowed them to be better mentally equipped to the chaos that they were about to experience.
Haig, later on the 15th of September, tried to introduce tanks into the war. This was a failed attempt to alter the war as the rough ground meant that 13 out of 49 tanks broke down on the way to the front line and 11 stalled in no mans land.
Haig believed that he had caused more damage to the Germans than they had given in return. However, if the French losses are introduced, Britain and France had around 600,000 casualties and Germany 500,000.
TASK 5 - 1917: "No Peace Without Victory"
TASK 5 - 1917: "No Peace Without Victory"
1. Why did the Germans retire to the Hindenburg line?
At the end of 1916 General Ludendorff told Bethmann Hollweg that if the war continued without the collapse of one of the Allies, Germany would inevitably be defeated. He feared that another offensive on the scale of the Somme would break through the German lines. As a result of this advice, in north-eastern France, the Germans constructed a strongly fortified line, the Hindenburg line, to which they retreated in March 1917. This decision would also save the Germans man power as they would require 13 less divisions to defend it.
2. What were the consequences of the failure of the Nivelle offensive?
The strength of the Hindenburg line meant that the Allies had to abandon plans for another attack across the Somme. They were instead persuaded by the new Commander-in-Chief of the French armies, General Nivelle, that a massive attack south of the Hindenburg line, composed of over 50 French divisions, would drive through the German line.
The attack opened on the 16th of April. By the middle of May the French army was paralysed by a series of mutinies. By the beginning of June there were only two reliable divisions on the French central Front covering Paris.
The possibility of a French collapse was prevented by Nivelle's replacement, General Pétain, who managed to to restore morale and discipline to the soldiers. The extent of the mutinies was also concealed by from both France's allies and the Germans.
The main burden of the war now fell on the British, who launched a major offensive at Ypres in July, however by early November, when it ended, only a few miles had been gained. Germany had 200,000 casualties and Ludendorff was concerned that this would decrease morale for his troops. Britain's losses were even higher at 245,000.
3. Why was the battle of Cambrai a pointer to the future?
In November 1917 381 British tanks attacked the Hindenburg line at Cambrai. The Germans were caught completely by surprise and their Front lines, which had once been considered impenetrable, were overrun. However a lack of tank and infantry reserves, the attack ran out of steam and over a week the Germans had won back almost all of the land that they had lost. This gave an insight in to battles of the near future, in which tanks were used en masse instead of the usual prolonged bombardment.
4. Why was it impossible to end the war in 1917 through a negotiated peace?
The new Austrian Emperor, Karl, desperate to save his empire from disintegration, had already tried to reach out to Allies in the name of peace in autumn 1916. The Pope and the International Socialist Conference, which met in Stockholm on June, also appealed to bring an end to the war. In Germany the Reichstag, in July 1917, passed a resolution 'for peace of understanding'.
Both sides were suffering. However it was a war of nations against each other not just armies. Each nation was inspired with the prospect of an absolute victory that would make worthwhile their present suffering, and Russia had provided evidence that war weariness could in fact lead to revolution.
The entry of the USA into the war also gave Britain and France the hope of ultimate victory. In December 1916 Lloyd George came to power with a mandate to fight on for victory. 11 months later Georges Clemenceau became PM and was committed to war against the Central Powers.
In Germany the Collapse of Russia also held out the prospect of eventual victory. Also in July 1917 Hollweg was a replaced by a 'puppet' of the Fatherland's Party who were certainly pro-war.
5. To what extent can military leadership be blamed for the lack of breakthrough in 1917?
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