Revision notes for the First World War depth study in the Changing Nature of Warfare course. Explores key themes of the course with detailed facts. This was helpful when analysing interpretations and sources.
How far was the indesivie warfare which characterised the war on the Western Front and the
heavy casualties it involved the result of inept military leadership
How important were the developments in weaponry in the First World War?
How far did alliances determine the outcome of the First World War?
Did Germany lose the First World War because of the home front?
Key facts from each theme:
Quality of Soldiers:
The BEF showed the advantage of a professional army:
- Some German soldiers in 1914 mistook the fire of British troops for a machine gun
due to the quick firing use of the Lee-Enfield rifle - shows good training.
Tactics and Strategy:
The Schlieffen plan failed due to being too complex, too rigid and having poor assumptions
on the part of the planners.
For much of the war, planners hoped for a breakthrough in the line and victory through
encirclement. The failure to breakthrough led to a battle of attrition (slowly wearing down the
enemy) between 1915-17 - attempted at Verdun and the Somme.
Trench warfare developed - only defence against machine guns and accurate rifles.
- Allied trenches were designed to be offensive and temporary whilst the Germans
employed a more defensive strategy using lightly defended front lines with strong
reserve forces.
- Throughout the war, the allied aim was to capture the German’s forward trenches
and then fight at close quarters through their trench network - however this had
limited success.
- At the Somme, Britain used a mass week-long artillery barrage where 1.7 million
shells were fired at German lines to wear them down. Throughout the war, 70% of
casualties were from bombardments. This was followed by a co-ordinated advance of
infantry “going over the top” across “no-man’s land”.
The continuation of war and developing technology drove forward innovation in tactics:
, - Chemical gas, tanks, artillery, storm troopers and air force were all used which
helped make infantry attacks more effective but no breakthrough was ever
experienced.
- The “creeping barrage” also helped in this respect - artillery tactic used by the Allies.
The artillery would move just ahead of advancing infantry to help conceal position.
- Both sides began to experiment with “infiltration tactics” which required small groups
of infantry advancing in co-ordinated actions with artillery.
Total War
Geographical spread
- WW1 stretched the length of France on the western front.
- Troops from the empire were particularly widely used with India spending over 1
million men to fight for Britain.
- With the US involved from 1917 and Japan taking action against some of Germany’s
colonies, this war was truly international.
Economic and Political Commitment
Defence of the Real Act (DORA) - gave the government executive powers to suppress
published criticism, imprison without trial and to commandeer economic powers for the war
effort.
Industry - all industries were mobilised to support the war effort with manufacturate of
weapons and other war items taking primacy. This was the case in all major combatant
nations with the economy even being used to help win the war through the naval blockade.
Governments introduced rationing , interventionist policies in labour and mass conscription.
Civilians
Mass conscription - Britain introduced mass conscription in January 1916 which took
millions of men directly into the fight, women were required to fill many of the vacancies left
by conscripted men and many became involved as victims of loss as their relatives were
killed on the battlefield.
Targeting of civilians - German navy which attacked Scarborough and other coastal towns
and by the British who blockaded ports in an effort to starve the population.
Numbers
- The German army had 11 million at its height.
- Britain and France both had around 8 million troops.
- Russia had 12 million
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