Technology and Warfare in WWI

Changes in Tactics In previous wars

soldiers had fought open fields with cavalry (horses) and rifles, but machine guns made such tactics suicide

Gas Warfare Germany first

country to use poison gas in warfare

Trivia Tidbit In 1918 a German

corporal by the name of Adolf Hitler was temporarily blinded by a British gas attack in Flanders. Having suffered the agonies of gas first hand, his fear of the weapon would prevent him from deploying it as a tactical weapon on the battle fields in WWII.

Trenches Standard war tactic used before the

development of the tank and the advancement in airplane technology

Trenches protected soldiers from enemy fire, but not artillery attacks

‘No Man’s Land’: area between enemy trenches.

‘Going Over the Top’: an advancement of soldiers into ‘no man’s land’.

Stalemate: armies could not successfully advance.

Battles of Attrition: a result of trench warfare.

Trench Warfare – No Man’s Land

Tanks tanks were firstly

ineffective in the war, underpowered, unable to turn and often got stuck in mud

By 1917 tanks had developed so they could crush barbed wire and shelter solders while crossing into no-man’s land

Help allies break through German defenses on ground

Airplanes in WW1 First - air planes used

for spying and bombing missions

Second - planes came equipped with machine guns - caused massive casualties

Canada had not Airforce - Canadian pilots flew in British Corps. By 1918, 40% British pilots were Canadian

Warfare in the Air Dogfights occurred

between Allied and German air forces - pilots would shoot each others’ planes down at very close range.

Air warfare seemed glorious, unlike the horrors of the trenches, but the average life of a pilot was only 3 weeks