World War IStandard 7-4 Notes

New Technologies

• World War I was much different from previous wars

• The Industrial Revolution led to development of new weapons and technology• New weapons & technology included long-range

artillery, poisonous gases/gas masks, submarines, tanks, machines guns, airplanes, and flame throwers

• Trench warfare was also used during WWI

Guns• Main weapon used by British soldiers in trenches

was the bolt-action rifle• 15 rounds could be fired in a minute• Person 1400 meters away could be killed

• First machines guns needed 4-6 men to work them• Had to be on a flat surface• Had the fire power of 100 guns

• Large field guns (artillery) had long range and could deliver devastating blows to the enemy• Up to 12 men needed to work them• Fired shells that exploded on impact

Zeppelin• Also known as a blimp• Airship used in early part of war in bombing raids by Germans• Carried machine guns and bombs• Abandoned because they were easy to shoot out of the sky

Gas • Chlorine Gas• German army first to use it at Battle of Ypres in

1915• Causes burning sensation in throat and chest

pains• Death is painful (suffocation)• Weather had to be right to use it

• Mustard Gas• Most deadly weapon used• Fired into trenches in shells• Colorless• Takes up to 12 hours to take effect• Effects: blistering skin, vomiting, sore eyes,

internal & external bleeding• Death can take up to 5 weeks

Tanks• Used for the first time in WWI

• Developed to cope with conditions on the Western Front

• First tank called “Little Willie”• Needed crew of 3 men• Max speed of 3 mph• Could not cross trenches

• More modern tank not developed until just before the end of the war• Could carry 10 men• Revolving turret• Could reach 4mph

Planes

• Used for the first time during WWI

• At first, used to deliver bombs and for spying work

• Used for fighting when armed with machine guns, bombs, and sometimes canons

• Fights between 2 planes in the sky became known as “dogfights”

Trench Warfare• Characterized much of the fighting during WWI (particularly in

the Western Front)

• Trench systems were complicated with many interlinking lines of trenches

Fighting on 3 Fronts

The AlliancesThe Allied Powers

(The Allies)The Central Powers

• Great Britain• France• Italy (after 1915)• Russia (until

1917)• U.S. (after 1917)

• Germany• Austria-Hungary• Bulgaria• The Ottoman

Empire

The Western Front• Most of the trench warfare took place in France

• French & British vs Germans

• Stalemate—lasted until 1917 (neither side could get the other to surrender)

The Eastern Front

• Mostly between Germans and Russians

• Some involvement from Serbia & other nations• Some countries wanted to break free from

imperial rule • Ottoman Empire & Bulgaria on side of

Germany

The Italian Front• Italy fought alongside French

against German & Austro-Hungarian troops

• Notice that Italy switched its alliance it had before the war…

• Russia withdrew from WWI in 1917—Germany was able to concentrate focus on the Western Front with a stronger potential for victory

Crossword Answers

• 10 Across: SOMME

• 11 Across: JUTLAND

• 3 Down: TANNENBERG