sign in sign up
<<
Home , December 1914, Plan XVII

The Great War 1914-16 The Illusion of Maneuver and Stalemate

German soldiers on their way to the front, . Some Military Terminology

• Company: 200 men • Battalion: 600 men • Regiment: 1800 men • Division: 5400 men • Corps: 16,200 men • Army: 49,600 men • Flank: the side of an army Helmuth Von Moltke - German Chief of Rival Plans Staff, 1914

• • Plan XVII – German – French – original conceived – calls for a powerful between 1897 and 1905 offensive into Lorraine by General Schlieffen – although knows – Changed slightly by about Schlieffen Plan, Helmuth von Moltke they carry out XVII in when he transfers 6 the hopes of recovering divisions to Eastern the “lost provinces.” Front The Front: August 1914 The Schlieffen Plan and Plan XVII in Action German Difficulties

German soldiers engaging in hand to hand combat with French troops. Even in August, the fighting between the two sides was bloody and fierce. German Difficulties • German communications are poor and are not able to keep up with the speed of the advance. begin to lose coordination of their advance. • Held up twice by the small at Mons and LeCateau • Instead of capturing Liege in two days it takes them 10 days. – Allies are thus allowed to deploy in the way of Germans. Some units are even able to dig in to some extent. French Mistakes French infantry march through the streets on their way to war in August 1914. French citizens called their soldiers by the nickname les poilus, or “the bearded ones”. In 1914, French troops still wore red caps and pants with blue coats. French Mistakes • The attack into Lorraine and the Forest (Plan XVII) plays into the hands of the Germans. Sets up French to be double Joffre believed the enveloped by the Germans. French General Sir John character was French, aggressive, so commander of •Primacy of the offensive. General Josef too must its the BEF. A Joffre, French commander-in-chief, strategy. longtime cavalry During the officer, French pre-war also believed in emphasizes the attack and the use period French the cult of the offensive. of the bayonet by the infantry. generals frequently -This proves to be useless against talked about the new machine gun and rapid élan (spirit) resulting in fire artillery. victory. STALEMATE Stalemate Begins The “” (October-December 1914) Allies and Germans try to flank each other to the north.

Allies

Germans Stalemate 1915

• War settles into for next three years. • A line of trenches runs across the Western Front from the English Channel to . Trench Systems Trench Systems • Both sides began to “dig in”, From The Old Barbed Wire and build elaborate trenches. If you want to find the old battalion, I know where they are, • Eventually their walls towered I know where they are well over the heads of the If you want to find a battalion, I know where they are, men. Trenches included firing They’re hanging on the old barbed steps, machine gun posts, wire. sniper positions, and I’ve seen ‘em, I’ve seen ‘em, Hanging on the old barbed wire, observations posts. I’ve seen ‘em, • The widespread use of barbed Hanging on the old barbed wire. wire also made trenches more difficult to assault. • Trench systems usually consisted of a main trench along with subsidiary and secondary positions. A British illustration of a trench cross-section. Notice the barbed wire and sandbags. Living quarters (circled) are deep underground. This is an ideal trench, especially for the British - who the Germans felt maintained very poor trenches!

Barbed Wire

Sandbags

Trench Systems This is a fairly realistic view of a British trench. It was not a very pleasant existence. The troops are sitting in what were called “scrapeholes”. They provided minimal protection during bombardments. Typically, there is equipment scattered all about the trench. It is possible that these men are recovering after an assault. Notice also the broken down stairs (between two scrapeholes) and the firing step on which the soldier is laying down.

Trench Systems This is a French illustration depicting a trench system (top half) and cross-sections of dugout and machine gun emplacement.

Machine gun Emplacement

Trench Systems Support Trenches

Communication Trench Secondary Trench

Frontline Trenches Stalemate 1915: Technology

• New technology changes the conduct of the war: – machine gun – artillery – poison gas – airplane – trench systems – long range rifle British soldiers in early trench with protective caves, . Artillery • COULD FIRE FASTER • SHELLS USED WERE MORE DESTRUCTIVE, LARGER. • MORE ACCURATE THAN IN PREVIOUS WARS - BUT NOT ACCURATE ENOUGH TO BREAK STALEMATE. A British photo of a German artillery emplacement. Note the well constructed stairs and the sturdy concrete walls. This particular structure would have been virtually impervious to artillery fire. This emplacement most likely housed a very large, heavy cannon. In fact, the Germans had a 210 mm gun, the “Kaiser Wilhelm”, that bombarded from a distance of 75 miles!

Trench Systems The Machine Gun • Rapid fire capability • Made defense of trenches much easier • Neither side had ability to counter the defensive power of the machine gun. • An icon of stalemate, a symbol of the war. The Machine Gun German MG team. All the machine guns in WW1 were heavy, water-cooled weapons that required a team of men to use them. The Spandau, which could fire 300 rounds per minute was probably the most reliable of any of the machine guns in the Great War. The German Spandau (above). The British used the Vickers and the French the Hotchkiss. Interestingly, the Vickers was nothing more than a Spandau produced in with a different size of bullet. Poison Gas • It was first used by the Germans in 1915. • Both sides eventually develop gas masks and means of protection from this weapon. • It proved to be a terror to the soldiers, but in no way was able to break the deadlock. British soldiers (right) recovering behind the lines from exposure to gas. Many died from burnt lungs or suffered permanent blindness. Long Range Rifles

• The rifles allowed infantry A French poilu to engage one another at from about 1915. much longer distances At this time, France had • These rifles were also adopted a light more accurate and could blue uniform that fire faster than rifles in gave better service only 15 years camouflage than the bright red and before. blue uniform. • Such weapons were partly Before the war, the cause for the failure Britain and of maneuver warfare in had each begun 1914. issuing a khaki and a gray uniform respectively. Airplanes • Airplanes were first used as a means of reconnaissance and artillery observation. • They were later employed to bomb enemy positions; not very effective. • As both sides began to employ airplanes regularly The Fokker Tri-Wing (above) and the Sopwith the first “dogfights” Camel were two of the most famous of WWI occurred. airplanes. Both were excellent in the dogfights that took place later in the war. The German Fokker was flown by the famous “ace” Baron von Richtoffen. Aces emerged once both sides began to compete for air superiority over the trenches. Dichotomy in Tactics and Technology • Technology was much more advanced than the tactics that employed it. • In fact, the tactics used for most of 1914-15 were those of warfare in the nineteenth century. • As the war went on the general staffs in each nation established a learning curve, but it was in French soldiers of about 1918. They are no way a steep one. equipped with light machine guns, submachine guns, and hand grenades. These were weapons invented because of the trench fighting experience and would be one reason the deadlock finally was broken. The War at Sea • U-boat warfare – Germans begin by warning ships before they are sunk • to counter this threat, UK begins to arm its merchant shipping • Germans counter with unrestricted sub warfare (sinking w/out warning) – one of the victims of this policy is the Lusitania » US demands end to USW and Germany complies The Search for New Allies • UK and France lure to the Allied side – sign a secret agreement and promise Italy parts of Austria-Hungary – Hope that Italy can breakthrough against Austria and flank the

• Unable to achieve Italian general Count Cavorno any success over discussing strategy with a three years and fight subordinate (right) and their 11 battles along the British comrade (center). Isonzo River. The Search for New Allies • Germany and Austria- Hungary persuade and to join the Central Powers. – Turkey is promised and parts of – Bulgaria will get parts of Romania and Serbia • The entry of Turkey opens a new front in World War One for the Allies Conclusion • Technology has outpaced the tactics • Both sides find new allies in hopes of breaking through on a new front • By the end of 1915 Europe is locked in a bloody stalemate that looks as if it has no end in sight Conclusion • War has expanded technologically and geographically. • Both sides have made attempts to avoid a decision on the Western Front by opening other ones. • But, the war will be decided in France and during 1916- 1918.