New Weapons

New Weapons

1. Aircraft Development

   • On the Western Front, both sides used planes and balloons to find enemy weak points
   • The Germans used Zeppelins to carry out bombing raids
   • 1915 - new planes included synchronised machine guns where on man could fly and shoot the gun
   • Both sides developed planes for long-distance bombing raids
     • May 1917 - 71 people were killed at Folkestone

2. Tanks

   • Tracks on tanks allowed soldiers to cover rough ground and through barbed wire, and they where heavily armoured
   • Development of tactics:
     • Battle of the Somme 1916 - First tank use, Haig sent in 49 tanks, captured 2km of German territory but couldn't hold on to it
     • Cambrai 1917 - More successful, 500 tanks, captured 6km of land but, again, couldn't hold it

3. Poison Gas

   • Germans firstly used chlorine gas which killed many at the Second battle of Ypres
     • The British used it later on but some gas blew back on themselves
     • Disadvantage of being highly visible
   • Germans used phosgene in 1915 - it was invisible and deadly, but slow-acting
   • Mustard gas caused horrible blisters and internal bleeding
   • Gas became a standard weapon, but not a war-winning one
     • Masks, pads and helmets were used as countermeasures

4. Creeping Barrage

   • Tactic - an advancing curtain of artillery fire preceding the advancing infantry
   • First used at the Battle of the Somme
   • It was difficult and dangerous as it depended on precise timing
     • When the barrage outpaced the infantry, the gap between them allowed the Germans to re-emerge and man their positions
       • If the infantry moved too fast, they ran into their own shellfire