Weapons In Ww1

Weapons:
There were different kinds of weapons used in WW1. Firstly, there was the rifle and it was a bolt-action rifle. It was the most used gun by the soldiers in the trenches. 15 rounds altogether could be fired in a minute and a person that was standing 1400-1500 metres away could possibly be killed by it so this shows how powerful it was. Also, another weapon that was frequently used was machine guns. A disadvantage to them was that they needed 4-6 men to use them so this could be costly if you are facing an opponent and one of the men is just sat there holding something. Another disadvantage was that they had to be used on flat surfaces otherwise they would not work. However, it was an effective weapon as it was like the power of 100 guns put together. Large field guns were long range and could really deliver devastating blows to an enemy. But a very bad thing about the large field weapon was that it needed 12 men to work it which it double to normal machine gun. This would give the enemy easier targets. Although they did fire shells which would then explode on impact. A shell is the metal or cardboard casing that would contain an explosive charge. Another weapon used in WW1 was mustard gas and chlorine gas. The German army were the first to use chlorine gas and this was at the battle of Ypres in 1915. Chlorine gases would create a burning feeling in your throat and would also make you have chest pains. If you died from chlorine gas it would be extremely painful, as you would be suffocating. A disadvantage to the chlorine gas is that the weather must be right. If the wind is in the wrong direction it could end up killing your own troops rather than the enemy. The other type of gas was the mustard gas and this is said to be arguably the most deadly weapon used in WW1. It would be fired into the trenches via shells. It was colourless and you wouldn’t be able to know if it was there or not as it takes twelve hours for effect, which is bad because in an unlikely event, by the time it takes effect they could have all gone, however the chances were very slim. Some of the effects included blistering skin, vomiting, internal and external bleeding and sore eyes. Death from the mustard gas would take about 5 weeks. A fourth weapon used in WW1 would have been the zeppelin. This was also know to some as a ‘blimp’ and was airship that was used in the early parts of German raids. They used to carry guns and bombs but were soon scrapped, as they were extremely easy to shoot down. A final weapon used in WW1 that I am going to talk about as they is many more is tanks. They were first used at the Battle of the Somme, which started on July 1st 1916. They were first set up to cope with the bad conditions on the western front. The first ever tank was named ‘Little Willie,’ as only needed a crew of 3 to use. A terrible disadvantage was that the highest it could go was 3mph and also could not cross trenches. Fortunately, The more modern tank was not developed until just before the end of the war. It could carry 10 men, had a revolving turret and could reach 4mph.

Tactics:
World War One was mostly fought in the trenches. It is said that it developed because of the failure of the Schlieffen plan. The Schlieffen Plan was Germany's key war plan for invading France at the start of World War 1. It involved marching through Belgium in order to knock France out of the war quickly. This was bad news for Germany has they now had to fight on two fronts, which would mean splitting up there army in two which they certainly didn’t want to do. Trench warfare was a form of field fortification and was made up, of nearly parallel trenches. During WW1 more and more started to suddenly appear by the time it was near the end of the year 1914. On the western front, trenches ran from the Belgium border to the Swiss Border, and they soon became home to millions of soldiers. The front line directly faced the enemy, who would usually be between 200-800 metres away. The space in between the front lines of the defenders and the attackers was known as "No Man’s Land".
The front line was protected by barbed wire, which was secretly erected or amended during the night. Behind the front line were the "reserve trenches", also known as the "second line" or the "support trenches". These were the second line of defence and they were used if the enemy captured the front line. Sometimes, there was even a third line of defence. These were known as the "communication trenches" and they ran over 1km back to safety. All things going up the line, such as fresh troops, water, food, mail, ammunition, etc, had to use these lines. Also, wounded soldiers went in the other direction to hospitals. Almost all trenches were deep enough for a man to stand up straight without being seen by the enemy. However on the occasions when they weren’t deep enough the men had crouch or crawl all day long, for if enemy snipers saw so much as a hair on the soldier’s head, they would blast the soldier’s head right off.
The mud that was dug out of the trench was piled up in front to form a parapet, which helped to protect from bullets. Sandbags were also used as reinforcements.
The "firing step" was another feature of many trenches. These were used only at night, for obvious safety reasons, by sentries, but they were also used in battle when troops were shooting. Trenches were formed in zigzags, as opposed to straight lines. This was to prevent attackers from shooting straight down the trench, and it helped to reduce the effects of blasts from shells. It also meant that it was more difficult for the trench to be captured as the enemy had to fight round each corner to capture more and more of the trench. Another method of slowing down the process of the enemy capturing the trench, were barbed wire doors, which were common in trenches. When open they fitted into gaps in the side of the trench, but when they were closed they were lethal. They were situated at intervals along the length of the trench.
Wet weather made the trenches become very muddy, very quickly, so flat planks of wood called duckboards were laid end-to-end along the ground, and were then nailed together. These helped to provide a floor, which could cope with the soldiers walking on them from day-to-day. As these did not sink into the mud, they soon became a common sight in British trenches. Living conditions in trenches were very basic and extremely unhygienic. The troops slept in little holes cut out of the side of the trench known as "dug outs".
Planks and sandbags were used to support the roof of the dug out in an effort to make them safer, as there was a huge risk that the roof could fall in on the soldier. This risk was greatly increased if shells had weakened the trench. Planks were also placed on the ground in the dug out to provide a hard wood base for the soldier to use as a bed. Blankets were hung over the front of the dug out to give the soldier a bit of privacy, but they did not however, give any protection against shell splinters.