History Soars at Pheonix  

World War I Combat

 

The Automatic Machine Gun

These mounted guns fired a rapid, continuous stream of bullets, and made it possible for a few gunners to mow down waves of soldiers.  _____ of bullet casualties in WWI were from automatic machine guns.

 

 

Poisonous Gas

Gases were lobbed into ___________  ___________causing choking, blinding, severe skin blisters, or death.  Gas masks lessened the importance of poison gas.

 

 

Tanks

Tanks protected advancing troops as they broke through enemy defenses.  Early tanks were ________  _____  ________.

 

 

Submarines

German U-boats destroyed Allied shipping, and brought the US into the war after sinking the __________________. The typical WWI German U-boat had a crew of 30 and could dive to 300 feet.

 

 

 

Allied & Neutral Ships Sunk in WWI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Allied surface vessel drops ___________  ____________ at a German U-boat.  A depth charge is like a giant grenade that lets off a “charge” at the desired “depth.”

 

 

Airplanes

At first, planes were mainly used for reconnaissance, but later flying “______” engaged in air combat.  Propeller planes were equipped with a machine gun and bombs. 

 

The German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, also known as “______________________,” had over 80 kills in air-to-air combat, or “dogfights” before he was killed.

 

 

Artillery

Cannon fire became deadly accurate in WWI, and made battlefields look like the face of the ________.

 

 

The Germans had “____  ___________,” a cannon that could shoot 9 miles.  By the end of the war, the Germans were shelling Paris from 70 miles away.

 

 

Trench Warfare

Heavy fighting took place along the ______________  __________, a 600-mile stretch of land in ________________ where the troops dug trenches for protection.

 

 

For four years neither side could make any significant gains, and millions were killed.

 

 

A “dug-out” was used to avoid being killed during shelling.  A dug-out was usually ___  _______ ___________ and could hold over a dozen soldiers.  German dug-outs were usually deeper.

 

 

Trench Foot:

An _______________ caused by cold, wet, and unsanitary conditions. Feet would go numb, the skin would turn red or blue, and eventually gangrenous. __________________ were common for trench foot.

 

The Remedy:

Change your socks and keep your feet dry.

 

 

The Human Cost of WWI

Dead: over _____________                        Wounded: over 17 million

                  

Also, there was widespread disease, famine, and destruction.