The trenches were ensured to be constructed in a zig-zag pattern because this design prevented a direct line of fire down a single line, if a trench were to be taken over by the enemy. Many new technological advancements had taken place during WWI, Roden’s letter had described the very minute amount of weaponry that Roden had seen. “Before attacking they used burning liquid on our trenches, and the whole line of trenches were one mass of flames for about 15 minutes. It was a marvel to see how they sent it across. It was worse than gas.” Napalm was a brand new substance that was introduced by the Germans, which was a jelly like substance that could be easily transported and when ignited, would burn ferociously for a long period of time.
Canada More Than A Country, A Family While many young men were losing their lives in the brutal bloodbath of world war , The Canadian home front geared up to support the war effort by supplying food, weapons and any other equipment resulting in the ultimate victory in 1945. During world war two, life back at home was very difficult and much different from what it was like before the war. Women were taking on the roles of men in local factories and any other work places. Propaganda was used everywhere trying to persuade men to join the war. Canadians were working together to provide sustainable food for the soldiers.
Germans would shell British trenches and the British soldiers would be ready for the attack. The aim of this battle was to ease pressure the Germans had put on the nearby village of Verdun, using the battle as a distraction. They relied heavily on the ‘New Army’ – the civilian recruits brought in by Lord Kitchener’s advertising campaign. These thousands upon thousands of men had absolutely no battle experience and insufficient training. At 7:30 am on the 1st of July, the British began a massive attack against German forces.
This tactic was used, for example, at battles such as the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. This tactic, however, tended to result in huge casualty rates and neither side made significant gains. New weapons were also used in an attempt to break the stalemate on the Western Front. At first, artillery barrage was used to inflict constant barrage on the enemy and preceding front offensives. As the war drew on, other weapons such as gas and tanks were used by the Germans for the first time at the First Battle of Ypres in 1915, and became a major tool of warfare on the Western Front.
Many of the deadliest battles in history occurred during the First World War. Such battles include Ypres, the Marne, Cambrai, the Somme, Verdun, and Gallipoli. The Germans employed the Haber process of nitrogen fixation to provide their forces with a constant supply of gunpowder, despite the British naval blockade. [143] Artillery was responsible for the largest number of casualties[144] and consumed vast quantities of explosives. The large number of head wounds caused by exploding shells and fragmentation forced the combatant nations to develop the modern steel helmet, led by the French, who introduced the Adrian helmet in 1915.
From 1944 to 1945, there were about 7,600 Canadian servicemen who died while fighting in Holland. Both the Americans and the British attempted to liberate the Netherlands and ended up failing, therefore it was handed over to the Canadian troops. This was indeed one of Canada’s greatest contributions to WWII. Canadian soldiers fought many harsh battles against the Germans and were very successful. During this time the Dutch people were under five years of Nazi control and with as little as 320 calories daily, the Dutch barely avoided starving.
Guerilla tactics are one of the biggest reasons for the defeat of Soviet Union in the Winter War against Finland in November 30, 1939. The war came to an end on March 13, 1940. Finland had an assembled army of only 250,000 men, 30 tanks and 130 aircraft whereas Russia had 1,000,000 men, 6,541 tanks and 3,800 aircrafts. But Finland had something that Russia did not. Finland had tactics, Mother Nature and some local knowledge.
Controlled Assessment Task Part (A) The First World War is associated strongly with Trench Warfare. How useful and reliable are these sources in explaining what conditions in the trenches were like? The public’s imagination of the Great War has been closely associated with Trench Warfare. Within the beginning period of the war August-September 1914 both armies expected a rapid war of movement, however the advances upon firing technology resulted in the complex trench systems being developed. The traditional interpretation was that soldiers spent all of their time in horrific conditions which they constantly experienced and they feared the factor of being sent ‘Over the top’ and that trenches were full of rats, lice and disease.
Poison gas was also used at Ypres for the first time. The Germans had used chlorine gas for the first time in this war and it had badly affected Canadians because they were unaware of this new weapon. Canada has won recognition for showing courage and a reputation during the war. “For holding the line amid the gas attacks of the first critical four days of the battle, the Canadians were praised for their courage and tenacity, a reputation that would only grow as the war continued.” (Second Battle of Ypres- The Canadian Encyclopedia). Within very little time, the Canadians had lost a lot of men but through this battle they had gained a reputation as a “formidable fighting force” (Veterans Affair of Canada).
We are losing numerous troops due to continual terrorist resistance, and we have to change our tactics to suit the circumstances. The mission seems to be a failure, considering the fact that Canadian troops will have been in Afghanistan for almost ten years by 2011. As role models, the adults should set examples for the youth by making the correct decisions and bringing our soldiers back to Canada. The youth need to realize that they maybe the future soldiers serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, and should take an active part in politics. They can participate in mock elections held at their schools, in model United Nations, in youth organizations of the various political parties, etc... Canadians should acknowledge the 2500 troops present in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), and judge whether or not they are effective.