A cargo ship disguised as a cruise ship sunk because the Germans torpedoed it. It carried weapons and the passengers had access to one or more warnings by the Germans concerning sea travel around Great Britain. The British wanted America to join the war to support the Allies. Though this event did not immediately trigger the reaction the British wanted, the Lusitania event, in combination with others, caused the Americans to join the war, allowing the Allies to win. They needed the Americans, and they used an ingenious tactic to cause the Americans to join the war: the death of its own civilians.
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.
Without the help of Sir Keith Park and the Royal Air Force, the casualty number would have been a lot larger. Sir Keith Park commandeered the 11th Group of Fighter Command. Keith also created a brilliant plan for the defense of London and the South East of England. Keith was in command of the squadron that fought for the Battle of Britain. The failure of the Luftwaffe to defeat the Royal Air Force in 1940 at the Battle of Britain is seen as Germany’s first major mistake in the Second World War against the western front.
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. Tanks were used by the British for the first time at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 to little effect, but following technological innovation were crucial tot e success of the Allied counter offensive in 1918. The stalemate was eventually broken by a shift in tactics and strategies. Unlike preceding campaigns, the Ludendorff offensive was able to retain the element of surprise by not employing pre-emptive artillery barrage. This, coupled with the use of highly trained storm troopers meant that the Germans were able to make significant gains in
The Americans suffered weeks of heavy artillery and gas from the Germans. The Germans were very concerned about the U.S. being involved in the war, so they tried to single out American divisions for extra bombing. After surviving
The Battle of the Somme is often seen as a huge military failure for the British Army simply due to the massive numbers of causalities suffered from only the first day. The original aims of the attack were for the British to provide support for the French army to gain territory, draw the Germans away from Verdun and kill as many German soldiers as possible in the process. According to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir William Robertson it was necessary to relieve some of the pressure put on the French at Verdun and he believed this first objective could be obtained by combing British and French offensives. (Source 55) The attack began at 7 30 in the morning of the 1st of July 1916 when two large mines placed under German lines were detonated. From there the new tactics, thought of by General Haig and his Deputy, Rawlinson, were put into place.
The Reichstag Fire took place on 27 February and the building burning was a dramatic development for the Nazis. Hitler used the event to place blame on the Communists and declared that the fire was the beginning of a Communist uprising. He demanded special emergency powers to deal with the situation and was given them by President Hindenburg. The Nazi used this power to arrest Communists, break up meetings and frighten voters. Due to many Germans thinking it was the communists, Hitler would’ve gained even more followers for the Nazi Party and an even bigger amount of power given by Hindenburg.
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.
The biggest, most successful bomb raid for the Germans was when they bombed London on September 8, 1915. The damage cost London millions of pounds, and the damage was done by only one Zeppelin, the L-13. While bomb raids took place in London, Germany was bombing Paris too. It was easier for the Germans to bomb Paris because of the flight there and how close the German airship base was. After the war ended, the use of the Zeppelin declined.
The French were truly the first to use gas warfare, but many only know Germany’s usage as the first. The French however, used gas warfare for the first time in August of 1914. The French filled grenades with tear-gas and then launched them to the front lines of the enemy. That being said what was thought to be the first usage by the Germans was