Summary Notes for changing nature of warfare iGCSE history Pearson Edexcel

Changing nature of warfare
WW1
 large scale war
o Deadly
 10 million soldiers died + 20 million sodleris
wounded + 8 million civilians died
 2 big alliances
 US join April 1917
 Took 4 years + 3 months (1914-18)


Introduced new technology : tanks, gas, planes, artillery,
automatic guns
But medicine was weak

WW1:
 Trench Warfare
o no mans land
o Bolt actions rifles
o Long rifles + bayonets for soldiers
o Machine guns in trenches
o No tactics
o Grenades


 Artillery
o Caused 75% of injuries in WW1
o Guns + grenades + gas attacks
 E.g. Railway Guns
 Could fire 17km
 650 rounds/min
o Stopped being developed after WW1 by British -
Not enough investments
 So in 1939 only had short range artillery to
fight against Germany - weak

 Tanks 1914-18
o Advantageous weapons as were motorised
weapons with guns and thick armour
 But highly unreliable

, o Used to support soldiers as were protected
behind tank
 But if broken left soldiers vulnerable
o Able to carry aid, food, fuel around easily

o British were first to make Tanks: Mark I + Mark
VIII
 Great morale
 BUT BAD TANK TACTICS
 USE IN STRAIGHT LINE IN BATTLE OF
THE SOMME 1916
o 1918 - Germans made armour piercing bullets to
pierce through tank armour
o Even German General Ludendorff praised British
for invention of tanks in 1918 - good strategy
 Germany had 90 tanks in WW1 but 74 were
captured by allies

 Tanks 1920-30s
o France + British made A1E1 Vickers
o British made Experimental mechanised force
1927
 Testing new tank tactics thought by
Commander Liddel
 Using tanks + support from airforce
 Bunched tanks together for more
concentrated attack - “fleets”
 Disbanded in 1928 as was wasting money
and not seen as useful
o Liddel published “the Expanding Torrent”
about his tactics - 1928

o 1935: British fell behind Germany in development
 Germany invested from 1933 in development
of tanks despite T.O.V
 Had light, medium and heavy tanks


o 1937 - General Guderian publishes “Achtung
Panzer”

,  Reveals Blitzkrieg tactic
 Same tactic as Liddel
 USES TACTICS IN POLAND 1939 AND
ITALY VS ABYSSINIA IN 1934-36


 Submarines 1914-18
o Germany were first to use Submarines/U-boats
 Used to destroy ships
 E.g. RMS Lusitania
 Over 5000 ships + 11 million tonnes of cargo
destroyed by Germany Subs
o Germany had 74 subs
 Range of 5000 km at 15k/m
 Limited distance - 2500km away
from base
o E.g. SM U-9
 Destroyed 3 cruisers in 1 hour in 1914


o Royal Navy only had 20 subs

 Submarines 1918-39
o America vs Japan
 Japan had Kaiten Torpedos (most powerful)
+ had aircraft carriers + light/medium/heavy
subs

 USA had 314 submarines
 260 destroyed
 USA destroyed 30% of Japanese Navy
 USA destroyed 60% of merchant fleet
o Germany
 Put a lot of money into Submarines from
1933
 Stopped by T.O.V
 Improved communication + encryption
 Enigma code
 “Wolfpack” tactic - using concentrated
submarine fleet to destroy ships