New technology and strategies

American Military Involvement

Trench Warfare• Western Front– Networks of trenches stretched from the

English Channel to the Swiss Border– “No Man’s Land”; area between the

trenches

Trenches

Trench Warfare• To break through the enemy lines;

massive artillery barrages opened fire

• Brave bayonet wielding soldiers would scramble out and race across no man’s land

• Hurled grenades– Result: disaster; hardly destroyed the enemies

trenches– Massive deaths

Conditions in a Trench

• Lack of food and water• Rats, bugs, diseases, dead bodies• Standing in mud and water• Trench foot from standing in the wet mud for

weeks. • Diseases and infection spread.

Trench Foot

All Quiet on the Western Front

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ciq9ts02ci4&list=PL813BB3BE40151CF1

Technology• 1917, millions of lives have been lost– New technologies– New strategies

• Trench Warfare– Troops dug themselves into the ground.

Technology• Unsuccessful at attacking trenches; a

new approach was looked at1. Poison Gas2. Gas Masks3. Tank

- very slow- mechanically unreliable- easy to destroy

4. Airplanes- used mainly to observe enemy activities- dropped small bombs- attached machine guns- dog fights

5. Zeppelins- German airships used as bombers

Zeppelins

Allies airplane

Central Powers airplane

American Support• Americans and Victory– “Doughboys” American soldiers

• Inexperienced• Fresh• Presence boosted allies’ morale

• American Expeditionary Force– United States armed forces fought

along side the French and British in the last year of the war.

• Forces led by General John J. Pershing