Mustard gas was the most deadly biological weapon that was used in the trenches. It was odourless and took 12 hours to take effect! It was also powerful, only small amounts needed to be added to shells to be effective and it remained active for several weeks when it landed in the soil! The nastiest thing about mustard gas is that it made the skin blister, the eyes sore and the victim would start to vomit. It would cause internal and external bleeding, and would target the lungs. It could take up to 5 weeks to die! War Machines The Zeppelin was an airship used during the early part of the war in bombing raids by the Germans. These airships weighed 12 tonnes and contained over 400,000 cubic feet of hydrogen. They were propelled along by 2 Daimler engines, which enabled the craft to travel at speeds of up to 136mph and heights of 4250 metres! They usually carried machine guns and around 4,400lb of bombs! They carried out many raids and were eventually abandoned as they were easy targets for artillery and enemy airplanes. Tanks also started to be used in warfare in this war, since armoured cars could not cope with the terrain. The first tank was nicknamed “Little Willie”, it had a Daimler engine, a caterpillar track and needed a crew of 3. Its maximum speed was 3mph and it was unable to cross trenches. Not an immediate success for the Triple Alliance! This war also had another first: planes started to be used to deliver bombs. Planes became fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, bombs, and even cannons. They were even used for reconnaissance work. Pilots were even known to fight enemy aircraft in the air, in to protect the men on “dogfights” the ground. Information That You Are Responsible For: As we work our way through the PowerPoint, use the discussion notes, board notes, and your own research to answer the following: 1) Make notes about the main types of weapons used in WWI. 2) What is artillery? 3) Why do you think that the bayonet became an old-fashioned weapon during this war? 4) Why do you that machine-gunner crews were more likely to be killed by the enemy than foot soldiers, if they were captured? ‘ordinary’
Mustard gas was the most deadly biological weapon that was used in the trenches. It was odourless and took 12 hours to take effect! It was also powerful, only small amounts needed to be added to shells to be effective and it remained active for several weeks when it landed in the soil! The nastiest thing about mustard gas is that it made the skin blister, the eyes sore and the victim would start to vomit. It would cause internal and external bleeding, and would target the lungs. It could take up to 5 weeks to die! War Machines The Zeppelin was an airship used during the early part of the war in bombing raids by the Germans. These airships weighed 12 tonnes and contained over 400,000 cubic feet of hydrogen. They were propelled along by 2 Daimler engines, which enabled the craft to travel at speeds of up to 136mph and heights of 4250 metres! They usually carried machine guns and around 4,400lb of bombs! They carried out many raids and were eventually abandoned as they were easy targets for artillery and enemy airplanes. Tanks also started to be used in warfare in this war, since armoured cars could not cope with the terrain. The first tank was nicknamed “Little Willie”, it had a Daimler engine, a caterpillar track and needed a crew of 3. Its maximum speed was 3mph and it was unable to cross trenches. Not an immediate success for the Triple Alliance! This war also had another first: planes started to be used to deliver bombs. Planes became fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, bombs, and even cannons. They were even used for reconnaissance work. Pilots were even known to fight enemy aircraft in the air, in “dogfights” to protect the men on the ground. Information That You Are Responsible For: As we work our way through the PowerPoint, use the discussion notes, board notes, and your own research to answer the following: 1) Make notes about the main types of weapons used in WWI. 2) What is artillery? 3) Why do you think that the bayonet became an old-fashioned weapon during this war? 4) Why do you that machine-gunner crews were more likely to be killed by the enemy than ‘ordinary’ foot soldiers, if they were captured?
wwi_weapons_discussion_notes.docx