Warfare At The End Of The First World War

Question 0

How was artillery used?

Answer 0

It was used to bombard enemy trenches, often as a softening up process before an attack

Question 1

What was the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan in 1914?

Answer 1

It lead to static warfare as both sides failed to make a breakthrough

Question 2

How effective was artillery?

Answer 2

The bombardment was not always accurate and often failed to destroy defences

Question 3

What was the creeping barrage?

Answer 3

Developed during the Battle of the Somme, it was an combined artillery and infantry attack

Question 4

What type of gas was used by the Germans against the British at the second battle of Ypres, April 1915?

Answer 4

Poisonous chlorine gas

Question 5

What was an even more deadly gas?

Answer 5

Mustard gas

Question 6

What was the main effect of gas?

Answer 6

Psychological because soldiers lived in fear of a gas attack

Question 7

How many soldiers died as a result of gas?

Answer 7

3000

Question 8

Why was gas not very effective?

Answer 8

Both sides developed gas masks

Question 9

Why were tanks created?

Answer 9

To achieve a breakthrough

Question 10

When were tanks first used?

Answer 10

The Battle of the Somme, 1916

Question 11

What were the problems with tanks?

Answer 11

They were very slow and broke down lots

Question 12

When were they used to much greater effect?

Answer 12

Cambrai in November 1917

Question 13

By 1918 what had the Germans created to counteract tanks?

Answer 13

They had developed armour-piercing machine gun bullets and field guns to fire at tanks which were easy targets

Question 14

What was the only major sea battle?

Answer 14

At Jutland in May 1916

Question 15

How were submarines used by the Germans?

Answer 15

To starve Britain out the war by sinking as many trading ships as possible

Question 16

By June 1917 how many tons of shipping had Britain lost to the U-boats?

Answer 16

500,000

Question 17

What were Q-boats?

Answer 17

They looked like a harmless merchant ship but it carried powerful hidden guns

Question 18

How effective was the Q-boat?

Answer 18

By 1918, 200 Q-ships had sank 14 U-boats at the cost of 27 Q-ships causing U-boats to eventually stop surfacing

Question 19

What were convoy systems?

Answer 19

Introduced in May 1917, Merchant ships would travel in large numbers under the protection of naval destroyers fitted with hydrophones and depth charges

Question 20

How effective were convoy systems?

Answer 20

By June 1918, 16,539 ships had sailed in convoy and only 154 were torpedoed

Question 21

In early 1918 where did Britain attempt to raid U-boat bases?

Answer 21

Ostend and Zeebrugge

Question 22

How effective were U-boat raids?

Answer 22

They did not completely block off the two ports

Question 23

What were hydrophones?

Answer 23

A listening device which could hear nearby submarine engines

Question 24

Before WW1 what were airplanes mainly used for?

Answer 24

For reconnaissance

Question 25

What were Zeppelins?

Answer 25

Huge German airships used as bombers

Question 26

Why were Zeppelins effective?

Answer 26

They had a psychological effect on British civilians

Question 27

Why were Zeppelins ineffective?

Answer 27

They could not carry enough bombs to cause serious damage, explosive bullets could set the ships on fire and of 130 Zeppelins, 7 were lost to bad weather, 38 were lost in accidents and 39 were shot down by the British

Question 28

What was the first effective bomber plane?

Answer 28

The Gotha

Question 29

When was the biggest Gotha raid?

Answer 29

On the 19th May 1918, when 38 Gothas bombed London

Question 30

What were the Gothas restricted to?

Answer 30

Tactical raids along the Western Front

Question 31

What was the British version of the Gotha?

Answer 31

The Handley Page