Practices of War

First World War

Second World War

Technological Developments

Moblization of Human and Economic Resources

Strategies and Tactics

Mobilization of Human and Economic Resources

Strategies and Tactics

Land

Sea

Air

Trench Warfare - static // high casualties // evolved to become very complex // "sometimes solders, whole untis would get lost" - Keegan

Colonies - more resources

Alliances - Germany had to continually diverting troops to aid allies

Use of Conscription - allied used - big populations of the US and Russia // also wave of volunteers to take part in the war before its over

Government Management - Brits enacted defence of the Realm (August 1914) = nationalise industry --> effective for war time

Workers - skilled workers were allowed to be exempt

Tanks - advance in front of infantry // slow unreliable // "potentially useful"- Beckett

Chemical Warfare - first used at Ypres (April 1915), mass killings // dependent of the wind // development of gas masks

Machine Guns 600 rounds / min // "They went down in the 100s, you didn't aim we just shot"// submachine guns at close quarters

Heavy Artillery - inflicted 70% of casualities -- > induced a static war // ineffective (inaccurate) eg. Battle of Sommes, brits shelled them for 5 mins - failed

Dog-fights still very primative

(1) shell (2) send infantry across no man's land

Targeting Supplies - German -uboat campaign = v.effective

Convoy System - Battle of Jutland(1916)

Air

Land

Sea

Radar - could detect up to 120km away = no waste on patroling aircrafts

Allied Superior Aircrafts - Spitfires more fuel and bomb capacity // Lufftwaffe = only in air for 10 -20 mins

Battle of Britain - 10th July 1940

German Regression - v1/v2 rockets // held back from useful technology

Sonar - u-boat detection

The Enigma Code - Turning machine could crake the code = intellectual advantage

Battle of the Atlantic - "the only thing that truly frightened me was the u-boat peril"

Allied Success in leadership

Centralised state of industry - great depression = unempolment

brits - coalistion government // optimised production

USSR - moved East

G.B - Colonies 4 bill from Canada, 1/2 beef from argentina

Strategic Bombing - alied focused on syntheitc oil field --> caused Germans to look east for oil

Successful Amphibious Landings - operation overlord (6th June 1944) // "had [this operation] failed ... the course of the second world war would have had a different outcome" - John Keegan

Axis Fails- Battle of Britain = RAF field to civilians // Italty in North Africa, forced to divert troops = delay in operation barborossa (1941)