T2: WWI Effects IDs #46-74

Trench Warfare

Trench Warfare

Type of land warfare using occupied fighting lines consisting largely of long, narrow ditches in the ground, in which troops are significantly protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. The most prominent case of it is the Western Front in World War I. It has become a byword for stalemate, attrition, sieges and futility in conflict. It occurred when a revolution in firepower was not matched by similar advances in mobility, resulting in a grueling form of warfare in which the defender held the advantage. In World War I, both sides constructed elaborate dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The area between opposing lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties.

Stalemate

Period when a conflict that has reached an impasse and resolution seems difficult or impossible (i.e. a no-win situation). When the German invasion of France failed to take Paris or destroy French and British resistance on the river Marne in 1914, this quickly followed, and a line of trenches soon stretched along the war's Western Front from the Swiss Alps to the English Channel.

No-Man’s Land

Land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. It is most commonly associated with the First World War to describe the area of land between two enemy lines to which neither side wished to move openly or to seize due to fear of being attacked by the enemy in the process.

“Going Over the Top”

This phrase came into usage during World War I and referenced attacking infantry rising out of their own trenches to assault the enemy. In order to attack opposing trench lines, infantry were required to climb over the parapet of their trenches and cross the land in between opposing lines. As World War I offensives generally sustained heavy losses, this maneuver became an “unpopular activity” for soldiers.

Shell-Shock

Term coined to describe the reaction of some soldiers in World War I to the trauma of battle. It was a reaction to the intensity of the bombardment and fighting that produced a helplessness appearing variously as panic and being scared, or flight, an inability to reason, sleep, walk or talk. During the war, the concept of was ill-defined. Cases could be interpreted as either a physical or psychological injury, or simply as a lack of moral fiber. While the term is no longer used in either medical or military discourse, it has entered into popular imagination and memory, and is often identified as the signature injury of the war. In World War II and thereafter, diagnosis of this condition was replaced by that of combat stress reaction or combat fatigue, a similar but not identical response to the trauma of warfare. In modern terminology it is included in the definition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Trench Foot

Condition caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. This condition is a reference to warfare, mainly associated with World War I. Affected areas may become numb, affected by erythrosis (turning red) or cyanosis (turning blue) as a result of poor vascular supply, and the area may begin to have a decaying odor due to the possibility of the early stages of necrosis setting in. As the condition worsens, the area may also begin to swell. Advanced cases often involve blisters and open sores, which lead to fungal infections; this is sometimes called tropical ulcer (jungle rot). If left untreated, it usually results in gangrene, which can cause the need for amputation. If it is treated properly, complete recovery is normal, though it is marked by severe short-term pain when feeling returns. As with other cold-related injuries, it leaves sufferers more susceptible to it in the future.

Conscientious Objectors

Individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion. In general, this status is only considered in the context of military conscription and is not applicable to volunteer military forces.

“Potato-Masher”

The Model 24 Stielhandgranate (German, "stalk hand grenade") was the standard hand grenade of the German Army from World War I until the end of World War II. The very distinctive appearance led to its being called a "stick grenade", or this other nickname in British Army slang, and is today one of the most easily recognized infantry weapons of the 20th century.

“Trench Sweeper”

World War I submachine gun that could deliver heavy firepower at close-quarters during a trench assault.

Artillery Barrage

Method of delivering massed weaponry fire from a few or many batteries. Individual guns or howitzers are aimed at points, typically 20 - 30 yards apart, along one or more lines that can be from a few hundred to several thousand yards long. The lines are usually 100 yards apart and fire is lifted from one line to the next. The guns, etc., usually fired at a continuous steady rate using high explosive or shrapnel shells. This method of fire may be defensive to deny or hamper enemy passage through an area or offensive to provide covering fire that neutralizes the enemy in an area through which friendly forces are advancing. It came to prominence in World War I, notably its use by the British Expeditionary force and particularly from late 1915 onwards when the British realized that the neutralizing effects of weaponry to provide covering fire were the key to breaking into defensive positions. By late 1916 the creeping method of firing was the standard means of deploying weaponry to support an infantry attack, with the infantry following the advancing firing as closely as possible. Its employment in this way recognized the importance of weaponry fire in neutralizing, rather than destroying, the enemy. It was found that a moving method of firing immediately followed by the infantry assault could be far more effective than weeks of preliminary bombardment.

Fire-Control

The means by which artillery fire is accurately guided to the target.

Big Bertha

420mm (16.5 in) howitzer used by German forces advancing through Belgium in 1914. They were nicknamed for a Krupp Arms Works matriarch. Transported in pieces, moved by rail and assembled in place, they proved devastating in destroying Belgian forts. They were somewhat less effective against French forts of sturdier design. The howitzers were also used as siege weapons on the Eastern Front. By 1917, less accurate due to wear on the barrels and extremely vulnerable to counter battery fire once located, they were phased out of operation. The term is sometimes applied to the Krupp manufactured artillery piece of completely different design that shelled Paris in 1918 from the phenomenal range of 75 miles. This later weapon is more commonly known as the “Paris Gun.”

Chlorine Gas

The first killing agent employed by the German military. It is a powerful irritant that can inflict damage to the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. At high concentrations and prolonged exposure it can cause death by asphyxiation. German chemical companies BASF, Hoechst and Bayer (which formed the IG Farben conglomerate in 1925) had been producing this as a by-product of their dye manufacturing. In cooperation with Fritz Haber of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin, they began developing methods of discharging it against enemy trenches.

Phosgene Gas

The deficiencies of chlorine were overcome with the introduction of this, which was prepared by a group of French chemists led by Victor Grignard and first used by France in 1915. Colorless and having an odor likened to "moldy hay," it was difficult to detect, making it a more effective weapon. Although this was sometimes used on its own, it was more often used mixed with an equal volume of chlorine, with the chlorine helping to spread this denser gas. The Allies called this combination White Star after the marking painted on shells containing the mixture. This was a potent killing agent, deadlier than chlorine. It had a potential drawback in that some of the symptoms of exposure took 24 hours or more to manifest. This meant that the victims were initially still capable of putting up a fight; although this could also mean that apparently fit troops would be incapacitated by the effects of the gas on the following day. In the first combined gas attack by Germany, against British troops at Wieltje near Ypres, Belgium on 19 December 1915, 88 tons of the gas were released from cylinders causing 1069 casualties and 69 deaths.

Mustard Gas

Cytotoxic and vesicant chemical warfare agent with the ability to form large blisters on the exposed skin and in the lungs. As a warfare agent, it is usually yellow-brown in color and have an odor resembling garlic, horseradish, or similar plants. It was originally assigned the name LOST, after the scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, who developed a method for the large-scale production it for the Imperial German Army in 1916.

Battle of Jutland

Involving some 250 ships and 100,000 men, this battle off Denmark’s North Sea coast was the only major naval surface engagement of World War I. The battle began in the afternoon of May 31, 1916, with gunfire between the German and British scouting forces. When the main warships met, British Admiral John Jellicoe maneuvered his boats to take advantage of the fading daylight, scoring dozens of direct hits that eventually forced German Admiral Reinhard Scheer into retreat. Both sides claimed victory in this indecisive battle, though Britain retained control of the North Sea.

U-Boat

While the German term refers to any submarine, the English one (in common with several other languages) refers specifically to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role (commerce raiding), enforcing a naval blockade against enemy shipping. The primary targets of the submarine campaigns in both wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada, the British Empire, and the United States to the islands of the United Kingdom and (during the Second World War) to the Soviet Union and the Allied territories in the Mediterranean.

Convoy System

Group of merchantmen or troopships travelling together with a naval escort against German submarine warfare in World War I. Although this tactic was used by the Royal Navy in 1914 to escort troopships from the Dominions, and in 1915 by both it and the French Navy to cover their own troop movements for overseas service, they were not systematically employed by any belligerent navy until 1916. The Royal Navy was the major user and developer of the modern system, and regular transoceanic groups began in June 1917.

Depth-Charges

Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by subjecting it to a powerful hydraulic shock. Most of these weapons are fitted with conventional high explosives and a fuze set to cause detonation at a preselected underwater depth. They were usually dropped by ships in World War I.

Sonar

Sound navigation and ranging is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, communicate with or detect objects on or under the surface of the water, such as other vessels. During World War I the need to detect submarines prompted more research into the use of sound. The British made early use of underwater listening devices called hydrophones (acousto-electric transducers) for in-water use.

Zeppelin

Type of rigid airship named after a German Count who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. His ideas were patented in Germany in 1895. After the outstanding success of the design, the word came to be commonly used to refer to all rigid airships. They were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I the German military made extensive use of these airships as bombers and scouts, killing over 500 people in bombing raids in Britain.

The Gotha G. V

A heavy bomber used by the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. Designed for long-range service, it was used principally as a night bomber.

Reconnaissance

Tactic to obtain information by visual observation or other detection methods, about the activities and resources of an enemy or potential enemy, or about the meteorologic, hydrographic, or geographic characteristics of a particular area.

Dog-Fight

Aerial battle between fighter aircraft, conducted at close range. These battles first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Enemy pilots at first simply exchanged waves, or shook their fists at each other. Due to weight restrictions, only small weapons could be carried on board. Intrepid pilots decided to interfere with enemy reconnaissance by improvised means, including throwing bricks, grenades and sometimes rope, which they hoped would entangle the enemy plane's propeller. Pilots quickly began firing hand-held guns at enemy planes, such as pistols and carbines. By the end of the war, the underpowered machines from just ten years prior had been transformed into fairly powerful, swift, and heavily armed fighter planes, and the basic tactics for aerial battles had been laid down.

The Red Baron

Nickname of Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, the German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte) during World War I. He is considered the top ace of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.

Sopwith Camel

British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by an Aviation Company, it had a heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult to handle, to an experienced pilot it provided very good manoeuvrability. An excellent fighter, this was credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than any other Allied fighter of the conflict. It also served as a ground-attack aircraft, especially towards the end of the war, by which point it was outclassed in the air-to-air role.

Fokker M.5

Unarmed single-seat monoplane aircraft designed and built in 1913. It served as a light reconnaissance aircraft with the German army at the outbreak of World War I and was the basis for the first successful fighter aircraft in German service. The first successful one was the first fighter aircraft to enter service with the Deutsches Heer's Fliegertruppe air service in World War I. Its arrival at the front in mid-1915 marked the start of a period during which the E.I and its fellow Eindecker successors achieved a measure of air superiority over the Western Front.

Hague Convention

The results of this meeting were the first multilateral treaties that addressed the conducts of warfare and were largely based on the Lieber Code, which was signed and issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln to the Union Forces of the United States in April 24, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Lieber Code was the first official comprehensive codified law that set out regulations for behavior in times of martial law; protection of civilians and civilian property and punishment of transgression; deserters, prisoners of war, hostages, and pillaging; partisans; spies; truces and prisoner exchange; parole of former rebel troops; the conditions of any armistice, and respect for human life; assassination and murder of soldiers or citizens in hostile territory; and the status of individuals engaged in a state of civil war against the government. As such, the codes were widely regarded as the best summary of the first customary laws and customs of war in the 19th century and were welcomed and adopted by military establishments of other nations. The conference included negotiations concerning disarmament, the laws of war and war crimes. A major effort was the creation of a binding international court for compulsory arbitration to settle international disputes, which was considered necessary to replace the institution of war. This effort, however, failed.

War Bonds

Debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war. These also remove money from circulation and thus also help to control inflation. In practice, a government in desperate need of finances may also put additional money into circulation. These securities are either retail marketed direct to the public or wholesale traded on a stock market. Exhortations to buy these securities are often accompanied with appeals to patriotism and conscience. Retail securities tend to have a yield which is below that offered by the market and are often made available in a wide range of denominations to make them affordable for all citizens.