These Five Weapons Made World War I an Absolute Bloodbath-- Part 1: Machine Guns and Tanks

From the November 4, 2019, National Interest by Michael Peck.

"Today we take for granted that warfare is mechanized, electronicized, a form of human activity where humans are the least important component

"But it didn't seem that way in 1914.  Europeans sleep walked into war dreaming of cavalry charges and massed infantry charges with fixed bayonets.

"They awoke to confront the machine gun and  the U-boat, the tank and the airplane."

There were many new weapons in WW I that turned it into a bloodbath of epic proportions.  here are five of them:

MAXIM MG 08 MACHINE GUN

German.  Very heavy, but could fire 500 rounds a minute, and cut through Allied attacks like a scythe.

MARK V TANK

British.  The machine gun's nemesis.  Could survive machine gun fire, knock down barbed wire.  Half-inch armor deflected bullets and 57-millileter cannon or .303 -caliber machine guns knock out machine gun nests.

--Cooter

World War I Chronology, July 1918: Allied Cooperation in Amiens Sector

JULY 4

AMIENS-SECTOR

First instance of U.S. (33rd Infantry Division)- British (Australian) close cooperation.

They captured Hamel and repulse three counterattacks.

First real use of British tanks and machine guns as close infantry-support weapons.

Strength of the two sides:  Germany:  5,600  Allies:  7,000
Casualties'  Germany:  2,000 killed,   1,600 captured    Allies:  1,400 killed or wounded

--Cooter

Marine's Came of Age in World War I-- Part 4: Marines Met Every Challenge in Belleau Wood

Belleau Wood would be among the first large-scale battles involving American troops, and the enemy knew it would set the tone for how the Americans would see themselves.  They attacked hard.

What happened at Belleau Wood was nothing short of ferocious -- a close-range pitched battle, through dense woods, where troops from both sides were desperate to advance the line and succeed the mission.  Machine gun fire, poison gas, mortars, grenades and bayonet counterattaxcks were all inflicted with hellish delivery.

The Marines met every challenge, mounting major frontal attacks on the enemy six different times for nearly a month.


That Answers Whether the Americans Came to Fight Or Not.  --Cooter

Carl Swanson's WWI Sopwith Camel Pup-- Part 2: German Fighter Pilots Tried To Avoid the Pups

Evidently, this Carl Swanson was very good at building World War I planes.

"A Pup could turn twice to an Albatros' once" and that was very important in a dogfight.  German flyers tried to avoid fighting a Pup.

The Museum of Flight's Sopwith Camel Pup was built by Carl Swanson of Darien, Wisconsin, and is considered a masterpiece of replication-- right down to the LePhone 9D, 80 horsepower rotary engine and .303 inch Vickers machine gun.

If I'm ever in the Seattle Area Again, I'll Have to Visit This Museum.  --DaCoot

Carl Swanson's WWI Sopwith Camel Pup-- Part 1: "A Tiny Little Thing"

From the Museum of Flight Museum in Seattle, Washington.

I was trying to find out if someone had the 2F1 Sopwith Camel plane that Carl Swanson has built.  I did not find it mentioned anywhere.

I did find Carl Swanson's name mentioned in connection with another Sopwith Camel British biplane.

It is in the collection of the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

SOPWITH PUP REPRODUCTION

Pilots called the Sopwith Camel Pup "the perfect plane, light, basic and simply simple.  A British pilot said, "They were tiny little things, just big enough for one man and a machine gun."

The gun was a Vickers machine gun with hydraulic synchronizing gear that allowed it to fire through the propeller without shooting it off.

--Cooter

See World War I Trenches in a Truck

From the February 13, 2012, Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune "Step into WWI trenches in 'big-rig' gallery visiting Utah."

You can walk through a trench and examine a Colt machine gun which took a crew of seven to operate.

An 18-wheeler truck will be at Salt Lake City's Fort Douglas Military Museum on Feb. 25th. Admission is free, but donations accepted.

Waddell & Reed, a financial services company founded by two World War I veterans in 1937 created this traveling exhibit with the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.  In it, you can see weapons, equipment, uniforms and even the flight suit and gear used by company co-founder Chauncey Waddell.

The exhibit also features the contributions and roles of women, blacks and immigrants to the war effort.

World War I resulted in the deaths of approximately 16.5 million with another 25 million wounded. In just over a year, the U.S. suffered 116,708 military deaths and even 757 civilian ones.

This tour comes on the eve of the centennial commemoration of the war.

You can check out their website at Waddell & Reed Traveling World War I Exhibit.

--Cooter

Ten Things You Might Not Know About World War I-- Part 4

9.  Approximately 30 different poisonous gasses were used .  Soldiers were told to hold a urine-soaked cloth  over their faces in case of an emergency.  By 1918, gas masks with filter respirators were used.  At the end of the war, many countries signed treaties banning the use.


10.  World War I also marked the first widespread use of machine guns.  Hiram Maxim patented the weapon in the U.S. in 1884.  His Maxim machine gun weighed 100 pounds, was water-cooled and could fire 450-600 rounds per minute.  Most of the machine guns used in the war were of Maxim design.

The Gas Mask Had to Be a HUGE Improvement.  --DaCoot