15 Military Weapons That Changed the World-- Part 1

I'd have to call them Weapons, though.

From the May 24, 2020, Hot Cars site"15 Military Vehicles That Changed the World. Go to the site to find more information.  I'm just listing here.

15.  Wright Military Flyer  (airplane)

14.  British Mark I Tank  (WWI)

13.  French Voisin III  (WW I airplane)  First true bomber

12.  USS Monitor

11.  HMS Dreadnaught  (WW I)

10.  HMS Hermes  (First designed aircraft carrier)

9.  U-boat  (WW I and WW II)

--Cooter

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

Another WW I Hero Pigeon, President Wilson-- Part 2

President Wilson was born in France and first assigned to the U.S. Army's newly-formed Tank Corps, delivering messages to tank battalions commanded by Col. George S. Patton in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.

Soon afterwards, the pigeon was assigned to an infantry unit operating  near Grandpre during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in 1918.

On the morning of October 5, his unit came under fire and Wilson was dispatched with a message that the unit needed artillery support.  During his 25-mile flight to headquarters, German soldiers spotted him and  began firing.  Wilson was hit several times, losing a leg and getting a wound in the chest, but he managed to deliver the message in a record 25 minutes.

He survived his wounds and was retired and sent to the U.S. Army Signal Corps Breeding and Training Center at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he would live another eleven years.

--Cootgeon

WW I: St. Mihiel Offensive September 12-16

The first all-American offensive on the Western Front.

Seventeen U.S. divisions (or elements of divisions) participate.  This was a total of 665,000 men.

This was also the first time that tanks were used by U.S. military, the 1st Tank Brigade.

The offensive also featured the largest aggregation of air support during the war with 600 airplanes and crews.

The Doughboys take the German salient after a 36-hour battle.

15,000 Germans are captured as are 250 artillery pieces.

U.S. casualties, however, were enormous with 1,799 killed in action and 6,885 wounded in action.

--Cooter

Battle of Amiens: The "Black Day of the German Army"

From Wikipedia.

The Battle of Amiens is also known as the Third Battle of Picardy.  It took place August 8-12, 1918. and was the opening phase of The Allied Hundred Days Offensive, that ultimately led to the end of World War I with the Armistice on November 11.

Allied forces advanced seven miles on the first day.  This essentially put an end to the trench warfare.

The battle is also notable in regards to the morale of both sides, especially with the large numbers of German soldiers who surrendered.  This led German hero and general Erich Ludendorf to describe the first day of battle as "The Black Day of the German Army."

Amiens was also the first battle involving large armored warfare with tanks punching holes through the German lines.

DaCoot

Battle Of Amiens: By Jove, the War's Coming To An End

August 8, 2018, Guardian U.K. "By Jove, the war's coming to an end':  Battle of Amiens remembered" Daniel Boffey.

"aerial, ,mechanical and human courage and ingenuity combined with devastating results" and turned the tide of the war, according to England's Prince William.

The four day assault, referred to as the Battle of Amiens, launched at 4:20 a.m. 100 years ago todat.  It was not as big as the Second Battle of the Somme or Passchendale, but was a truly coordinated "Allied attack" and a "great endeavor, of 100,000 British, French, Canadian and U.S. troops that broke the will of the German Army and was a springboard to the final victory at Armistice Day.

This attack included hundreds of tanks.

--Cooter

Battle of Hamel in World War I

From Wikipedia.

In Saturday's post I wrote about this battle.

Took place July 4, 1918.  Successful attack by Australian and American infantry against German positions around the northern French town of Le Hamel.

Many of the tactics employed, such as the use of combined arms, illustrated the evolution of military tactics, from the massed attacks used earlier in the war.  All of the Allied goals were achieved in just 93 minutes.

Sixty of the new, highly maneuverable British Mark V tanks were used.  A creeping artillery barrage by over 600 Allied cannons was also employed.  Much effort went into coordination.

--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

World War I Chronology, January 1918-- Part 2: U.S. Forces on Western Front

JANUARY 15--  U.S. forces enter the front line on the Western Front, replacing the French forces northwest of Toul.

JANUARY 26--  The U.S. Tank Corps is created.

--Cooter

Battle of Flers-Courcelette: First Use of Tanks in Warfare

From Wikipedia.

I had never heard of this battle before starting these entries dealing with the Naours Cave.

The battle took place during the Somme Offensive in the summer and autumn 1916.  The object of this battle was to cut a hole in the German line by using massed artillery and an infantry attack.  That hole was then to be exploited by cavalry.

Overall, the attempt here failed, but the villages of Courcelette, Flers and Martinpuick were captured.

This battle was significant because it marked the first time tanks were used in battle.  Tanks were referred to as "Land Battleships."  It was also the first battle the New Zealand and Canadian Divisions participated.

Kind of interesting that cavalry was originally to be used to exploit the anticipated hole in the German lines and this was the first use of tanks, the cavalry's replacement.

Way, Heigh, Over the Bounding Land.  --Cooter

Australian Cemetery in Flers, France-- Part 2: Where Tanks Used for First Time

Flers was captured during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, where tanks were used in combat for the first time.  The village was later recaptured by the Germans in March 1918 and recaptured by the Allies in August.

The cemetery was begun by Australian medical units posted in neighboring caves from Nov. 1915 to Feb. 1917.  The original graves are in Plot 1, Rows A and B.The great majority of the graves date from the autumn of 1916, but there is one from 1914.

Other bodies were moved here after the war.  Currently there are graves for 3,475 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War either buried or commemorated.  Some 2,263 are unidentified.  In addition, 170 French military and even there Germans are buried here.

--Cooter

"Donna the Tank" Dedicated in DeKalb Back in 1947

From the October 30, 2012, DeKalb (Il.) Chronicle "Looking Back."

"Donna the Tank" was dedicated on the south side of Lincoln Highway near 4th Street across from McCabe's, a famous student watering hole when we were students.  It was in a small triangular park.  We walked by this tank at its first location many times going to Andy's, especially as alumni.  The main parking lot was south of Lincoln Highway and you had to cross the railroad tracks carefully due to the large number of trains charging through town.

I never knew it was called "Donna the Tank" and don't know why it was called that.  Perhaps it was the name the tank's crew gave it due to its diminutive size.  It certainly wasn't the size of "Fury" in the recent movie of the same name.

It is now at Memorial Park at 1st Street and the Lincoln Highway (Il- Rt 38).

I have been unable to find out anymore about its history, but I would say given the dedication date and the tank's appearance, I would say it was a light tank from World War II.

--Cooter

Talking About D-Day-- Part 1-- Sherman DD Tanks

From the November 2, 2009, Lev Grossman Time Magazine review of Anthony Beevor's new book "D-Day."

Five thousand yards offshore June 6, 1944, a cluster of ships was waiting along the French coastline between Vierville-sur-Mer and Ste.-Henorine-des-Pertes which had now been code-named Omaha Beach for D-Day purposes.

Two companies from the 741st Tank Battalion were waiting to drive their tanks ashore. These were no ordinary tanks, but Sherman DDs (duplex-drive) which, along with standard features, had floatation devices and propellers.

Even under best conditions, they barely floated, but the seas this morning were very heavy. They launched those 5,000 yards away and 27 of the 32 ended up on the bottom of the English Channel. In the opening scenes of "Saving Private Ryan" you hear Tom Hanks yelling "We got no DD tanks on the beach!"

Of the five that survived, three of them had their launching mechanisms jam and they were landed directly on the beach. In all, 33 men drowned.

I don't recall the line from the movie and had never heard of these tanks, but it was an interesting concept for a new weapon.

Much More to Come. --DaCoot

United States WW II Tank Discovered in France

Back in June, a US tank from WW II was discovered under a street in a town in northern France. Bomb experts were brought in to check to see if there could be an explosion.

It is thought that the tank was part of the 31st Tank Battalion. Old-timers in Chartres, about 55 miles southwest of Paris remember that it broke down or ran out of gas. After France was liberated, it was pushed down a hole and covered. Several tanks have been found in such a way in France over the years.

Ten years ago, a British 27 ton Mark 4 WW I tank was found in Flesquires near the Belgium border. It had been abandoned at the Battle of Cambroi.

Anybody Want to Buy a Slightly Rusted and Used WW II Tank? --Cooter