1. The Vickers machine gun
This photograph from a secondary source depicts two British soldiers operating a standard Vickers machine gun, originating from ‘a sentinel book War in the Trenches’. The Vickers machine gun was the standard issue machine gun for the British Army during WW1 and was employed in many battles including the Battle of the Somme, although the reliability and effectiveness of the weapon created numerous complications in trench warfare; the improved and lighter Lewis Gun later replaced it. It also significantly contributed to the stalemate on the western front. This photograph shows the gun on its usual tripod mounting, with a crew whose shoulder-titles ‘MMG’ identify them as members of the motor Machine Gun service.
2. PHILIP GIBBS PERSPECTIVE ON THE BATTLE OF SOMME
"Before dawn, in the darkness, I stood with a mass of cavalry opposite Fricourt. Haig as a cavalry man was obsessed with the idea that he would break the German line and send the cavalry through. It was a fantastic hope, ridiculed by the German High Command in their report on the Battles of the Somme which afterwards we captured.
In front of us was not a line but a fortress position, twenty miles deep, entrenched and fortified, defended by masses of machine-gun posts and thousands of guns in a wide arc. No chance for cavalry! But on that night they were massed behind the infantry."
-Philip Gibbs watched the preparation for the major offensive at the Somme in July, 1916.
(http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWcavalry.htm)
This secondary source (http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWcavalry.htm) depicts the futility of cavalry tactics against modernised artillery. Even in World War 1, cavalry was still considered as a main component of offensive warfare. Whilst new technology and weapons were constantly being developed, obsolete tactics coupled with new devastating technology lead to the dead lock between opposing sides, as this source depicts. The reconnaissance function of the cavalry during WW1 was rendered out of date by the employment of machine guns and tanks during the Battle of Somme as indicated in this source. Despite ultimately winning the Battle of Somme, the British death toll rose devastatingly high due to a number of contributing factors, including that of outdated tactics.
In front of us was not a line but a fortress position, twenty miles deep, entrenched and fortified, defended by masses of machine-gun posts and thousands of guns in a wide arc. No chance for cavalry! But on that night they were massed behind the infantry."
-Philip Gibbs watched the preparation for the major offensive at the Somme in July, 1916.
(http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWcavalry.htm)
This secondary source (http://spartacus-educational.com/FWWcavalry.htm) depicts the futility of cavalry tactics against modernised artillery. Even in World War 1, cavalry was still considered as a main component of offensive warfare. Whilst new technology and weapons were constantly being developed, obsolete tactics coupled with new devastating technology lead to the dead lock between opposing sides, as this source depicts. The reconnaissance function of the cavalry during WW1 was rendered out of date by the employment of machine guns and tanks during the Battle of Somme as indicated in this source. Despite ultimately winning the Battle of Somme, the British death toll rose devastatingly high due to a number of contributing factors, including that of outdated tactics.
3. development of the accoustic locator
This primary source (http://www.theatlantic.com/static/infocus/wwi/wwitech/) shows American troops using a newly-developed acoustic locator that is mounted on a wheeled platform. Its purpose is to pinpoint enemy aircraft; an invention that proved very useful. In the heightened period of WW1, this permitted new technological advances to be made, this particular development of the passive acoustic location accelerated during WW1, which later lead to the development of radar. In the source, the American soldiers adorn headphones in order to perceive the waves, the large horns amplified distant sounds. One is able to perceive the uniforms worn by American soldiers and the extent of their technological advancements.