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A War of Attrition
Attrition - noun gradual wearing down;
friction, abrasion, the wearing down of an adversary, resistance,
resources, morale. After the spring attacks of 1915 failed to provide the much
sought-after breakthrough, the British and French continued to attack,
to try to drive the Germans out of France and Belgium. The war of
attrition had begun. Both sides were following this tactic. This basically meant that
both sides were attacking each other, trying to slowly wear down each
other's army. In effect, the British were saying to the Germans: "We have more men and resources than you, and we can
replace them more quickly and efficiently than you can when you suffer
casualties, and you will run out of men first." This was true. The Allies could afford to lose ten men for every seven Germans killed. This was partly because of Britain's huge empire, which it could draw fresh troops from. Germany only had Austria-Hungary and a very small empire, so did not have this advantage. The Allies were also helped when America joined the war, bringing even more men. This was partly the reason why Germany lost the war - she was starting to run out of men to fight. In the war of attrition, the generals saw their men as statistics and resources they had the right to use up, rather than individual people. Historians criticising Field Marshall Haig say he attacked many times, just to wear down the Germans without a though for his soldiers' lives. Historians defending him say he never did this. Conclusion
The question that was set for this investigation was
"Why was Trench Warfare so
costly in human lives in World War One?" Throughout my investigation, I have tried to answer this
question by exploring in more detail some main points, and here are the
conclusions I came to for each one: Trench Layout & Systems - The layout of a trench
really helped the soldiers who were living in it. They had many special
features like barbed wire and the zigzag walls for defence. This was not
a main factor in the number of deaths. A Soldier's Day - The days for a soldier were always
the same. Most of the time when there was not any fighting, they were
sitting around bored. The food, although it seems bad to us now, would
have been okay for them. Water was the main problem here. Living Conditions - This was one of the major
problems in the war. The conditions the soldiers had to live in were
terrible, with mud and water soaking everything. Disease was very common,
because of dirty water, lack of washing facilities and cramped conditions.
These diseases killed many soldiers. Medical technology was not very
advanced, so some injuries that don't seem serious now were fatal then.
Many other soldiers died while being treated, or even before they could
get medical help. For some who were suffering from shell- shock, their
experiences haunted them for the rest of their lives. Tactics of Trench Warfare - In my opinion, the
tactics used were crazy. There is no surprise that so many men were killed
in the attacks on enemy trenches. With killing machines like the heavy
artillery and the machine gun, there was not much hope of coming back
alive. They could be classed as lucky if they were wounded, but survived.
However, these attacks were really the only way out of the stalemate the
trenches brought. New Weapons in WW1 - The most obvious cause of
the colossal casualties suffered in the war is the new and powerful
weapons that had been developed. Machine guns and rifles, heavy artillery
and shells, barbed wire and poisonous gas were the main culprits. As well
as tanks and aircraft, these were seen as new ways to win the war by many
and they were probably right. However, there is no doubt that these new
weapons were the cause of a huge number of the total casualties sustained,
when used along with the disastrous tactics. Chances - As I have explained, the chances of
survival were not good for a soldier, with so many things going against
him. Weapons, tactics, disease, and even his own side, shooting
"deserters". Once they joined the army, the soldiers' life
expectancy plummeted, to a few months at the most. For the men who were
volunteers, this did not seem to matter. They were driven into the army by
their own pride, and eventually slaughtered by it. Lions & Donkeys - There is no doubt that the generals can be blamed for their part in the deaths of so many soldiers. The tactics they employed were out of date by about 100 years, and they were too stubborn to change them. All they did was to bring in new weapons to help their side. In my opinion, The soldiers were the lions, fighting bravely, and the generals were donkeys. War
of Attrition - This tactic of wearing down the enemy because you
believe you have more men than them was definitely one of the major
reasons for the huge loss of life. Although it was a tactic which
seemed to work in the end, this was only after four long years of war, and
thousands of men dying. These were men who could have been put to
better use in combat, than to be simply blown to pieces in a war of
attrition.
List of Resources
Books A Harris Pupil's Guide to World War One by Dr G D Brindle. The Great War 1914-1918 (Origins, Nature & Aftermath) by Ronald Cameron. The Ultimate Time Team Companion by Tim Taylor. Britain at War 1914-1918 by Craig Mair. Flying Machine (Eyewitness Guide) by Andrew Nahum. Others Microsoft
Encarta Encyclopaedia `97 CD-ROM. (Video) "The Somme" by
Ed Skelding Productions for Yorkshire Television. Pictures
from the school Powerpoint Presentation. |