Changes

Alternative theories cite the building of the Berlin-Baghdad railway and the problems it would have created for England.<ref>http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA138432</ref>

Alternative theories cite the building of the Berlin-Baghdad railway and the problems it would have created for England.<ref>http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA138432</ref>

== Stalemate ==

==Technology==

Weapons technology made huge advancements in the time between the U.S. Civil war and the beginning of World War I. [[Rifles]], the standard weapon of the infantry, were vastly improved in terms of accuracy and rate of fire. Even more importantly, the [[machine gun]] was invented. Because of these formidable new weapons, many military commanders expected the war to end quickly. However, these advancements changed the way wars were to be fought. World War I was characterized by huge battles in which hundreds of thousands of men died often for little or no territorial gain. Commanders resorted to sending men "over the top" of the trenches, where they were typically cut down en masse by enemy machine guns. Both sides quickly learned that mass infantry attacks were pointless, and the war settled into a stalemate. The two sides dug elaborate trench systems stretching from the Swiss border all the way to the North sea, a distance of over 2,000 miles<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8303210.stm</ref>

[[Weapon]]s [[technology]] made huge advancements in the time between the [[U.S. Civil war]] and the beginning of World War I. [[Rifles]], the standard weapon of the infantry, were vastly improved in terms of accuracy and rate of fire. Even more importantly, the [[machine gun]] was invented. Because of these formidable new weapons, many military commanders expected the war to end quickly. However, these advancements changed the way wars were to be fought. World War I was characterized by huge battles in which hundreds of thousands of men died often for little or no territorial gain. Commanders resorted to sending men "over the top" of the trenches, where they were typically cut down en masse by enemy machine guns. Both sides quickly learned that mass infantry attacks were pointless, and the war settled into a stalemate. The two sides dug elaborate trench systems stretching from the Swiss border all the way to the North sea, a distance of over 2,000 miles<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8303210.stm</ref>

The quandary facing strategists through most of the war was how to reinstate mobility. The sheer size of the Eastern front made trench warfare unfeasible, creating a fluidity there that generals sought for the Western Front as well.

The quandary facing strategists through most of the war was how to reinstate mobility. The sheer size of the Eastern front made trench warfare unfeasible, creating a fluidity there that generals sought for the Western Front as well.

 

====Gas====

===Gas===

The Germans took the first step on January 3, 1915 when, in contravention of the [[Hague Convention]] of 1899, which outlawed the use of poisons in war, they employed gas warfare at Bolimov, on the Eastern Front. This attack was largely ineffective, however. The Germans had used xylyl bromide, a non-lethal, but lachrymatory (tear-producing) gas, but it froze in the sub-zero temperatures. But, by April of that year, the Germans had an abundance of lethal [[chlorine]] gas that overstimulates fluid production in the lungs, drowning the victim.   

The Germans took the first step on January 3, 1915 when, in contravention of the [[Hague Convention]] of 1899, which outlawed the use of poisons in war, they employed gas warfare at Bolimov, on the Eastern Front. This attack was largely ineffective, however. The Germans had used xylyl bromide, a non-lethal, but lachrymatory (tear-producing) gas, but it froze in the sub-zero temperatures. But, by April of that year, the Germans had an abundance of lethal [[chlorine]] gas that overstimulates fluid production in the lungs, drowning the victim.   

====Overcoming the wire====

===Overcoming the wire===

Gas had restored mobility to a certain extent, but there was still the problem of wire barriers. Cutting barbed wire was a serious tactical problem. In [[Gallipoli]], Allied forces had attempted to destroy wire with artillery bombardments, but shells only exploded upon hitting the ground, which usually only served to create further entanglements. The French produced a solution in 1915, with a new kind of fuse called the '''Fusée Instantée Allongée''' (elongated instantaneous fuse), containing a brass tape that unwound during flight. Once unwound, it freed the hammer, and when the shell hit the ground, this triggered the detonator, setting off the primer and exploding the shell. British inventors made some changes to improve its safety, reliability and suitability for mass production, resulting in the Type 106 percussion fuse. The final product was a shell that exploded on impact with all but the softest ground. The explosion produced no crater, dispersed high-velocity steel splinters over the ground, which were lethal at 800 metres. Hence the infantry called them "ground shrapnel" or "daisy cutters". This new fuse bode well for a solution to the wire problem.  

Gas had restored mobility to a certain extent, but there was still the problem of wire barriers. Cutting barbed wire was a serious tactical problem. In [[Gallipoli]], Allied forces had attempted to destroy wire with artillery bombardments, but shells only exploded upon hitting the ground, which usually only served to create further entanglements. The French produced a solution in 1915, with a new kind of fuse called the '''Fusée Instantée Allongée''' (elongated instantaneous fuse), containing a brass tape that unwound during flight. Once unwound, it freed the hammer, and when the shell hit the ground, this triggered the detonator, setting off the primer and exploding the shell. British inventors made some changes to improve its safety, reliability and suitability for mass production, resulting in the Type 106 percussion fuse. The final product was a shell that exploded on impact with all but the softest ground. The explosion produced no crater, dispersed high-velocity steel splinters over the ground, which were lethal at 800 metres. Hence the infantry called them "ground shrapnel" or "daisy cutters". This new fuse bode well for a solution to the wire problem.  

====Tanks====

===Tanks===

With wire resolved, there still remained the problem of what lay behind it: machine guns and rifles, manned by entrenched soldiers. It was necessary to get men past the wire to enemy trenches without costly frontal assaults. This would be possible by protecting the attacker with a mobile bulletproof shield, as such a shield would be too heavy to carry. To accomplish this, the Allies introduced the ‘tank,’ as it was code-named, in 1916. The intention was to restore power to the offensive by combining firepower, protection and movement. The first two were often stressed to the detriment of the third; the tank's average speed was five miles per hour.  They were used sparingly at the Somme and had little effect until used en masse the following year.

With wire resolved, there still remained the problem of what lay behind it: machine guns and rifles, manned by entrenched soldiers. It was necessary to get men past the wire to enemy trenches without costly frontal assaults. This would be possible by protecting the attacker with a mobile bulletproof shield, as such a shield would be too heavy to carry. To accomplish this, the Allies introduced the ‘tank,’ as it was code-named, in 1916. The intention was to restore power to the offensive by combining firepower, protection and movement. The first two were often stressed to the detriment of the third; the tank's average speed was five miles per hour.  They were used sparingly at the Somme and had little effect until used en masse the following year.