Why Britain Entered Into The War

Causes of World World war 1


By Gerhard Van Der Watt

There were many causes of world war 1. These causes were long term and short term. The is a long term cause:

Nationalism 
Specifically the Slavs wanting an independent country of their own is an example of nationalism partly,it was caused by many other european countries trying to show their dominance and power. Second the alliance that were formed were a large cause because without them it would only be Austria Hungary fighting,however the alliances brought in France ,Russia, Germany ,Britain and many others.

What caused Britain to enter the war?


There were a few reasons why Britain joined world war 1.Firstly when Germany invaded Belgium and attempted to invade France meaning Britain would ally France due to an alliance made between them. Other reasons include the possibility of great wealth and economic power by beating Germany and taking its colonies and resources causing their already vast empire to grow even larger. This and the alliance seem to be the main reason since the could easily have stayed out of the war otherwise and continued managing and defending their vast empire.

Bibliography
1.)1914-1918.net
2.)AmericanHistory.about.com

Ace Fighters and Dogfights

Ace Fighters and Dogfights

By Thomas Hodgson

World War One saw the introduction of aircraft into warfare on a large scale. Fights and skirmishes in the air came to be known as Dogfights. The best pilots were honoured by being called aces.

One of the most famous dog fights of World War One started on September 23rd, 1917. The battle took place north of Frenzberg West Flanders. The British ace pilots that were involved in the battle were: Keith K. Muspratt, Arthur Rhys-Davids, and Reginald T.C. Hoidge. The other British pilots that were also involved in the battle were: Harold Hamersley, Robert Childlaw - Roberts, and Verschoyle P. Cronyn. 

The German pilots that took part in the battle were: Werner Voss and Karl Menckhoff.

The battle was fought to save two SE.5s from Werner Voss, Werner Voss engaged two SE.5s to protect a German recon plane. He badly damaged SE.5s and their pilots had to land on the ground below. Then six British aces engaged Voss causing the battle to begin.

The battle took about 10 minutes long. Werner Voss was able to stay in the middle of the British, dodging their attacks and returning fire. About halfway through the battle Karl Menckhoff arrived to help Voss but was quickly shot down by Arthur Rhys-Davids, although Karl Menckhoff survived. The battle ended when Arthur Rhys-Davids shot and mortally wounded Voss who then crash landed. Werner Voss shot holes through all of the SE.5s in his battle against the British. 

Verschoyle P. Cronyn wrote a letter to his father telling him that his plane was totalled and that he was lucky to be alive. He also wrote that he couldn't sleep that night because of his ordeal. 

The British pilots regretted Werner  Voss's death. Captain  James McCudden said: "His flying was wonderful, his courage magnificent and in my opinion he was the bravest German airmen whom it has been my priviledge to see fight."

The recognition awards Werner Voss received were: The Blue Max,(the highest German honour), The  Iron Cross 1st and 2nd class, and The House Order Of Hohen Zellern.

He had 48 confirmed and 4 unconfirmed kills. Werner Voss was considered by some to be the one pilot who could match Baron Von Richthofen, The Red Baron. Werner Voss was also a member a member of the Red Baron's famous flying circus and a close friend of the red Baron.

Trench Warfare in WW1

Trench Warfare

By: Hannes Kruger

Conditions

Life in the trenches in ww1 were harsh ,a third of the people who died in the western front occurred in the trenches. The soldiers had to live with rats, frogs and lice in the trenches.A closely related sickness to the trenches ,that is called trench foot, was a fungal infection that could sometimes leed to gangereen. As a cause of bad quality  food for the soldiers,some soldiers got malnutrition and severe diarrhea. One of the worst conditions in the trenches were the mud filling up the trenches, due to heavy rainfall. Many times dead soldiers were ingulfed up by the mud.

This is a picture of the typical trench in WW1.

Trenches

The trenches were mainly set because the two armies were actually  evenly matched up. The trenches helped each side to keep the land that they won in the first stages of the war. Sometimes the opposition side dug a tunnel underneath the British and allied trenches. They then filled up these tunnels with explosives and tried to blow the target’s trenches open. This technique failed many times,but even when it worked it did not cause a lot of damage on the target’s trenches.

The Equipment

This is the gear of a typical british soldier. As you can see it was a lot of things each soldier had to carry.The equipment between other soldiers,would be similar. Sometimes the soldier had to carry the pieces of a  machine gun ,if they were located in a machine gun squad. These squads were usually made up of three to five soldiers. The squads needed to be this big,because the machine guns were very heavy and made up of many pieces.

Britain's Top 10 Battles of WW1

Top Ten Battles of World War One

 By: Hannes Kruger

10] The battle of Tanneberg, a total of 182 000 casualties. Most casualties were those of Russia. The Germans were outnumbered ,but still inflicted a lot of damage on the Russian army. The Germans succeeded in their goal of stopping the Russians.

9] Battle of Arras,with 278 000 casualties.Located on the Western Front. The battle occurred after 2 years of stalemate.British wanted to break the German lines.They succeeded,but still lost 158 000 soldiers.The Germans only lost 120 000 soldiers.

8]The Battle of Gallipoli,a total of 473 000 casualties. The battle happened in Dardenelles, Turkey. This is where they also adapted to the trench warfare used on te Western Front. The allies lost 220 000 men and the Turks 253 000 men, but inspite of their losses the Ottoman had a stunning victory.

7]The first battle of Marnes, with a total of 483 000 casualties. It occurred in September 1914.Allied powers won the battle, but at the cost of many soldiers The allied forces lost 263 000 men and the Germans 220 000 men. This battle started also using trench warfare

6] Serbian campaign, which had more than 633 000 casualties. This campaign started with the shelling of Belgrade, on July 29 , 1914 .The Serbians managed to keep the Austrian invasion for about until 1915. The Serbian army was finally crushed after the battle of Kosovo.

5]Battle of Passchendaele, with an estimated of 848 000  casualties. The battle occurred from July to November of 1917.This battle was one of the most ruthless trench warfare battles of world war one. British fought hard during the battle but only gained a few territorial gains.

4] The Battle of Verdun,976 000 casualties .The Germans  staged very big attacks on the French fortress in the town of Verdun-sur-Meuse. Goal of the Germans was to capture the town. Almost 40 000 000 artillery shells were exchanged in the battle.

3]Battle of Somme,1 219 201 casualties. Was planned to be a French offensive ,but was later taken over by the British. The British managed to push back the Germans 40 miles.

2]Spring offensive ,1 539 000 casualties. This offensive started in the spring of 1918.The Germans led the offensive, to the Somme front held by the British. Germans lost over 680 000 troops and the allies lost a combined of over 850 000 troops.

1]Hundred days offensive. Battle was a success for the allies , pushing the Germans out of Amiens. This battle was the final straw of the war. Allies lost 1 069 636 troops and the Germans only lost 785 733 troops.