The American Army During World War I : History In The Skies

Field Artillery “The King of Battle” dates back as far as the birth of the United States Army itself. The Battle at Bunker

Warfare methods had been the altered in regards of weaponry. During World War I, soldiers would fight from trenches and would use artillery, machine guns, early airplanes, and poisonous gas . There was little mobility during that time period. On the contrary, World War II fought using nuclear power and missiles . During this time period, many special operations were put into affect. An example of a special operation would be Operation Foxley, where the British military planned to assassinate Adolf Hitler (which was not really put into affect). In addition, submarines and tanks were also more heavily used and secret communication, or “code,” became more difficult to figure out, which benefitted them so that others would not understand their plan of attack, their location, etc. Radios were invented which were heavily used during WWII, while there were only landline phones in WWI .

World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.

World War I shifted the strategy of combat resulting in trench warfare. The primary object of the Coast Artillery Corps was to shield the coast cities, important anchorages, and naval establishments. The declining importance of defensive positioning caused the focus to turn inland, resulting in massive amounts of personnel and equipment integrated into Regular Infantry and Field Artillery. According to John Calhoun (1922), “Coastal Artillery will also form a small but useful reserve for the regular infantry upon proper occasion” (p. 204). Soldiers and weapons systems distributed in large numbers found use in various Army units. The coast defenses withdrew a total of 98 artillery weapons. Many

The first tanks came with the internal combustion engine and caterpillar tracks. These, however, were quite unreliable and broke down very frequently. The naval force devised bigger, stronger ships with bigger guns. Their new and improved submarines were imperative in this war. They aided in the strategy of war of attrition, or breaking the enemy down by attacking its personnel and supplies.[viii]

Field Artillery also known as “The King of Battle” dates back as far as the birth of the United States Army itself. At the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 1775, six artillery cannons stood and fought with much admiration. Due to poor leadership, five of the six cannons were lost and could not partake in battle. Henry Knox, a former bookseller, took over the artillery and created one of the most impressive and cohesive field artillery units that the United States Army has seen today. The artillery guns consisted of a large bronze or iron cannon, and a wooden frame connected with bolts wheeled on a carriage.

World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.

Prior to the Civil War during the Napoleonic era, artillery was a smoothbore weapon system primarily forged with bronze. These systems were very large, cumbersome, horse drawn and difficult to move into battle. However, near the end of the Napoleonic Era the Gribeauval system would improve cannon systems by casting them out of a solid piece of bronze, and boring out the center. This new Napoleonic invention increased range and accuracy, ultimately, establishing the cornerstone of rifled artillery.1

In the early 1900s there was not very much technology behind weaponry and transportation to help the soldiers fight. A typical soldier would have been issued a standard rifle called the Krag Jorgensen M1896 Carbine.

With World War I being the first modern war, armies could do nothing more than dig trenches in defense. What made World War I the first modern war is all the new technologies that came with it. Technologies like gas masks, powered flight, and U-boats affected the war in a major way. During the war, both sides used poison gas against their enemies. The gas could destroy organs, cause blisters, or even kill the soldiers. Gas masks filtered the air to help keep soldiers protected from the gas. At first, aircrafts were used for spotting enemy positions, however, as the war went on they became used for bombing and fighting. Lastly, German submarines called U-boats were used to sink supply ships and later used to sink Allied and neutral ships.

The first flight occurred in 1903 when the Wright brothers famously took their airplane for a final test flight in December. In the years after this historic flight many people start to see the potential for airplanes in war, transportation, and shipping. Other builders disregarded previous doubt about flying and began to replicate the ideas of the Wright brothers in creating planes with three axes. In addition, the approach of WWI prompted military personnel to pursue uses of airplanes as a war machine. The airplane influenced many aspects of American culture after it’s invention including civilian life, war technology, and individual possibility.

The G had quite a few changes, but most were to the artillery measures and not to the weight or

Before and during the Second World War people were fascinated with flight, the speed and the idea of flying high in the sky has kept people interested. Bombers and fighters alike both change dramatically in the twenty years after the Great War. From cloth wings to metal wings planes became bigger, faster, agile, and can hold a lot more fire power. The air war has changes significantly since the First World War. During the First World War bombers played a big role in the air war and after it left many questions whether it is the way to win wars. There has been speculation that future wars would be won by bombers and it can crush and the enemies at home and also the soldiers. Both book, Wartime by Fusslle and Why the Allies Won by Overy explain in depth what was the actual outcome of bombers and their roles before and after the war.

World War II was a war of many victories and losses. A battle for constant control of territories, that was ushered by greed and corruption. With this comes the persistent need to find an advantage over the enemy, and during this time Germany became the front runner in innovations and technology. This intelligence showed by the Germans had the allied forces in a scramble to help propel them on top of the battle again. In hopes of success, through desperation the United States had managed to put together a top-secret task force. However this was not the typical task force that the United States was know to specialize in, until the early 1940 's. This task force was hand selected to specialize in tricking the German forces, specifically in the art of Deception. Through the use of these technologies given to them, these brave soldiers used their skills in sonic, radio, and visual deception, to help lead the allied forces to victory. Later called the Ghost Army of the War, these American 's were essential in deceiving the German forces.

Following the devastation of trench warfare during World War I, early airpower theorist believed strategic bombing could be the new way to win wars and reduced the number of lives lost. Theorist like, Guilio Douhet, Hugh Trenchard, and William “Billy” Mitchel became pioneers and advocates of strategic bombing. They believed striking the enemy’s troops, war-marking industry, and vital centers would produce a decisive victory. The airpower theory would be a key element to the Allies strategy in Second World War (WW2). Leaders in Britain and the United States believed Germany was a greater threat than Japan. Thus, the airpower strategy of the European theater of operation became the primary focus. Allied airpower was decisive in the European