Technology in WW1／WW2

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• ミリオタ的な細かい知識よりも、significance to outcomeの理由をちゃんと書くことが大事

Air

• WW1 Europe
  • Drastically developped during the war
  • Zeppelin airship
    • only Germany
    • not effective:
      • big and slow, easy target
      • Hydrogen baloon, flammable
  • Aircrafts
    • First military use
    • First for reconnaissance missions, then dog fight
    • However, most still in dev phase
      • Ex of development: propellers blocked bullets fired from machineguns
      • Not really used effectively
      • Slow, easy target from the ground
• WW2 Pacific
  • Strategic bombing
    • Aerial bombardments were usually done by America to Japan.
    • Significant Ex: Doolittle raid
      • bombing to the city of Tokyo
      • Fire bombs were used
        • Many buildings were wooden, so vulnerable to wood
        • More than 600000 houses were burnt down, along with 220000 victims of the attack.
      • Those bombing to the Japan mainland affected the industrial production, so it affected the outcome to a large extent.
  • Atomic bombs
    • developped on Manhattan Project by America, to develop massive destruction weapons.
    • It was used in the final phase of the war on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and it is known as the direct factor of the surrender of Japan.
    • Debatable, but atleast clearly one of direct cause of surrendar
• Summary: WW1 still in dev phase & cancelled out / WW2: Only US could attack mainland, so affected significantly

Land

• WW1
  • Chemical Gas
    • Chroline yelloiwsh gas was used
    • Damages respiratory system
    • Ineffective, because
      • Attack wasn’t stable, damages themselves by wind
      • Gas masks were soon invented
      • Was easy to notice, by color and smell
  • Machine Gun
    • First version has many limitations
    • Needed 4+ people to fire because it was heavy, also produced heat
    • Improvements w ere made, less recoil and easier transportation
    • Both nations effectively used it, cancelles out, did not
  • Tanks
    • Ineffective, because:
      • Slow to cross the trench
      • Stuck in the mud, fields were muddy
      • Easy target for enemy
• WW2
  • Bazookas
    • used by the US army
    • Short range, but could destroy light tanks
    • Cheaper than tank, so effective to some extent
• Summary:
  • WW1, not significant
    • most were still ineffective (big and slow, easy target)
    • countertechnologis invented
    • cancelled out by technology
  • WW2 had some more effect, but not deciding factor

Sea

• WW1

  • Sea technology was important for Britain and Germany.
  • Ex: U-boat, Blockade
  • U-boats
    • Ineffective
    • Coutermeasures created
      • Depth Charge to attack
      • Hydrophone (primitive sonar) to detect
        • Once detected, hard for slow U-boat to run away
  • Dreadnaught
    • Never really used, stayed at the port
    • Too expensive to lose

• WW2

  • Ex: Aircraft carriers, Submarines
  • Submarines
    • Used by both forces to attack enemy fleets and merchant ships
    • The US successfully sunk 1.5M tons of Japanese merchant shipping
    • it was crucial to weaken the Japanese industry and economy.
  • Naval Codes & Code breaking
    • Both nations used naval codes on communication, to protect their information from others.
    • US cracked most of them until the end of the war.
    • The US knew the attack on the Battle of Midway, and was able to counter the attack.
      • Codebreaking helped the victory on Midway which was one of the most important battles.
    • Therefore codebreaking technology affected the outcome of the war

• However Paragraph

  • WW1

    • Weak allies of Germany

    • Blockade

      • Developed navy technologies used for Blockade
      • Britain blocked trade with Germany 1914-19
        • Patroled northern sea, intercepted merchant ships
      • Germany heavily relied on import
      • Shortage of fuel, food
      • 700000+ Germans died by starvation or disease
      • led to riots
      • Heavy damage to civilians affected the German surrender
      • Not only resources, but communications
        • Cutted underwater communication cables of Germany

    • Amerieca entry

    • Manpower

      • Allies (British Empire etc) supplies from colonies
  • WW2
    • Banzai charge
      • suicidal last attack
      • when Japan was losing the war
        • ex: 4000 Japanese died in Saipan
      • Not so effective to produce casualities, but feared
    • Island Hopping
      • Skipping heavily protected islands, and taking other islands
        • heavily protected islands will lose logistics, so they eventually starved
    • Outproduced Japan
      • Total War in the US, Industry for military production
      • 20x more production of tanks 1939-45
    • Kamikaze - US AF 1999: Kamikaze same as anti-ship missiles - However, ut became ineffective because: - US Anti-Kamikaze technology - Reinforced hull of aircraft carriers during the war - Later time period, Kamikaze became ineffective - Difficult to aim specific part that could sink warships
    • Soviet invasion of Manchuria

• Summary: Inequality of technology significantly affected the war in Ww2

• Hodder book with planes on frontpage 187-202

• WW1はeurope、WW2はpacificにするべき
  • diffferent regionと聞かれるかもしれないから
• However、忘れずに！
  • tech not big impactと言うなら尚更