Okay, so you may have realised that there hasn't been any updates on this blog for a while and the weapons & the first world war series suddenly came to an end. This was due to a suddenly very busy period in my life and I felt unable to spend the time needed to continue with the blog, so I took a break, just until I felt I could resume writing. I am now at the point that I feel I can start again, but of course, I am now very behind on my schedule. For those of you that don't know, I have all of my posts already scheduled in right up until Christmas so I have a lot of making up to do. Therefore I have decided to change the format of the current series slightly, whereby, on some posts there will be numerous weapons discussed, in order to try to catch up. There may also be the extra added post during the week so make sure you are following the blog to be notified when this happens.
Enough from me, on to today's post...
So today we are talking about machine guns and in particular two of them. The first is the Hotchkiss machine gun, which was invented by Benjamin Hotchkiss. It was gas operated as well as being naturally air cooled, which consisted of five circular rings inside the gun barrel, that design of which helped prevent overheating. It could fire 8mm Lebel ammunition, with a firing rate of 450 rounders per minute. The Hotchkiss machine gun had a maximum firing range of 3800m and weighed in at 100 pounds, meaning that it wasn't a popular thing to have to move far.
The Hotchkiss machine gun was first widely used by the French infantry in the later part of 1917, but was then also used by the American Expeditionary Force during the years of 1917 & 1918, when they arrived on the Western Front.
Moving on to the second machine gun and that is the Lewis gun. It was developed in America just before the outbreak of the first world war and was designed to be much lighter than any other guns in production at that time, weighing in at just 12KG. When war broke out in 1914, the Lewis gun was mainly used fitted onto armoured cars which could then be fired at German patrols. By 1915, it had been modified to be used both on land and in the air and was also bought in huge numbers by the British Army as their main infantry gun. The Mark IV tanks also carried the Lewis gun as their main weapon.
The Lewis gun was gas operated but the same as the Hotchkiss gun and also had a natural cooling process in the form of the aluminium barrel-shroud drawing in air and thus aiding the cooling process. It could fire at a rate of 500-600 rounds a minute and due to it being so lightweight, could be transported by just one soldier, freeing up men for other duties.
As you can see there were similarities between both guns. Make sure you check back next week to see what we are talking about next in our Weapons & The First World War series.
Sunday, 7 May 2017
Sunday, 19 March 2017
Weapons & The First World War - Mauser Gewehr
Hello everyone and welcome back to our weapons and the first world war series where today we just wanted to touch on the Mauser Gewehr rifle. This rifle was and still is known as one of Germany's most notable bolt action rifle and one that was popular for a long time. It was designed by Peter Paul Mauser in response to the French Lebel M1888 and was used widely in German forces throughout the first world war.
Friday, 17 March 2017
Clement Attlee & The First World War
Born on the 3rd January 1883 in Surrey was a man named Clement Attlee. As a young man, he worked as manager of Haileyburry House in Stepney, which was a charity for working class boys in the area. It was here that he saw widespread poverty and deprivation and was said to be shocked to the core at what he witnessed. Whilst in this role, he soon realised that the government needed to step up and take more responsibility in order to help these people and so in 1908, Clement joined the Independant Labour Party. He was very active in local politics and was soon touring the country explaining all the information with regards to the National Insurance Act. After a while touring the country, Clement became a lecturer at the London School Of Economics, a role in which he stayed in right up until the outbreak of the first world war.
When war broke out, Clement applied for an army commission and found himself part of the South Lancashire Regiment. It was from here that a huge rift started between himself and his brother Tom, who spent the majority of the war in prison, due to his beliefs as a conscientious objector.
Clement fought along with his comrades during the Gallipoli campaign and subsequently, like many others. caught dysentery. He was sent by hospital ship to Malta, while during this time, many of his comrades were lost during the Battle of Sari Bair.
On his return, Clement was told the news that his regiment had been chosen to hold the final lines during the evacuation of Suvla and so was one of the very last men to be evacuated. Whilst fighting during the Battle of Hanna, Clement was badly wounded after receiving shrapnel in his leg and so was sent back to Britain to recover. This didn't stop him, for he spent most of 1917 training soldiers and was the temporary commanding officer of the Tank Corps at Bovington. Later on in the year, Clement was promoted to the rank of Major and in June 1918, found himself being sent to serve on the Western Front, where he said until the war ended.
Post war, Clement returned to the London School of Economics as a lecturer but the story doesn't end there. Clement dies on the 8th October 1967 but he achieves a lot during the time in between and was soon to be a household name. This is something we will pick up again when we explore the second world war.
When war broke out, Clement applied for an army commission and found himself part of the South Lancashire Regiment. It was from here that a huge rift started between himself and his brother Tom, who spent the majority of the war in prison, due to his beliefs as a conscientious objector.
Clement fought along with his comrades during the Gallipoli campaign and subsequently, like many others. caught dysentery. He was sent by hospital ship to Malta, while during this time, many of his comrades were lost during the Battle of Sari Bair.
On his return, Clement was told the news that his regiment had been chosen to hold the final lines during the evacuation of Suvla and so was one of the very last men to be evacuated. Whilst fighting during the Battle of Hanna, Clement was badly wounded after receiving shrapnel in his leg and so was sent back to Britain to recover. This didn't stop him, for he spent most of 1917 training soldiers and was the temporary commanding officer of the Tank Corps at Bovington. Later on in the year, Clement was promoted to the rank of Major and in June 1918, found himself being sent to serve on the Western Front, where he said until the war ended.
Post war, Clement returned to the London School of Economics as a lecturer but the story doesn't end there. Clement dies on the 8th October 1967 but he achieves a lot during the time in between and was soon to be a household name. This is something we will pick up again when we explore the second world war.
Sunday, 12 March 2017
Weapons & The First World War - Smokeless Gun Powder
Hello everyone and welcome back to our weapons and the first world war series. For years, the military had been hampered with the problems gun powder produced. In particularly, the fact that the was more often than not no visibility due to a thick cloud of smoke on the battlefield.
In 1886, Paul Vielle invented a substance known as Poudre B. When fired, this substance formed little, if any smoke. It was also deemed to be more powerful than gun powder and so whilst it was the French that first used it, other countries soon followed suit.
Poudre B meant that visibility was slightly better on the first world war battlefields than that of previous battles when using standard gun powder. It also shaped the way our weapons our designed and made today and certainly helped us to go on to win the second world war.
In 1886, Paul Vielle invented a substance known as Poudre B. When fired, this substance formed little, if any smoke. It was also deemed to be more powerful than gun powder and so whilst it was the French that first used it, other countries soon followed suit.
Poudre B meant that visibility was slightly better on the first world war battlefields than that of previous battles when using standard gun powder. It also shaped the way our weapons our designed and made today and certainly helped us to go on to win the second world war.
Friday, 10 March 2017
Weapons & The First World War - Big Bertha
Hello everyone and welcome back to our weapons & the first world war series where today we are talking all about Big Bertha. Big Bertha was a German mobile howitzer that was named after the inventor Alfred Krupp's wife.
Big Bertha got it's name because it weighed in at a staggering 45 tonnes. She could fire a 2,200lb shell over 9 miles and so played a huge part in the German fight. Due to her size however, Big Betha had to be transported in sections by Daimler-Bentz tractors and then pieced back together again once in position. This usually took a crew of 200 men over 6 hours to re-assemble.
When war broke out, two Big Betha's had been situated just outside the fortress of Liege in Belgium, where they played a huge part of securing the town and surrounding area. This was an area that was fought over many times, with Big Bertha being right at the centre.
Big Bertha got it's name because it weighed in at a staggering 45 tonnes. She could fire a 2,200lb shell over 9 miles and so played a huge part in the German fight. Due to her size however, Big Betha had to be transported in sections by Daimler-Bentz tractors and then pieced back together again once in position. This usually took a crew of 200 men over 6 hours to re-assemble.
When war broke out, two Big Betha's had been situated just outside the fortress of Liege in Belgium, where they played a huge part of securing the town and surrounding area. This was an area that was fought over many times, with Big Bertha being right at the centre.
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Weapons & The First World War - Military Motor Bus
Hello and welcome back to our weapons & the first world war series where today is all about the military motor bus. It started way back in 1908, when the British government put everyday busses through their paces in order to see if they could be used to transport soldiers in the event of war. The outcome was that they were deemed acceptable and it was decided if the event of war ever arose, they would be called upon.
When the first world war broke in 1914, Winston Churchill asked the London General Omnibus Company to provide busses to transport Britain's soldiers to France. Volunteers were also needed from their crews, with 75 members coming forward. These men found themselves part of the Royal Marines.
By September 1914, 75 crews, along with their Daimler busses had been shipped to France to help with the war effort. Although some were captured by the German's, the majority were still in use by the British at the end of the first world war.
When the first world war broke in 1914, Winston Churchill asked the London General Omnibus Company to provide busses to transport Britain's soldiers to France. Volunteers were also needed from their crews, with 75 members coming forward. These men found themselves part of the Royal Marines.
By September 1914, 75 crews, along with their Daimler busses had been shipped to France to help with the war effort. Although some were captured by the German's, the majority were still in use by the British at the end of the first world war.
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