Things Used As Weapons in the Great War

The Great War, fought between 1914 and 1918 and alternately known as the First World War or World War I, claimed the lives of nearly 10 million men from across the globe. A large number of different types of weapons were used during the war, while the war itself allowed new weapons to be developed and existing ones to be made more effective.

Rifles and Pistols

Rifles were the main type of 1.___ available to infantry soldiers during the Great War. Each soldier had his own rifle as well as the responsibility for keeping his weapon clean and in full working order. Different armies used different makes of rifle during the war: the British army, for example, used the Lee Enfield 0.303-inch rifle, while American soldiers were primarily armed with the Springfield rifle. Rifles were mobile enough to be easily carried by 2.___ in battle situations; with the addition of a bayonet attached to the barrel, a rifle could be used in hand-to-hand fighting. Pistols were traditionally given to 3.____, although certain other troops, including tank operators and military police also carried them. The German Luger is probably the best-known pistol of the time and was a popular souvenir for Allied soldiers. The British used the Webley Mk IV revolver, while the American army used either a Colt 0.45-inch automatic or a 0.45-inch Smith and Wesson revolver.

Machine Guns

Machine guns are probably the weapon most commonly associated with the Great War. Sitting on a small tripod, the machine gun proved a formidable weapon on the 4___. If sited carefully, a relatively small number of guns could command a large area of the battlefield, making it virtually impossible for opposing 5.___ to mount a successful attack. As the war continued, machine guns began to have a more central role in offensive attacks. Numerous 6.___ produced machine guns during the war and among the best known are Vickers, primarily used by the British army; Maxim, used by the Germans; and the French-made Hotchkiss.

Grenades

Useful in the close-quarters warfare involved in seizing enemy trench lines, grenades underwent a great deal of development during the Great War. Soldiers used both hand grenades and grenades launched from a rifle. Grenades could be detonated by percussion or 7___, or could be placed on a timed fuse -- soldiers preferred the latter method since these grenades were less likely to explode accidentally. Estimates suggest that the Allied side threw approximately 100 million grenades during the war.

Poison Gas

The use of 8.__ gas was a controversial aspect of the Great War because it was seen as inhumane. The German army was the first to fully explore the possibilities of gas warfare, using it on the Western Front in April 1915; other armies were quick to use gas in response. Initially 9._ was released from canisters within an army's own lines and allowed to drift on the wind towards the enemy. As the war continued, technical developments allowed the manufacture of gas shells which could be fired by artillery onto enemy targets. Soldiers breathed in chlorine and phosgene gases, causing coughing, choking and breathing difficulties that could be fatal. Later in the war, mustard gas combined these respiratory effects with an ability to create internal and external blisters on anyone exposed to it.

Improvised Weapons

Sometimes soldiers improvised their own weapons. Fighting on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915, British soldiers had virtually no access to mass-produced hand grenades and prepared their own, using glass jam jars and tin cans. Soldiers filled the jar or tin with gun cotton or 10.___, plus a mixture of scrap metal and stones, before lighting a fuse and throwing the grenade towards the Turkish trenches.

B. Fill in the gaps with suitable prepositions.1. armies used different makes …. rifle 2. Have a central role….. attacks 3. a great deal … development 4. use gas … response 5. no access …… mass-produced weapon 6. best-known pistol …..the time

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A. Look at the article‟s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

Take over carry out blow up go off bring about back out beat up

Nations pledge to end use of child soldiersNearly 60 nations have pledged not to use children in their armies. A document, called the Paris Commitments, was signed in France by 58 countries, including Sudan, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries still hit the headlines for having child soldiers. Two states that the United Nations says uses child soldiers - Burma and the Philippines - did not attend the Paris meeting. All 27 nations of the European Union added their weight to the promise to help disarm and rehabilitate underage soldiers, and prevent their recruitment. The U.N. estimates a quarter of a million youngsters are involved in over a dozen conflicts worldwide. As well as fighting, the kids serve as spies and sexual slaves. Girls make up nearly 40 percent of some armed groups. Their families often reject them when they return home. The agreement is not yet part of the laws of any of the 58 countries. However, it is an important step forward. France‘s Foreign Minister said the document was more than just "good words." He insisted, "it is a text that will have great political value". A UNICEF spokesman stressed it is important that governments and not only NGOs are acting. The speaker who made the biggest impact in Paris was Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier in Sierra Leone. He picked up a gun when he was just 13, after his parents and brothers were killed in his country‘s civil war. He is now 26 and lives in New York. He said: "Taking a gun and shooting someone was as easy as drinking a glass of water." He reminded the world that: "No one is born violent. No child in Africa, Latin America or Asia wants to be part of war." (www.breakingnewsenglish.com)

B. Match the following synonyms from the article:

Week 11(2hours)

Theme: Levels of Conflict

Aims and Objectives:to develop furtherstudents skills in reading, speaking, analyzing international documents and newspaper articles, to improve their listening skills and to practise grammar.

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 888