Western Front

• WW1 was fought between the Triple Entente vs the Triple Alliance
• WW1 was fought within Belgium and France
• New weaponry developed during the First World War was shrapnel and gas
• WW1 was fought in trenches because of machine guns
• WW1 was fought from 1914-1918
• One feature of antiseptic conditions was washing your hands, face and arms before surgery
• One feature of antiseptic conditions was wearing rubber gloves and gowns to reduce infection
• One feature of antiseptic conditions was sterilising the air by pumping over a heating system to kill the bacteria
• One feature of antiseptic conditions was steam sterilisation using a machine called the autoclave
• X-rays were created by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1896
• X-rays were important on the Western Front because diagnosis could be carried out before operations
• One problem of early X-Rays was that they produced a large amount of radiation, patients could lose their hair or get burns
• One problem of early X-Rays was that they were a table top machine and had a fragile glass tube that could easily break
• One problem of early X-Rays was they took 90 minutes, a very long time to hold still
• One problem of early X-Rays was they were large so hard to move around
• Blood clots as soon as it leaves the body. This meant blood transfused in the tube could become blocked up.

  In 1894, Wright concluded that a soluble solution of certain acids could prevent this, but he believed the side effects couldn't be prevented.
• Sometime blood was rejected in the body when the donor and recipient was not compatible.

  In 1901, Landsteiner discovered different blood groups, A, B, and O. AB was also found.

  Ottenberg in 1907, matched blood type before transfusion. O is the universal blood group.
• Danger of infection from unsterilised equipment.

  Aseptic methods of surgery mainly solved this by the early 20th century.
• The front-line trench was where attacks would be made and was the most dangerous
• The support trench was behind the front line trench and troops would retreat here
• The reserve trench was behind the support trench where reserve troops could be mobilised for counter attacks if the front-line trench was captured.
• The communications trench ran between the other trenches and people could talk to each other and pass messages in them
• Dugouts were holes dug into the side of trenches where people could take cover
• No man's land was the area between the enemy and the trenches. Battles were fought here.
• 1914, First Battle of Ypres

  Aim: prevent the Germans from taking the coast near the English Channel

  Tactic: Mining was used to blow up higher ground used by the enemy, such as Hill 60

  Casualties: 50,000 British deaths
• 1915, Second Battle of Ypres

  Aim: Germans try to break through their enemy's trench line

  Tactic: The Germans used chlorine gas for the first time

  Casualties: 59,000 British deaths
• 1916, Battle of Somme

  Aim: A decisive assault to push the German trench line back

  Tactic: The first use of the creeping barrage and tanks in battle. Three were used but were useless and broke down.

  Casualties: 125,000 deaths, including 20,000 on the first day
• 1917, Battle of Arras

  Aim: Break through German trenches

  Tactic: British soldiers hid in tunnels which they had recently dug and attacked the German trench

  Casualties: 160,000 British and Canadian deaths and injuries
• 1917, Third Battle of Ypres

  Aim: Britain tried to break out of Ypres and take higher ground from the Germans

  Tactic: Advancement was delayed by extreme wet weather. Many soldiers drowned in the mud which became water-logged

  Casualties: 245,000 British deaths and injuries
• 1917, Battle of Cambrai

  Aim: Use newly created tanks to break through the German trench line

  Tactic: Large scaled use of tanks. Nearly 500 were used and were more effective, trampling over barbed wire.

  Casualties: 44,000 British deaths and injuries
• Stretcher Bearers:

  • Slow
  • Risked gunfire
  • Could easily trip
  • Narrow trenches
  • Unstable movement
• Motor Ambulances:

  • Smooth and fast journeys
  • Less injury to soldiers
  • Created by public funding, but abandoned
  • Could break down
  • Struggled to get through mud
• Horse Drawn Ambulances:

  • Did not break down
  • Coped well on land
  • Shake on terrain, injury and pain
  • Can't cope with large numbers
  • More stable on mud
• Train, Barge, Ship

  • Travel long distances
  • Operating theatres on board
  • Trains took up space for other trains carrying resources
• Trench Foot:

  • Environmental problem
  • Solution-rub whale oil on feet, keep dry, will reduce infection
• Trench fever:

  • Environmental problem, caused by lice
  • Solution-delousing stations set up, check for lice, will reduce infection
• Shell Shock:

  • Environmental problem
  • Mental illness caused by war trauma
  • No solution, often shot for cowardice
• Gas

  • Military problem
  • Chlorine gas first used 1915 by Germans, suffocation when inhaled, led to development of gas masks
  • Phosgene gas first used 1915, faster attacking than chlorine, killed within two days
  • Mustard gas first used 1917 by Germans, worked within 12 hours, caused blisters inside and outside the body, could pass through clothes and burn skin
  • Solution-cotton pads soaked in urine, later gas masks
• Shrapnel:

  • fragments of a bomb, shell, or other object thrown out by an explosion
  • solution-x-rays then surgery
• Regimental Aid Post:

  • stage number 1
  • ran by regimental medical officers and some stretcher bearers
  • immediate first aid, get men back to fighting
  • couldn't deal with serious injuries