Medicine ww1

• Western Front


  One of the two fronts of World War One, the other being the Eastern Front
• British Expeditionary Force

  • Fought alongside the country's allies on the Western Front
  • British sector of the Western Front stretched through Belgium and northern France for 90 miles (150 kilometres)
• Ypres

  A town in Belgium where several battles took place on the Western Front
• Reasons for fighting at Ypres

  1. It was on route to the channel ports of Calais and Dunkirk, which the British needed to defend

  2. It was a vulnerable area of British occupation, with the Germans on higher ground
• Terrain at Ypres

  • Heavy soil, easily waterlogged and flooded
  • Presented problems for stretcher bearers removing wounded from battlefields
  • Poisonous gas first used by Germans during Second Battle of Ypres in 1915
• Battle of the Somme

  The most notorious battle of World War One, with incredibly high British casualties
• Britain suffered nearly 60,000 casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 20,000 of which died
• The Battle of the Somme lasted from July to November 1916 and there were nearly 400,000 British casualties in total
• Problems caused by Battle of the Somme

  • High number of casualties led to medical services needing to work quickly and under pressure
  • Uneven ground from use of tanks made it difficult to transport wounded for treatment
• Battle of Arras

  Took place in 1917, with British and New Zealand soldiers digging tunnels for accommodation and an underground hospital
• Battle of Cambrai

  Took place in late 1917, with over 450 tanks used by the British forces
• Problems in treating wounded on Western Front

  • Craters and holes from constant bombing made movement and transportation difficult
  • Bacteria in soil led to many infected wounds
  • Stretcher bearers sometimes unable to see route clearly or move during fighting
  • Ambulances struggled to move in the mud, leaving soldiers injured for days
  • High casualty rates slowed down medical treatment
• Trench system

  A defensive system of trenches dug during World War I
• Trench construction

  1. Dug quickly in 1914

  2. Developed into a more advanced system that lasted throughout the war rather than one simple line of trenches
• Extent of trench system

  • Stretched from the French and Belgian coasts of the English channel, down through those countries and all the way towards Switzerland
• Trench design

  • Dug in a zigzag pattern as a defensive strategy to prevent enemy soldiers from being able to see, or fire, directly along a trench
  • Narrow and often got blocked, leading to problems moving and treating the wounded during battles
• Types of trenches

  • Front line trench
  • Communication trench
  • Support trench
  • Reserve trench
• Front line trench

  Closest to the enemy, where soldiers would fire across No Man's Land
• Communication trench

  Connected the other lines of trenches, used by soldiers to move between the other trenches
• Support trench

  Dug behind the front line trenches, where soldiers would retreat to during an attack
• Reserve trench

  Dug behind the support trenches, where soldiers would use to prepare for a counter-attack
• No Man's Land

  The stretch of land between the Allied and German trenches
• Dugout

  Dug into the sides of trenches, where men would use for protection and rest
• High numbers of casualties led to fast-paced developments in the care of the wounded on the Western Front
• Chain of evacuation

  1. Stretcher bearers recover the dead and wounded

  2. Regimental aid post treats light wounds

  3. Dressing station treats seriously injured

  4. Casualty clearing station provides treatment

  5. Base hospitals treat civilians and serious injuries
• Stretcher bearers

  • Recover the dead and wounded from No Man's Land
  • Overcome mud, shell craters and crowded trenches, sometimes in darkness
  • Carry basic medical supplies, such as bandages
• Regimental aid post (RAP)


  • Close to the front line, such as in a dugout
  • Treat light wounds so soldiers can return to the front line
  • Move those needing more treatment to a dressing station
• Dressing station

  • Often set up in a tent behind the trenches
  • Seriously injured soldiers moved to a casualty clearing station by motor or horse-drawn ambulance
• Casualty clearing station (CCS)

  • First medical facility where moderately seriously wounded receive treatment
  • Treated by doctors, nurses and surgeons
  • Contains operating theatres, mobile X-ray machines and hospital ward beds
• Base hospitals


  • Where civilians and serious injuries are treated
  • Usually in large converted buildings
  • Contains operating theatres, X-ray departments and specialist centres for treatment of specific problems, such as gas poisoning
  • Wounded arrive by train or motor ambulance
• All medical officers and men who cared for the wounded on the Western Front belonged to the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC)
• Women who travelled to the Western Front to care for the wounded joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY)
• Nurses on the Western Front would carry out

  • Providing professional nursing care
  • Driving motor ambulances
  • Cleaning hospitals
  • Washing clothes
  • Bathing the wounded
• By 1915, there were 250 motor ambulances in France with more arriving
• Horse-drawn ambulances continued to be used as they were more effective when travelling over mud and shell holes
• During the Battle of Arras in 1917, the wounded were treated in an underground hospital built in the tunnels that existed in the chalky ground
• Underground hospital at Arras

  • Had 700 beds and several operating theatres
  • Effective as it enabled the wounded to be treated quickly because it was close to the battle site
• There were a series of developments in medicine during the early 20th century that enabled better treatment of the wounded on the Western Front during World War One
• Developments in medicine in the early 20th century

  • Aseptic surgery
  • X-rays
  • Blood transfusions
• Aseptic surgery

  Ensured operating theatres were free of more germ-free environments