TRECNHES

• Trenches


  • Front-line trench: where attacks would be made from, built in zig-zags
  • Support trench: where soldiers from the frontline could retreat to, if needed
  • Reserve line: had reserve troops, ready for a counter-attack if needed
  • Communication trenches: ran between the other trenches, had toilets and Regimental Aid posts
  • Often uneven and muddy, roads often destroyed, many shell craters, narrow and crowded
• Battles


  1. 1914: First Battle of Ypres - Close combat in the city of Ypres, both sides then dug trenches

  2. 1915: Second Battle of Ypres - Chlorine gas used by Germans, Germans advanced about 2 miles, Tunnelling under Hill 60 fought over by both sides

  3. 1916: The Somme - One of the deadliest battles ever, over 20,000 British deaths on the first day, about a million casualties overall on both sides, tanks used but broke down, British advanced about 6 miles

  4. 1917: Battle of Arras - Soldiers who had been hiding underground came out by German trenches, British advanced about 8 miles

  5. 1917: Third Battle of Ypres - Extremely muddy and waterlogged, many drowned, Hill 60 blown up and captured by British

  6. 1917: Cambrai - First effective use of tanks
• Medical problems


  • Wounds caused by rifles, machine guns and artillery shells (about 60% by artillery)
  • Steel Brodie helmets in 1915 reduced fatal headwounds by 80%
  • Trench foot - feet swelling and rotting, prevented by rubbing whale oil into feet and 'sock buddies'
  • Trench fever - flu-like illness caused by lice, 500,000 soldiers affected
  • Shellshock - insomnia, spasms, loss of speech, affected about 80,000 men
  • Gas gangrene - infected wounds, affected body areas had to be cut away or amputated
  • Gas attacks - chlorine, phosgene, mustard gas, caused breathing difficulties and other symptoms, about 6,000 soldiers died
• Chain of evacuation


  1. Stretcher bearers - 4 per stretcher usually, 16 per battalion of 1,000 men, did first aid

  2. Regimental Aid Post - in a dugout, 1 medical officer, gave immediate first aid

  3. Dressing stations - in abandoned buildings or tents, 10 medical officers, could look after a person for up to a week

  4. Casualty Clearing Station - triage, mini hospitals with x-ray machines, capable of performing operations

  5. Base Hospitals - near the coast, for experimental medicine and long-term care

  6. Underground hospital at Arras - space for 700 patients, operating theatres, railway, electricity and water
• Ambulances


  • Horse ambulances - could go over muddy terrain, but shook casualties
  • Motor ambulances - faster and smoother, needed smoother surfaces
  • Canal ambulances - slow but comfortable and well-equipped
  • Train ambulances - big, comfortable and well-equipped
• Medics


  • RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) - all male medics
  • Queen Alexandra Nurses - trained military nurses
  • VAD (Volunteer Aid Detachment) - mostly middle- and upper-class women, helped with nursing jobs
  • FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) - drove ambulances, mobile soup kitchens, mobile cinema, mobile bath unit
• New treatments


  • Removing infection: Carrel-Dakin method - pour salt solution through the wound to remove bacteria
  • Thomas Splint: simple metal design, kept broken bones stationary and stopped major internal bleeding
  • Mobile x-rays: 6 mobile x-ray vans, poorer quality than stationary but good enough to identify shrapnel and bullets
  • Blood transfusions: person-to-person, portable kit, blood bank with stored O- blood
  • Brain surgery: Cushing developed techniques to remove shrapnel and reduce swelling
  • Plastic surgery: Gilles rebuilt faces using skin grafts, had a specialist hospital
• Sources


  • Diaries, letters, interviews and poems (first-hand personal experiences)
  • Patient records and articles by surgeons and doctors (details of treatments)
  • Medical records from hospitals, Casualty Clearing Stations and Dressing Stations
  • Army reports and newspaper articles (overviews and statistics)
  • Photographs and paintings