Western Front: 1914-18

• Trench features


  Dugout, duckboards, barbed wire, firestep, parapet, sandbags
• dugout in a trench

  A trench that is dug and roofed over as a shelter for troops. Sometimes be the RAP
• firestep


  Position in trench on which soldiers could step to fire out of the trench and into no-man's land
• Trench system features


  front line trench, support trench, reserve trench, traverse
• support trench


  200-500m behind front line, retreat here if attacked. Could avoid shelling.

  materials for front line stored.
• reserve trench


  100m behind front line, reserve soldiers here to help with counter attacks.
• traverse


  Zig-zag, stops shooting being straight, takes ages to run through. evacuation is difficult
• trench foot


  cause: Standing in water for a long time, cutting off blood circulation. can become infected with gangrene.

  
  

  solution: change socks 3 times a day, treat with whale oil.
• Front line trench


  -nearest trench to enemy.

  -seven foot deep and six foot deep

  -protected by barbed wire and machine gun posts.
• communication trench

  -dug at angle from front-line trench.

  -used to transport men, equipment and food.
• Trench fever


  cause: lice-biting in dirty clothing

  symptoms: flu-like, achey muscles, headaches

  solutions: portable showers, go to the de-lousing station.
• types of infection


  Bullet and shrapnel wounds led to infection, gas gangrene infection caused by lack of blood, which produces gas in the wound.
• medical developments in western front


  -sodium nitrate solution to store blood and prevent clotting.

  -mobile blood transfusion kit.

  -thomas splint

  -mobile x ray unit

  -carel- Dakin method

  -Debridement of infected area
• thomas splint


  compound fractures held by metal rots when driven by Fany to hospital. it suspended the leg so it could not be moved.
• FANY


  First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) used as nurses and drove a. By 1918 there were about 45, 000.
• mobile x-ray unit

  useful, easy, quick to examine shrapnel.

  -can be moved to frontline/battles
• x-rays


  -helped to remove shrapnel from wounds.

  -x-rays machines overheated quickly
• carol dakin method


  pumped sterilised salt solution around wounds in tubes to prevent infection
• debridement of infected area


  cut extra part of body around the wound to ensure bacteria is not present
• first battle of ypres (1914)


  German attack to stop british access to ports. 50,00 troops killed
• second battle of ypres (may 1915)


  chlorine first used by Germans, which causes suffocation.
• third battle of ypres (1917-passchendale)


  -245,000 casualties, men could not move in the mud, some drowned. It also make it difficult to transport solders and could lead to infection, also due to destruction of roads

  -Aim to remove German advantage of higher ground.
• The battle of Arras (1917)


  -Chalky ground, tunnels with hospital
• battle of Cambrai (1917)

  First blood banks used, tanks also used
• the battle of the somme (1916)


  -20,00 dead in first day, one of the biggest battles in WW1.

  -60,000 casualities
• casualty clearing station


  CCS is a military medical facility behind the front lines that is used to treat wounded soldiers. A CCS would usually be located just beyond the range of enemy artillery and often near transportation facilities (e.g., a railway).

  -dealt with thousands of casualities.

  -Had 7 Doctors and other nurses to perform operations.
• regimental aid post


  The Regimental Aid Post was situated just behind the front line, often in dug outs or cellars in the rear trench system, and was the first stage in the evacuation of the wounded. provided emergency care only
• Base Hospital

  The Base Hospital was part of the casualty evacuation chain, further back from the front line than the Casualty Clearing Stations. It was often near railway lines to ensure the eased transportation of shoulders.

  -Had operating theathres
• The Ypres salient

  -Hill that gave Germans a high vantage point which made the allied forces vunerable to attack and waterlogging

  -Bulge jutting around Ypres allowing German supplies to move around easily
• stretcher bearers


  -Recovered wounded during breaks in gun fire.

  -carried basic medical supplies.

  - 16 bearers per battalion.
• Dressing station and field ambulance


  -mobile medical unit with medical staff in tents.

  -triage occurred here

  -dressing station quarter of a mile behind frontline.
• WW1 soilder evacuation route

  1. stretcher bearers

  2. RAP

  3. dressing stations & field ambulance

  4. CCS

  5. Base hospitals
• shell-shock

  causes:stressful, traumatic conditions of war.

  symptoms: fatigue,nightmares,shaking

  treatment: rest
• WW1 rifles


  -pointed bullets

  -cartridge case creating automatic rapid fire.
• WW1 machine guns

  -could fire 500 rounds a minute

  -could pierce organs and fracture bones
• WW1 artillery


  cannons grew bigger and more powerful sending 900kg shells.

  -caused half of all causalities.
• WW1 shrapnel


  -maxium damage when exploded in mid air.

  -often injured arms and legs of soilders
• gangrene


  death of tissue associated with loss of blood supply, often occurred due to trench foot
• shrapnel


  fragments from an exploded artillery shell, mine, or bomb
• WW1 chlorine gas


  -causes death by suffocation.

  -first used by germans in 1915