Medicine trenches

• Plastic Surgery


  Drove to the front line with x-ray machines, world's first skin graft in WWI (Lasz Couring)
• Blood Transfusions


  From 1900, scientists could now store blood for transfusions due to solving the problem of blood clotting being solved in WW1, they added sodium citrate
• The area surrounding the town of Ypres

  Was the scene of two major battles - the First and Second Battle of Ypres, as the Germans pushed to take Ypres and get to the Channel ports
• The Four Key British Battles in WW1

  • The Ypres Salient 1914-15
  • The Somme, 1916
  • Arras, 1917
  • Cambrai, 1917
• The Ypres Salient


  • An area under British control surrounded by Germans on 3 sides
  • The Germans held the high ground, whilst the British were in the low, wetter areas
• The First Battle of Ypres, 1914


  1. Germans attacked the British positions around east and north east of Ypres

  2. Britain kept Ypres but lost 50,000 troops
• Hill 60


  A hill south-east of Ypres which gave the Germans height advantage over the British
• Capturing Hill 60, 1915

  British soldiers mined underneath the hill and literally blew up the German defences so the British were able to capture it
• The Second Battle of Ypres, 1915

  1. Germans used Chlorine Gas on the Western Front for the first time

  2. British losses were 59,000 men and the Germans moved 2 miles closer to the town of Ypres

  3. The British finally pushed back the Germans in the rainy 1917 battle of Passchendaele
• The Somme, 1916


  Largest British attack in WW1 which lasted from July to November, 1916 and aimed to take ground from the Germans
• Tactics used at the Somme

  1. Allies built over 2.5 miles of tunnels as shelter to prepare to attack the German line

  2. Tunnels could shelter 25,000 men, contained accommodation, a railway, water and electrical supplies and a hospital big enough for 700 beds

  3. First use of tanks - used but not effective yet

  4. Use of creeping barrage - artillery bombardment that moved towards the German trench as the British approached it
• Huge casualties on both sides but especially for the British with 57,000 casualties and 20,000 dead on first day alone
• Significance of the Somme

  • It would help contribute to more casualties in the war
• The Battle of Arras, 1917

  1. Initially the attack in April 1917 was a success as the British advanced 5 miles into enemy territory

  2. However, by May 1917 the attack had virtually stopped with the Allies suffering 160,000 casualties

  3. First large scale attack by British tanks to attack the German front line, over 450 tanks were used

  4. No artillery bombardment used, which surprised the Germans. The British attack succeeded at first, helped by tanks
• The Battle of Cambrai, 1917


  The Germans counter-attacked after the British attack stopped and all land taken by the British was lost
• The Trench System


  • Trenches were first dug by the British and French Armies in Northern France in 1914
  • The aims of trenches was to act as a barrier to stop the rapid advance of the German army
  • As the war went on, trenches became part of the stalemate, used to defend & launch attacks
  • Trenches also became more dangerous with machine guns, concrete bunkers and barbed wire used as defences
  • With this evolved new weapons such as tanks, machine guns, artillery and airplanes to fight on this terrain
• Parts of a typical British trench on the Western Front

  • Firebay
  • Duckboard
  • Parapet
  • Ammunition shelf
  • Dugout
• Advantages of the Trench System


  • Simple to make and cheap to build
  • Easy to defend with few men using barbed wire, artillery, concrete bunkers and machine gun fire
  • Provided some shelter/protection
• Disadvantages of the Trench System

  • Hard to attack as had to cross no man's land (the area between the two trenches) which has been destroyed by shell fire and was a mass of mud and craters
  • Trenches were very dirty and unhygienic as there was no running water or flushing toilets
  • In summer heat led to horrific smell and disease everywhere
  • In winter bad weather led to flooding and frostbite
• The constant bombing and shelling often left the Western Front a landscape of craters, mud and water. All roads had also been destroyed, making it very difficult to cross and transport the wounded
• No Man's Land


  The land was dangerous and the wounded could only be collected at night
• Key Problems on the Western Front

  • The destroyed terrain was muddy, contained stagnant water filled craters with rotting corpses and unexploded munitions and chemicals
  • The trenches were clogged up with men and equipment, making it hard for stretchers to manoeuvre whilst under fire
  • The numbers of wounded also overwhelmed the medical system
• Transporting the Wounded


  1. 4 man stretcher bearers would carry the wounded away from the front line once they were in a stable condition

  2. Horse-drawn ambulance wagons were originally used but could not cope with the number of wounded

  3. Motor ambulances were later introduced but the worse the terrain the less effective they were
• Evacuating the Wounded


  1. Specially designed ambulance trains were used from November 1914 to transport the wounded to Base Hospitals on the French Coast

  2. Canals were also used to transport the wounded, as they were comfortable, slow but could often transport them straight to ships back to Britain
• Trench Foot


  A major problem caused by standing in waterlogged trenches with no change of boots or socks, leading to swelling, numbness, and potentially gangrene and amputation
• Attempts to Prevent Trench Foot

  1. Soldiers ordered to carry 3 pairs of socks and change them twice a day, and rub whale oil into their feet

  2. Attempts made to pump out trenches to reduce waterlogging and add duckboards, but constantly bombing made this hard
• Trench Fever


  An illness with symptoms including headache, flu-like symptoms, high temperature, and aching muscles, spread by lice
• Attempts to Treat Trench Fever

  Clothes were disinfected, men were bathed and sprayed with chemicals to prevent lice, leading to a decline in the numbers experiencing the condition
• Shell Shock


  Symptoms included tiredness, headaches, nightmares, loss of speech, uncontrollable shaking and complete mental breakdown
• Some soldiers who experienced shell shock were accused of cowardice and even punished, some even shot
• New Wounds in WW1

  • High explosive shells and shrapnel were responsible for 58% of wounds, whilst bullets were responsible for another 39%
  • The high number of head wounds led to the steel Brodie Helmet being introduced, reducing fatal head wounds by 80%
  • 60% of shrapnel wounds were to the arms and legs, often requiring amputation
  • Artillery, gun fire and bombs could break bones, pierce vital organs and destroy tissue
• Gas Attacks


  • Caused great panic as soldiers were unprepared for it, but was not a major cause of death (only 6000 soldiers died)
  • Types used included Chlorine, Phosgene and Mustard Gas
• Protecting against Gas Attacks

  British soldiers were given Gas masks from July 1915, which became more sophisticated over time
• Medical Breakthroughs before WW1

  • Aseptic surgery, x-rays and blood transfusions
• 1. Rays


  Discovered by accident in 1895, used to locate foreign objects in the body, but had health risks from radiation and took a long time to complete
• Blood Transfusions


  Developed techniques and equipment so that transfusions were possible by the start of WW1, but blood could not yet be stored so had to be used straight away
• Aseptic Surgery


  Included sterilising equipment, the room, and medical staff, to prevent infection in wounds
• The Chain of Evacuation


  A quick and efficient system to get the wounded from the frontlines to a safe area where they could be treated
• Stages of the Chain of Evacuation

  • Walking wounded making their way to the RAP
  • Stretcher bearers carrying the wounded to the RAP
  • Ambulances transporting the wounded to the CCS
  • Ambulance trains/barges/ships evacuating the wounded to Base Hospitals
• Aseptic Surgery


  Killing germs in wounds