western front

• when was chlorine gas first used?


  1915
• when was phosgene gas first used?


  1915
• when was mustard gas first used?


  1917
• what battle was chlorine gas first ever used?


  second battle of Ypres
• Ypres salient:

  • 1st battle of Ypres: october - november 1914
  • 2nd battle of Ypres: april - may 1915
  • 3rd battle of Ypres (Passchendaele): july - november 1917
• Battle of the Somme

  • date: 1916
  • lasted july - november
  • most casualties of all battles: 400,000
  • first day: 57,000 casualties (20,000 deaths)
• what was first ever used in the battle of the Somme?


  tanks - not very effective
• Battle of Arras


  • date: 1917
  • lasted: april - may
  • 16,000 casualties (british and canadian)
• when was the Battle of Arras?


  april - may 1917
• Battle of Cambrai

  • date: 1917
  • 450 tanks used - first successful large scale use
  • no artillery used - confused the Germans
• what is an antiseptic?


  a substance preventing growth of bacteria
• what was the first ever antiseptic?

  carbolic acid
• when was carbolic acid first used?

  1865
• what was the idea of an antiseptic based off of?

  Louis Pasteur's germ theory
• who discovered/used the first antiseptic?

  Joseph Lister
• what are the features of an aseptic surgery

  • all medical staff must wash their hands,faces and arms before entering the operating theatre
  • rubber gloves/gowns were worn (since 1890) which decreased rate of infection
  • room was steamed by an autoclave (invented in 1881)
  • air was sterilised by hot steam
• when was the x-ray developed?

  1895
• who developed the x-ray?

  Wilhelm Roentgen (german physicist)
• when were radiology (x-ray) departments introduced into hospitals?

  1896
• what were the problems of the early x-ray?

  • lots of radiation emitted - 1500x the amount today
  • took about 90 minutes
• what did complex surgeries result in?

  blood loss
• what made more complex surgeries possible?

  the discovery of aseptic surgery and x-rays
• who first attempted blood transfusion?

  James Blundell
• who did Blundell attempt blood transfusions on?

  women suffering blood loss when giving birth
• problems of blood transfusions:

  • risk of infection from unsterilised equipment
  • rejection of transfused blood due to incompatible blood types
  • blood clots as soon as blood leaves the body so tubes may become blocked up
• what was the BEF?

  British Expeditionary Force
• how many soliders were in the BEF?

  70,000 (alongside a larger French army)
• frontline trench:


  where attacks were made from, closest to the enemy
• support trench:

  • 80m behind the frontline trench
  • troops retreated here if the frontline was under attack
• reserve trench:

  • 100m behind the support trench
  • reserve troops prepared for a counterattack on the frontline trench
• communications trench:


  link between all trenches
• dugouts:


  holes dug into the sides of trenches where men slept or took protective cover
• what was the depth of a trench?

  2.5 metres
• what is no man's land?

  the area between two opposing lines of trenches
• what were the problems with transportation?

  the ground was uneven due to holes and craters so transporting injured men away from the frontline became an issue
• what was a stretcher bearer?

  a person who used a stretcher to carry the wounded (mainly from the frontline)
• what were the dangers of being a stretcher bearer?

  exposed to gunfire and shelling
• what were the problems of horse-drawn ambulances?

  • they could not cope with the large number of casualties
  • men were shaken during the journey causing more injury
  • lack of transport left to soliders being left to die or imprisoned
• who ran a fundraiser for better transport?

  The Times newspaper
• what was the result of the fundraiser for better transport?

  1914 - enough money to buy 512 ambulance wagons