History - Western Front Flashcards

1
Q

Why did conditions differ on different parts of the western front

A
  • Weather
  • Pressure points
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2
Q

What was the western front

A

The point where British and French troops confronted german troops in WW1

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3
Q

Why were casualties in WW1 higher than many previous wars

A

It was the first type of industrial/ modern war

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4
Q

When was the second battle of Ypres and what did it mean for Britain

A

April-May 1915 - the German attack using chlorine gas for the first time in the war created an urgency to develop gas masks - new injury calls for new treatment

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5
Q

How many people died in the battle of Ypres

A

60,000 Allies
and
35,000 Germans

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6
Q

When was the battle of Somme and what happened

A

July - November 1916
On 1 July the British and French launched a major attack aiming to force Germany to move its troops away from Verdun to Somme and so relieve the pressure on the French army.

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7
Q

How many people died in the Battle of Somme

A

60,000 British casualties on the first day
400,000 by the time the battle ended

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8
Q

In what ways does war effect medical development

A
  • Spread disease
  • Cause casualties
  • Stops research
  • Takes doctors and nurses away from civilians
  • Helps new medical research
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9
Q

How many casualties were there in WW1

A

24 million

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10
Q

What opportunities did war provide for improvements in medical skills

A
  • to practice ads medics nurses and ambulance drivers in the very worst conditions
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11
Q

Difficulties in terms of treatment of injuries

A
  • no running water
  • dressings and filth pile up
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12
Q

How did war improve surgery

A
  • skills of surgery massively improved
  • gave surgeons a great opportunity for surgical work
  • amputations increased rapidly
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13
Q

Key features of the care system in the western front

A
  • field dressing stations
  • Sent to casualty clearing centres
  • medical cards
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14
Q

New medical inventions due to WW1

A
  • Blood banks - army doctors needed vast amount of blood for casualties
  • new antiseptics
  • Carrell Dakin solution
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15
Q

What helped blood to be stored

A

Sodium citrate

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16
Q

When were X-rays discovered

A

1895 - but war speeded up the use of X-rays

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17
Q

Symptoms of shell shock

A

Tremors, loss of sight or hearing and extreme fatigue.

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18
Q

When was the use of the word shell shock banned?

A

1914

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19
Q

Why did the army find it difficult to acknowledge shell shock’s existence

A

They think its just weakness

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20
Q

How many recorded cases of sell shock were there

A

80,000

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21
Q

How were victims of shell shock treated

A

Taken away from frontline and kept in special camp. \
One camp was set up to hold 5,000 men
Victims were treated with role play, talking and electric shocks to persuade limbs to work again.

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22
Q

When was the collection of the wounded from no man’s land usually carried out

A

Under fire it at night as it was dangerous

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23
Q

impact of the terrain on the western front

A

no mans land and the trenches could be in deep mud, making movement difficult and dangerous.
The trench system could be clogged with equipment and men, moving in different directions, carrying stretchers often under fire, was extremely hard work

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24
Q

Rifles - Weapons of war

A

-rifles - became more efficient weapons as soldiers no longer loaded them one bullet at a time. Bullets were also designed with a more pointed shape which drove them deeper into the body from a longer distance

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25
Q

what was the problem with dealing with infection caused by gas gangrene

A

It was not possible to perform aseptic surgery in Dressing Stations and casualty clearing stations due to contaminated conditions

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26
Q

Methods of treatment for gas gangrene

A
  • wound excision or debridement
    -amputation
    the carrel dakin method
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27
Q

What did wound excision or debridement involve

A

To cute away dead, damaged and infected tissue from around the site of the wound. needed to be done as soon as possible as infection could spread quickly. after excision wound would be stitched up

28
Q

How many men had lost limbs

A

By 1918 240,000 men had lost limbs many because it was the only way to prevent the spread of infection and death

29
Q

What did the Carrel - Dakin method involve

A

using a sterilised salt solution in the wound through a tube

30
Q

How did the cartel-dakin method come about

A

Antiseptics such as carbolic lotion were ineffective when treating gas gangrene

31
Q

When was it agreed that the carrel dakin method was the most affective alternative to antiseptics

A

1917

32
Q

What was the problem with gangrene that the Thomas Splint helped solve

A

By the time the wounded men got to the CCS he would have lost a great deal of blood and was likely to have already developed gangrene.

33
Q

What did a splint do

A

Stop joints from moving

34
Q

Who developed the Thomas Splint

A

Thomas Jones and his nephew Robert Jones

35
Q

Where did Robert Jones get sent to and where

A

In December 1915 he was sent to Boulogne to instruct medial practicioners on how to use the Thomas Splint.

36
Q

How did the Thomas Splint affect survival rate

A

Increased survival rate for types of wound from 20% to 82%

37
Q

What was the chance of survival for men with a gunshot wound to the leg

A

In 1914 and 1915 men with a gunshot wound to the leg, only had a 20% chance of survival

38
Q

What was the main use of x-rays in the war

A

To identify shell fragments and bullets in wounds, which, if not removed could cause infection

39
Q

Problems with the use of X-rays

A

Could not detect all objects in the body like fragments of clothing
The wounded man had to stay still for several minutes
The tubes used were fragile and could get heated very quickly so machines could only be used for around an hour each time which posed a problem when there was a major offensive going on, sdo three machines were in rotation.

40
Q

When was the advancement in X-rays

A

1913 there was an advancement in the technology of the tubes but was not available to the RAMC until 1917

41
Q

Who pioneered blood transfusions and storage

A

Canadian doctor Lawrence Bruce Robertson

42
Q

How did Lawrence Bruce Robertson stop the wounded going into shock before surgery

A

Used the indirect method of usinf a syringe and tube to transfer the blood to the patient

43
Q

When was the use of blood transfusions extended

A

As blood transfusion proved so successful at the Base Hospital by 1917 blood transfusions were being administered in the CCS.

44
Q

Who designed a portable blood transfusion kit

A

Geoffrey Keynes

45
Q

What was the portable blood transfusion kit used it for

A

To provide blood transfusions close to the frontline

46
Q

What led Gillies to explore facial reconstruction

A

Head injuries that might not kill could cause severe disfigurement

47
Q

How many operations had been carried out for plastic surgery after the war

A

nearly 12000

48
Q

What percentage of all wounds in the British sector of the Western Front were to the head, face and neck

A

20%

49
Q

Why were brain injuries very likely to prove fatal at the start of the war

A
  • the issue of infection applied to the brain as well as the rest of the body
  • difficulties in moving men with head injuries through the chain of evacuation as they were often unconscious of confused
  • doctors were inexperienced in neurosurgery
50
Q

Where was the RAP generally located

A

Within 200m of the frontline in communication trenches or deserted buildings

51
Q

What was the purpose of Regimental Aid Posts

A

To give immediate first aid to get as many men back to the front line as possible

52
Q

Limitation of the RAP

A

couldn’t deal with serious injuries

53
Q

Where were base hospitals usually located

A

Near the French and Belgian coast sp that the wounded were treated.

54
Q

What were the 2 types of base hospitals

A
  • the stationary hospital
  • general hospital
55
Q

What were base hospitals responsible for

A

For continuing treatment that was begun in the CCS, before men were either returned back to Britain

56
Q

When were 3 new base hospitals opened and how many beds did they have

A

In 1917 three new base hospitals opened with a total of 2500 beds

57
Q

What techniques were used in Base hospitals

A
  • dividing patients up into different wards according to their wounds
58
Q

Where was the CCS stations located

A

A sufficient distance from the frontline to provide some safety against attack but close enough to be accessible by ambulance wagons. Located near railway lines to allow the next stage of chain of evacuation to take place quickly

59
Q

What would the CCS closest to the frontline focus on treating

A

People with critical injuries

60
Q

Where were CCS often set up

A

Buildings such as factories or schools

61
Q

What categories were the wounded split into in the CCS

A
  • the walking wounded
  • those in need of hospital treatment
  • those who were so severely wounded that there was no chance of recovery
62
Q

What percentage of wounded that were were emitted to the CCS died

A

3.7%

63
Q

What does CCS stand for

A

casualty clearing stations

64
Q

What were FANY used for

A

To transport the wounded troops by ambulance in the calais region
allowed women to participate in the front line

65
Q

What did FANY stand for

A

first aid nursing yeomanry

66
Q

Why did the FANY work in mainly France and Belgium

A

Because the British would not make use of them they decided to devote their energies into helping France and Belgium

67
Q

need to fill this in using textbook o

A