The Western Front Flashcards
battles on the western front in order
first battle of Ypres 1914
Battle on hill 60 1915
second battle of ypres 1915
the somme 1916
arras 1917
third battle of ypres 1917
cambrai 1917
what happened in the first battle of ypres
british hold on to ypres which they needed to have control of english channel ports but germans gained ground
what happened in the battle on hill 60
british tunneled into and under the hill and exploded five mines which enabled them to take the hill
what happened in the second battle of ypres
germans made gain towards ypres and chlorine gas was used for the first timme by Germans
what happene din the battle of the somme
high casualties on both sides
2 new strategies used by the british
creeping barrage and first use of tanks- not much impact though
what happened in arras
british link and expand underground tunnels
used to launch battle
no real progress made
high casualies bith sides
what happened in the third battle of ypres
british use creeping barrage to break out of ypres salient
awful weather
what happened in cambrai
first large scale use of tanks
successful but not backed up so british forced back
what did communication trenches do?
link all three rows
what were dugouts?
holes in the side of trenches for cover
what was the support trench?
troops would retreat here from the front line
what pattern were trenches in?
zigzag
what was the front line?
where attacks were launched
what was the reserve trench?
troops station here for counter attack
how were trenches constructed?
hurriedly
used existing banks and ditches
constantly maintained and improved (drains and steps etc.)
what was terrain like in the trenches?
varied according to weather conditions
difficult to navigate when wet and muddy
craters and holes from explosions
crowded
true or false? gas attacks were a major cause of death
False
what were the effects of gas attacks on soldiers? (3)
blindness
coughing
burns
how could soldiers protect themselves from gas attacks? (2)
gas masks
cotton pads soaked with urine (before gas masks)
how common were head injuries
unexpectedly common
what was the main cause of head injuries?
shrapnel
how did they protect themselves from head injuries and what did they replace it with by late 1915
soft caps replaced by brodie helmets
what were brodie helmets?
steel combat hat (how you’d picture a generic soldier hat)
what effect did shell shock have on soldiers? (2)
mental breakdowns
accused of cowardice
where were sufferers of shell shock treated? (2)
some close to the front line
some evacuated to British hospitals
how was shell shock treated in ww1? (4)
hypnosis
massage
electric shock
rest
what were symptoms of trench fever? (1)
flu-like symptoms that could last for months
what caused trench fever?
lice
how was trench fever prevented? when did this come into place?
deloused in 1918
what caused trench foot?
standing in waterlogged trenches
what could bad cases of trench foot lead to?
gangrene
how was trench foot treated?
amputation
what was provided to try and prevent trench foot? (4)
whale oil
spare socks
pumps to drain trenches
duckboards to keep feet above water
how could bullets harm a soldier? (2)
penetrate organs
fracture bones
which 2 things were responsible for most of the deaths in the trenches?
high-explosive shells
shrapnel
what could shrapnel do to harm someone? (2)
remove limbs
cause major internal injury
what was the main reason for blood loss?
explosions
how were extensive head wounds treated?
brain surgery
facial reconstruction
why was infection a major problem?
soil contained tetanus and gas gangrene bacteria
how did they prevent tetanus and when?
late 1914, tetanus injections
what was the prevention for gas gangrene
there wasnt any
what does RAMC stand for and what did they do?
Royal Army Medical Corps and they were responsible for most of the medical care on the battleground
what does FANY stand for and what did they do?
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry and they were responsible for medical care on the battleground
which group did the voulenteers come from and what was their mein roles?
FANY voulenteers and they drove ambulances and cooked/ cleaned
what did difficult terrain mean for people collecting casualties?
only stretcher bearers or horse wagons could be used
how was transport made difficult to and from the battleground?
many roads and raliway lines had been destroyed
what factors made recovery particularly difficult?
constant artilery fire and shelling
what was the initial problem with ambulences and how was this tackled?
not enough motor ambulence or horses- this was tackled by a public appeal in Britain which raised enough money for 512 ambulences
what was the chain of evacuation? (4)
- Regimental Aid Post
- field ambulences and dressing stations
- casualty clearing stations
- base hospitals
what was the regimental aid post?
place near the front line where a medical officer and stretcher bearers administered first aid. serious cases were sent on to the next stage
what was a field ambulance?
mobile medical unit of the RAMC that set up dressing stations and were near the front line in tents, dugouts or derelict buildings.
they could look after men for a week and serious cases were sent to the CCS
who staffed the dressing stations?
medical officers, orderlies and stretcher bearers
what was the CCS
Casualty clearing station- large and well equipped, several miles from front line
staffed by doctors and nurses who prioritised serious injuries they had a survival chance
which place was the most important until march 1918? what was it after?
CCS and the Base hospitals
what were base hospitals?
near ports or coast
many medical staff including specialist doctors
patients could stay for a while before being taken bac to the front lines or were sent home on a ship for further treatment
what was the underground hospital also known as and hwere was it?
Thompson’s cave in Arras
what did the underground hospital have?
near front lines and underneath arras (town)
space for 700 beds
operating theatre
mortuary (room to keep dead bodies)
running water and electricity
what were the main 3 developments in the early 20th century
x-rays, blood transfusions and aseptic surgery
who discovered x-rays?
Wilhelm Roentgen
how were x-rays discovered by Roentgen?
covered a test tube in black paper and rays from the tube lit up a screen so he experimented and found these rays could pass through human flesh but not bone. he tested this with his hand against photographic paper and created the first x-ray image
what were 3 problems with early x-rays?
photography itself was at an early stage so you had to stay still for a long time
high doses of radiation caused patient hairloss and burns
machines too large and heavy to be moved easily
what were blood transfusions like in the 17th century?
from animals to humans and people rarely survived
who performed the first human-to-human blood transfusion? when?
James Blundell 1818
what was a problem with early blood transfusdion?
blood couldnt be stored so had to be transfered from person to person directly so the survival rate was around half
who discovered three blood groups and when?
Karl Landsteiner in 1901
when did Landsteiner’s collegues find blood group 4?
1902
what was Landsteiner’s main conclusion?
blood could only be donated to people of the same blood group
whose work led to the establishment of aseptic surgery and when was it established?
Joseph Lister, 1900
what did aseptic surgery involve? (5)
operating theatres and wards thoroughly cleaned
surgeons and nurses wore sterilised clothing
sterile cloths covered surfaces
masks to prevent infecting a wound
rubber gloves
steam sterilizer
who developed the steam sterilizer? when?
robert koch in 1878
what was the problem with aseptic surgery in CCS?
most of the wounds were already infected and it was impossible to get a sterile envoronment there
what technique was found to be more effective to treat infections? when was it discovered?
Carrel-Dakin method- sterilized salt moved using tubes through the wound
when didn’t the Carrel-Dakin method work? what was done instead?
didnt work on infections deep in the body
surgery developed to remove damaged tissue and removing traces of shrapnel
what was the last resort to treat infections?
amputation
what could blood loss lead to?
shock, then death
why were blood transfusions limited in 1915?
blood couldnt be stored
who found a way to stop blood clotting, what was it and when?
Richard Lewisohn found that adding sodium citrate stopped clotting and allowed a short storage time in 1915
what did Richard weil do?
used refrigerators to store blood
In 1916, what advancements were made in the storage of blood?
Francis Rous and James Turner added citrate glucose
what was done in preperation for the battle of cambrai 1917?
Oswald Hope Robertson stored 22 units of blood in the first ‘blood depot’ and used it to treat [atients from the battle efectively
what was the Thomas splint and why was it effective?
kept the leg steady in ambulances and prevented blood loss which reduced the death rate to 20% from 80% (previously one of the main killers)
who led developments in plastic surgery? where?
Harold Gillies at the Queens hospital in Kent
what were x-rays used for in the war?
locating shrapnel and bullets
where were static x-ray machines used in 1914?
base hospitals and some CCS
what was a drawback with mobile x-ray units used closer to the front lines?
their image was not as clear but still prevented many deaths
