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The Western Front Flashcards

1
Q

battles on the western front in order (7)

A

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

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2
Q

what happened in the first battle of ypres

A

british hold on to ypres which they needed to have control of english channel ports but germans gained ground

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3
Q

what happened in the battle on hill 60

A

british tunneled into and under the hill and exploded five mines which enabled them to take the hill

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4
Q

what happened in the second battle of ypres

A

germans made gain towards ypres and chlorine gas was used for the first time by Germans

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5
Q

what happened in the battle of the somme

A

high casualties on both sides
2 new strategies used by the british- creeping barrage (slowly moving artillery as a defensive curtain) and first use of tanks- not much impact though

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6
Q

what happened in arras

A

british link and expand underground tunnels that were used to launch this battle
no real progress made
high casualies both sides

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7
Q

what happened in the third battle of ypres (2)

A
  • british use creeping barrage to break out of ypres salient (a narrow area where army pushes front line into enemy territory)
  • awful weather
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8
Q

what happened in cambrai (2)

A
  • first large scale use of tanks
  • successful but not backed up so british forced back
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9
Q

what did communication trenches do?

A

link all three rows

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10
Q

what were dugouts?

A

holes in the side of trenches for cover

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11
Q

what was the support trench?

A

troops would retreat here from the front line

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12
Q

what pattern were trenches in?

A

zigzag

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13
Q

what was the front line?

A

where attacks were launched

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14
Q

what was the reserve trench?

A

troops station here for counter attack

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15
Q

how were trenches constructed?

A

hurriedly
used existing banks and ditches
constantly maintained and improved (drains and steps etc.)

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16
Q

what was terrain like in the trenches? (4)

A
  • varied according to weather conditions
  • difficult to navigate when wet and muddy
  • craters and holes from explosions
  • crowded
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17
Q

true or false? gas attacks were a major cause of death

A

False- it only caused temporary blindness, coughing and burns

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18
Q

what were the effects of gas attacks on soldiers? (3)

A

blindness
coughing
burns

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19
Q

how could soldiers protect themselves from gas attacks? (2)

A
  • gas masks
  • cotton pads soaked with urine (before gas masks)
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20
Q

how common were head injuries

A

unexpectedly common

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21
Q

what was the main cause of head injuries?

A

shrapnel

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22
Q

how did they protect themselves from head injuries and what did they replace it with by late 1915

A

soft caps replaced by brodie helmets

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23
Q

what were brodie helmets?

A

steel combat hat (how you’d picture a generic soldier hat)

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24
Q

what effect did shell shock have on soldiers? (2)

A

mental breakdowns
accused of cowardice

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25
where were sufferers of shell shock treated? (2)
some close to the front line some evacuated to British hospitals
26
how was shell shock treated in ww1? (4)
hypnosis massage electric shock rest
27
what were symptoms of trench fever? (1)
flu-like symptoms that could last for months
28
what caused trench fever?
lice
29
how was trench fever prevented? when did this come into place?
deloused in 1918
30
what caused trench foot?
standing in waterlogged trenches
31
what could bad cases of trench foot lead to?
gangrene
32
how was trench foot treated?
amputation
33
what was provided to try and prevent trench foot? (4)
whale oil spare socks pumps to drain trenches duckboards to keep feet above water
34
how could bullets harm a soldier? (2)
penetrate organs fracture bones
35
which 2 things were responsible for most of the deaths in the trenches?
high-explosive shells shrapnel
36
what could shrapnel do to harm someone? (2)
remove limbs cause major internal injury
37
what was the main reason for blood loss?
explosions
38
how were extensive head wounds treated?
brain surgery facial reconstruction
39
why was infection a major problem?
soil contained tetanus and gas gangrene bacteria
40
how did they prevent tetanus and when?
late 1914, tetanus injections
41
what was the prevention for gas gangrene
there wasnt any
42
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
43
what does FANY stand for and what did they do?
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry and they were responsible for medical care on the battleground
44
which group did the voulenteers come from and what was their mein roles?
FANY voulenteers and they drove ambulances and cooked/ cleaned
45
what did difficult terrain mean for people collecting casualties?
only stretcher bearers or horse wagons could be used
46
how was transport made difficult to and from the battleground?
many roads and raliway lines had been destroyed
47
what factors made recovery particularly difficult?
constant artilery fire and shelling
48
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
49
what was the chain of evacuation? (4)
1. Regimental Aid Post 2. field ambulences and dressing stations 3. casualty clearing stations 4. base hospitals
50
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
51
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
52
who staffed the dressing stations?
medical officers, orderlies and stretcher bearers
53
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
54
which place was the most important until march 1918? what was it after?
CCS and the Base hospitals
55
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
56
what was the underground hospital also known as and hwere was it?
Thompson's cave in Arras
57
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
58
what were the main 3 developments in the early 20th century
x-rays, blood transfusions and aseptic surgery
59
who discovered x-rays?
Wilhelm Roentgen
60
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
61
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
62
what were blood transfusions like in the 17th century?
from animals to humans and people rarely survived
63
who performed the first human-to-human blood transfusion? when?
James Blundell 1818
64
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
65
who discovered three blood groups and when?
Karl Landsteiner in 1901
66
when did Landsteiner's collegues find blood group 4?
1902
67
what was Landsteiner's main conclusion?
blood could only be donated to people of the same blood group
68
whose work led to the establishment of aseptic surgery and when was it established?
Joseph Lister, 1900
69
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
70
who developed the steam sterilizer? when?
robert koch in 1878
71
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
72
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
73
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
74
what was the last resort to treat infections?
amputation
75
what could blood loss lead to?
shock, then death
76
why were blood transfusions limited in 1915?
blood couldnt be stored
77
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
78
what did Richard weil do?
used refrigerators to store blood
79
In 1916, what advancements were made in the storage of blood?
Francis Rous and James Turner added citrate glucose
80
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
81
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)
82
who led developments in plastic surgery? where?
Harold Gillies at the Queens hospital in Kent
83
what were x-rays used for in the war?
locating shrapnel and bullets
84
where were static x-ray machines used in 1914?
base hospitals and some CCS
85
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

Medicine through time (5 decks)

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