trenches 2 Flashcards
how mines where used
One feature was…
Mines were placed by sappers.
A job of a sapper was to tunnel out into no man’s land and place mines that the enemy would step on.
A second feature was…
Mines were used to build tunnels.
The British knew that exploding into the hillside would surprise the Germans and weaken their attack potential.
the development around arras
One feature was…
Network of caves and quarries were built.
This was to coordinate the British, Canadian and New Zealand armies in a 1917 attack on German forces.
A second feature was…
Network of caves allowed for the building on an Underground Hospital.
This stopped problems with the chain of evacuation and allowed soldiers with severe injuries to be treated straight away.
how the environment created problems for medical staff
One feature was... The Doctors (RAMC) had to deal with lots of severely injured very quickly.
A second feature was... The Nurses (FANY) were ignored by the British at first - because they were women - meaning they ended up treating Belgian soldiers.
communication and transport issues
One feature was…
The mud made the horsedrawn ambulances sent by the British government impossible to use.
The British public raised money to send motor ambulances in 1915.
A second feature was…
There were four stretcher bearers per unit of men.
The thick mud made it very difficult for stretcher bearers to do their job.
illness in trenches
One feature was…
A common illness was trench fever.
Trench fever was caused by lice covering the body and hair and biting skin. Their bites would lead to a fever and sickness.
A second feature was…
A common illness was trench foot.
This was caused by water getting into boots that would not be taken off for months at a time. The dirty water infected feet and led to gangrene infections on the feet.
injury in trenches
One feature was…
A common injury was head wounds.
After the soldiers were given (Brodie) helmets in 1915, head wounds went down by 80%.
A second feature was…
A common injury was shrapnel wounds.
Shrapnel is hot metal that would jam into the skin and cause gangrene infection.
how people tried to prevent illness
One feature was…
Soldiers would rub oil on their feet.
Soldiers would rub whale oil as they thought this would protect against muddy conditions.
A second feature was…
In 1918 delousing stations were set up.
Soldiers would have their bodies and equipments washed to try to prevent the spread of lice.
gas attacks
One feature was…
Chlorine and phosgene gas made it difficult to breathe.
A sensation was created where it felt like you were drowing. Phosgene would kill you faster.
A second feature was…
Mustard gas made you blind and caused blisters on the skin.
The gas had no smell, which made the attacks very deadly and damaging.
stretcher bearers
One feature was…
Muddy conditions meant stretcher bearers were slow.
The slowness of stretcher bearers slowed down the speed of evacuating injuried soldiers.
A second feature was…
Stretcher bearers were in constant danger.
Stretcher bearers had to cross no-man’s land meaning they could easily get shot.
ambulances
One feature was…
The government sent horse ambulances at first.
In the muddiest conditions, it took six horses to pull an ambulance cart.
A second feature was…
Canal barges and trains were modified to become ambulances.
Eventually, operating theatres were built on train ambulances.
the chain of evacuation
One feature was…
The Regimental Aid Post was close to the fighting.
Dressing stations were a mile back from these to deal with injuries that could be bandaged up.
A second feature was…
Further back still was the Casualty Clearing Station. These were in nicer buildings with nicer equipment to deal with more serious injuries.
The worst injured were sent to Base Hospitals on the coast.
