Western Front Flashcards
When and where did the battle for Hill 60 happen?
Ypres - 1915
What happened at the battle for Hill 60?
Germans created 60m hill - fire down at Allies
What was used for the 1st time at the battle for Hill 60?
poison gas - causing mass Allied casualities
What were the conditions of the trenches at the Battle of Ypres? Why?
waterlogged & flooded - low lying ground
How many Allied casualities were there at the Battle of the Somme? When?
100,000 - 1916
How many tanks were used at Cambrai against the Germans? When?
450 - 1917
What were the trenches made out of?
large banks earth supprtd. by wooden planks
What type of injury was most common in the trenches? Why?
head was most exposed when stood up
What percentages of time for soldiers were spent at which area of the trench?
15% - front line
10% - support
45% - comms.
30% - reserve
How far away was the support trench from the front line?
10 - 20m
How responsible were shrapnel & shells for wounds?
58%
How far could rifles fire?
500m
What was ‘gas gangrene’?
fired bullet enter solider’s body taking with it fabric of uniform covered in fertilised soil = infection
How long did ‘gas gangrene’ take to spread and kill?
1 day
When was chlorine gas first used? Who by?
1915 - Germans
How many days could phosgene gas kill within?
2
What sort of injury did mustard gas cause?
internal & external blisters
What was trench fever caused by?
greybacks dirty clothing
What were the symptoms of trench fever?
shivering, pain & headachs.
What was trench foot caused by?
standing constantly waterlogged trenches
How was trench foot prevented?
changing socks 2x day
What was NYD.N/shell shock?
‘not yet diagnosed nervousness’
Why did NYD.N cause problems?
army commanders feared it’d spread
How many recorded cases were there of shell shock?
80,000
What was the order for the chain of evacuation?
- stretcher bearers
- RAP
- motor amblncs.
- CCS
- Hospital train
- Base hospitals
What did stretcher bearers do?
recover wounded & carried basic medical supplies eg. morphine
What did the RAP do?
team of 30 orderlies & stretcher bearers per battalion
What did the Motor ambulances?
seriously wounded -> to CCS
What did the CCS do? How many casualities did they have at a time?
contained operating theatres, x rays, beds
1000
What did the hospital train do?
from CCS -> base hospital
What did the base hospital do?
held up to 2500
specialist units for gas victims
Where were soliders sent after the chain of evacuation?
either sent to hospital Britain or front line
What was the problem with plastic surgery during WW1?
facial wound from shrapnel = big risk infection
What was the improvement with plastic surgery?
skin grafts & new techniques
What was the impact of plastic surgery’s improvements?
successful treatment & rehab
What was the problem with brain surgery during WW1?
head injuries = common
What was the improvement of brain surgery?
surgeons developed technique eg. using blood transfusions
What was the impacts of brain surgery’s improvement?
survival rate increased
What did the RAMC do?
kept men healthy/ treated wounded
How many soldiers had the RAMC looked after by 1918?
113,000
What did the FANY do?
carried supplies to front line eg. food supplies
Who were FANY?
First Aid Nursing Yeomanry - women who acted as ambulance drivers & nurses
What was the problem with treating wounds and infections on the front line?
wounds = alrdy infected bc of time & mud
What were the improvements around treating wounds and infections?
Carrel - Dakin method: tubes filled w antiseptic inserted -> wound
What were the benefits of the Carrel-Dakin
method?
stopped infection = reducd amputations
What was the problem before mobile x ray machines?
bullets & shrapnel needed -> be located quickly
How did mobile x ray machines improve medicine on the front line?
helped locate foreign objects quickly so surgeons could remove
What were the benefits of mobile x ray machines?
reduce #( rates from infctn
What were the problems to do with the storage of blood?
doctors = unsure how to store blood without it clotting
How was the storage of blood improved?
Lewisohn added sodium citrate -> prevent clotting
What were the benefits of the improved blood storage?
↑ blood trnsfsns = saved many lives
