Western Front: medical problems

Question 1

What caused trench foot?

Answer 1

Long immersion of the feet in cold, muddy water

Question 2

What were the symptoms of trench foot?

Answer 2

Blackening and death of surface tissue around the feet, numbness, swelling and blisters

Question 3

What condition set in during the second stage of trench foot?

Answer 3

Gangrene

Question 4

Give three ways soldiers tried to prevent trench foot

Answer 4

Rubbing whale oil into feet

Changing socks twice a day

Mechanical pumps to pump water out of the trenches

Question 5

If gangrene developed, what was the only solution to trench foot?

Answer 5

Amputation

Question 6

What proportion of its men did the 27th Division of the British Army lose to trench foot in the winter of 1914-15?

Answer 6

One-sixth (2,000 men)

Question 7

What are the symptoms of trench fever?

Answer 7

Headaches, shivering, recurring joint pain

Question 8

What caused trench fever?

Answer 8

Lice

Question 9

In what year was the link between trench fever and lice scientifically proven?

Answer 9

1918

Question 10

How long would men spend in hospital with trench fever?

Answer 10

At least a month

Question 11

Give three ways soldiers tried to prevent trench fever on the Western Front

Answer 11

Any three from:

Deep-cleaning uniforms

Bathhouses were built for soldiers to wash themselves

Soldiers were given a louse-repellent gel to put on their clothes and bodies

Machines were sent to the front which used steam to disinfect clothing and bedding

Picking the lice out one by one by hand

Question 12

What name was given to the process of soldiers picking out lice from their clothing by hand?

Answer 12

Delousing

Question 13

What percentage of men in the British 2nd Army were deemed unfit for duty with trench fever between July 1917 and July 1918?

Answer 13

15 per cent

Question 14

How many British soldiers died from gas attacks on the Western Front?

Answer 14

6,000

Question 15

In what month and year were British soldiers given gas masks on the Western Front?

Answer 15

July 1915

Question 16

What method was used to prevent the effects of a gas attack before gas masks were issued to soldiers?

Answer 16

Cotton pads soaked in urine pressed to the soldiers’ faces

Question 17

What gas was first used in 1917?

Answer 17

Mustard gas

Question 18

Why were gas masks useless against mustard gas?

Answer 18

Mustard gas caused internal and external blisters and passed through clothing to burn the skin

Question 19

Why were gas attacks a nightmare for those treating the wounded?

Answer 19

It caused short-term effects like blindness and coughing that meant soldiers clogged up treatment areas

Question 20

What steps did doctors take to treat soldiers suffering from a gas attack?

Answer 20

Gave them oxygen and washed the skin thoroughly to remove traces of poison gas

Question 21

What is shellshock better known as today?

Answer 21

PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)

Question 22

How many British soldiers experienced shellshock on the Western Front?

Answer 22

80,000

Question 23

What attitude did generals take to shellshock cases at the start of the war?

Answer 23

They accused soldiers of being cowards and some soldiers were shot

Question 24

What attitude did generals take to shellshock cases as the war progressed?

Answer 24

Soldiers were treated more sympathetically - they were given rest, food and talks to calm them down

Question 25

By 1917, what would happen to a soldier if they had shellshock as a result of an explosion?

Answer 25

They were sent to a hospital

Question 26

What is dysentery?

Answer 26

A disease involving the inflammation of the lining of the large intestine

Question 27

What are the symptoms of dysentery?

Answer 27

Stomach pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever

Question 28

Why was dysentery common in the trenches?

Answer 28

The trenches had poor sanitation and soldiers drank dirty water

Question 29

What was added to water to purify it and prevent dysentery?

Answer 29

Chloride of lime

Question 30

What headgear did soldiers wear on the Western Front in 1914?

Answer 30

A soft cap

Question 31

What was introduced in 1915 to protect soldiers against head injuries?

Answer 31

The Brodie helmet

Question 32

By how much did the Brodie helmet reduce fatal head wounds on the Western Front?

Answer 32

80%

Question 33

What material was carried into the body alongside shell fragments that led to infection?

Answer 33

Muddy clothing and soil

Question 34

What were most Western Front battlefields used for before the First World War?

Answer 34

Farming

Question 35

Why did infection have time to develop in soldiers’ wounds?

Answer 35

The casualties lay in No Man’s Land for a long time before they were rescued

Question 36

What was the main infection that caused deaths and amputations on the Western Front?

Answer 36

Gas gangrene

Question 37

How quickly could gas gangrene kill a person?

Answer 37

One day