Worksheet On Life In The Trenches From Active History Flashcards
Joining up:
Give three reasons why so many men chose to join the army in 1914
Some because they were patriotic
Some are scared of being given white feathers
Some like the idea of of foreign travel - pals battalion
Training:
How did trench warfare come about (why they fought the war in trenches)
Basically, weaponry had become so powerful, that both sides had to dig down in the ground like moles, to stop being blown to smithereens
Up the line:
Why did the trenches smell so much
Because of mess from the toilets and rotting bodies and muddy swamps
Dugouts:
Why were the German dugouts better than the French and English ones
As they were happy to keep the land and because ‘they’d already won’, they’d have quite splendid dugouts
Stand-to (dawn):
What is stand-to
Each morning and evening, soldiers would stand on the firestep, bayonets attached and rifle ready to to defend trench from attack
Morning duties:
What sorts of duties were men given to fill time during the day
Several men were sent to fetch supplies and rations from the rear, others filled sandbags, fixed duckboards and cleaned out latrines/toilets
Snipers:
How did snipers do their jobs
When a soldier stands up on a firestep, they’d shoot at the soldier and most of the time, kill him. They also snuck into no-mans land wearing camouflage and taking cover they’d wait for a British soldier to pop their head above the parapet then shoot
Writing home:
What law allowed officers to censor letters written by soldiers
The defence of realm act
Writing home:
Why were letters censored
As they can’t give away army secrets and damage civilian morale back home with complaints about trench life
Wipers times:
What was the wipers times
The funny newspaper produced by the soldiers
Sentry duty:
What happened to men who fell asleep on sentry duty and why was the penalty so harsh
They got put on court martial and possibly sentenced to death by the firing squad
The penalty was so harsh as your on sentry duty to protect yourself and everyone else and one mistake could be costly and also to make an example of them
Summer: rats:
Why were rats such a problem in the summer
As the rats breed like rabbits and one pair can produce 880 offspring each year
Autumn: lice:
Why were lice such a problem for the soldiers in the trenches
As they had no way of washing, so everyone was covered.
Lice also carried trench fever and if you caught it, it could stop you fighting.
It was hard to sleep when covered in lice.
Trench fever accounted to 15% of all illness in the army
Winter: trenchfoot:
What were the symptoms of trench foot and how could you try to avoid getting it
The symptoms were that feet would go numb and skin would turn red or blue. You could try to avoid getting it by changing your socks everyday and rubbing your feet with whale oil
The battle of the Somme:
Why were the ‘tommies’ ordered to walk across no mans land at a walking pace
Because going any faster could cause you to fall over in the mud and slow you down or worse get yourself killed by drowning, plus it’s quieter if walking
