WW1 medicine on the western front 1914-1918

Question 1

when did Britain declare war on Germany

Answer 1

4th Augusts 1914

Question 2

when did the first battle of Ypres happen and what happened

Answer 2

October - November 1914
the British managed to hold onto Ypres, which was vital in maintaining access and control of the English channel ports, but the Germans gained ground

Question 3

when did battle of hill 60 happen and what happened

Answer 3

April 1915
the British tunnelled into and under the hill and exploded five mines from the tunnels, which enabled them to take the hill

Question 4

when did the second battle of Ypres happen and what happened

Answer 4

April - May 1915
the Germans made very slight gains towards Ypres, the battle was notable as being the first time chlorine gas was used, it was first used by Germans

Question 5

when did the third battle of Ypres happen and what happened

Answer 5

July - November 1917
the British used a creeping barrage to make small gains to break out of the Ypres salient, the awful weather left the ground waterlogged and many drowned

Question 6

what did the battle of Cambrai happen and what happened

Answer 6

November -December 1917
this battle was notable or the first to use large-scale use of tanks, which were successful but were not backed up so the British were forced back

Question 7

when did the battle of Arras happen and what happened

Answer 7

April - May 1917
1916 British linked and expanded underground tunnels, quarries and caves for the shelter and movement of troops
the tunnels were used to launch the battle which ended with a little progress and high number of casualties on both sides

Question 8

when did the battle of Sommes happen and what happened

Answer 8

July - November 1916
notable for extremely high number of causalities on both sides, the battle on both sides saw two new strategies by the British , the creeping barrage and the first use of tanks - both with little impact

Question 9

name three aspects of the trench system

Answer 9

any three
trenches formed zig-zag patterns
all three rows of the trenches were linked by communication trenches
the support trenches was where troops would retreat to from the front lines
dugouts were holes in the side of the trench for thr the troops to take cover

Question 10

how were early trenches constructed

Answer 10

hurriedly dug by using existing ditches or banks , they were constantly maintained and improved with drains and steps

Question 11

the condition of the terrain heavily depended on weather and the place it was in, give two reasons why moving around could be difficult

Answer 11

the terrains would often be waterlogged, lots of crates and holes from explosions
the trenches themselves were muddy and very crowded

Question 12

name 4 illnesses/types of injuries soldiers faced

Answer 12

trench fever 
gas attacks 
shell shock
trench foot
head injuries 
bullets 
high-explosive shells and shrapnel

Question 13

how did soldiers protect themselves from gas attacks before gas masks

Answer 13

cotton pads soaked in urine

Question 14

what sort of injuries came from gas attacks

Answer 14

(mostly temporary) blindness, coughing and burns

Question 15

what improvements where made to prevent head injuries in 1915

Answer 15

soldiers soft cap where swapped for Brodie helmets

Question 16

what were most head injuries caused by

Answer 16

shrapnel

Question 17

what were the symptoms of shell shock

Answer 17

fatigue, tremor, confusion, nightmares and impaired sight and hearing

Question 18

when were victims of shell shock usually diagnosed

Answer 18

when a soldier was unable to function and no obvious cause could be identified

Question 19

what were some sufferers of shell shock accused of

Answer 19

cowardice

Question 20

what were the symptoms of trench fever

Answer 20

flu-like symptoms which lasted for months and keep reoccurring

Question 21

what type of diseases was trench fever

Answer 21

a louse-borne disease

Question 22

how were sufferers of trench fever treated

Answer 22

in 1918 since its louse-borne they were deloused

Question 23

what was the cause of trench foot

Answer 23

standing in waterlogged trenches

Question 24

what could trench foot lead to

Answer 24

gangrene which would be treated by amputation

Question 25

what things were done to prevent soldiers from getting trench foot

Answer 25

they were given whale oil and spare socks
also pumps were installed to drain trenches and duckboards were added for soldiers to step on to keep their feet above water

Question 26

what was responsible for most deaths

Answer 26

high-explosive shells and shrapnel

Question 27

why were wound infections are big problem

Answer 27

the soil on the western front contained tetanus and gas gangrene bacteria which would enter the wound

Question 28

what treatments were available for wound infections

Answer 28

late 1914 soldiers got tetanus injections but there was no prevention for gas gangrene

Question 29

who were the main medical workers

Answer 29

RAMC , the Royal army medical corps and FANY , the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
the RAMC were medical workers
FANY were volunteers who drive ambulances, cooked and cleaned

Question 30

what was the Thompson’s cave

Answer 30

an underground hospital at arras, it was very close to the front line in the tunnels under the town

Question 31

what did the underground hospital have

Answer 31

700 hospital beds, an operation theatre and mortuary as well as running water and electricity

Question 32

give four problems with transport

Answer 32

difficult terrain which meant only stretcher-bearers and horse wagons could be used
many railroads and roads had been destroyed
constant shelling and artillery fire made recovery of the injured very difficult
initially, no motors ambulances were sent and there was not enough horses to cope

Question 33

what helped with getting more motor ambulances

Answer 33

public appeal in Britain raised money for 512 motor ambulances

Question 34

what are the four stages of the chain evacuation

Answer 34

1) the regimental aid post
2) field ambulance
3) casualty clearing station
4) base hospital

Question 35

what happens at each of the four stages of chain evacuation

Answer 35

1) close to the front line, gives first aid helped by stretcher-bearers sends more serious injuries to next stage
2) mobile unit for the RAMC, which set up the dressing station, in derelict buildings, dugouts or tents, stations were staffed with medical workers, orderlies, stretcher-bearers and nurses, serious cases were sent straight to the next station
3) the CCS (casualty clearing station) they were larger and better equipped, situated several miles from the western front, with doctors and nurses who prioritised life threatening injuries
4) situated near ports on the coast, had many medical staff ,including doctors who specialised in certain treatments, patients could stay for some time before being sent back to the front line or home by ship for further treatments

Question 36

name the three important developments in medicine in the 20th century

Answer 36

x-rays
blood transfusion
aseptic surgery

Question 37

who discovered the x-ray

Answer 37

Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895

Question 38

what were the problems with the early x-ray machine

Answer 38

photography was at an early stage so taking x-rays required keeping still for a long time
high doses of radiation were released and patients were burnt and lost hair
large machines were to heavy to be moved easily

Question 39

when was the first blood transfusion performed and what was the problem with it

Answer 39

17th , doctors carried out blood transfusions between humans and animals but people rarely survived

Question 40

who performed the first human to human blood transfusion, when and what was the problem

Answer 40

James Blundell between 1818 ad 1829
blood has to be transferred directly from donor to recipient as it couldn’t be stored, and only half the patients survived because of lack of knowledge of blood groups

Question 41

who discovered blood groups, when

Answer 41

Karl Landsteiner in 1901 discovered three blood groups , in 1902 his colleagues discovered a fourth, they discovered that blood transfusions only work between people of the same blood group

Question 42

whose work helped the establishment of aseptic surgery

Answer 42

Joseph Lister

Question 43

what helped with preventing wounds getting infected at the dressing station and CCS

Answer 43

1917 carrel-dakin method of running salt solution through the wound by tubes

Question 44

what happened when the wound was deep and very infected

Answer 44

surgery was developed to remove damaged tissue a well as traces of bullets or shrapnel

Question 45

why were blood transfusions limited

Answer 45

the blood couldn’t be stored and blood loss led to shock which often caused death to patients

Question 46

who discovered how to store blood, when and how

Answer 46

Richard Lewisohn in 1915, discovered that adding sodium citrate to blood stopped it clotting so it could be stored and Richard Weil stored it in refrigerators to store fro much longer

Question 47

what discovery meant blood could be stored for much longer, and who by

Answer 47

adding citrate glucose to blood in 1916 by Francis Rous and James Turner

Question 48

why was the battle of Cambrai important advancement for blood transfusions

Answer 48

Oswald Hope Robertson stored 22 units of blood in the first ‘blood depot’ which he used to treat Canadian soldiers suffering from shock and demonstrating its potential

Question 49

what was the Thomas Splint

Answer 49

1915 the Thomas splint kept the leg rigid reducing blood loss, death rate dropped from 80% to 20%

Question 50

why was the number of brain and facial injuries help

Answer 50

the number of brain injuries meant having to develop new techniques which improved success rates and the number of facial injuries led to huge improvements in plastic surgery led by Harold Gillies

Question 51

why were x-rays essential before operations

Answer 51

it helped locate th bullets and shrapnel before operating

Question 52

what were the limitations of mobile x-ray machines

Answer 52

the images were not as clear as those from the static machines