The Western Front Germanys plan didnt work and France and Germany faced many months in a Stalemate Forced to settle in for the winter both sides built trenches Trench Warfare Trenches were like a maze stretching for miles ID: 780258
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Slide1
Over the Top
WWI:Trench Warfare
Slide2The Western Front
Germany’s plan didn’t work and France and Germany faced many months in a
Stalemate.
Forced to settle in for the winter, both sides built trenches.
Slide3Trench Warfare
Trenches were like a maze stretching for miles.
This network of trenches linked bunker, communications, and gun emplacements.
In these trenches, the soldiers either burned under the sun, or froze during the winter.
Slide4Slide5Slide6Dugouts-
In order to keep their feet dry soldiers dug themselves into the trench walls
Slide7Trench Rats
Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell. If a trench
subsided, or new trenches or dugouts were needed, large numbers of decomposing
bodies would be found just below the surface. These corpses, as well as the food
scraps that littered the trenches, attracted rats. One pair of rats can produce 880
offspring in a year and so the trenches were soon swarming with them.
Some of these rats grew extremely large. One soldier wrote: "The rats were huge.
They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn't defend himself."
These rats became very bold and would attempt to take food from the pockets of
sleeping men. Two or three rats would always be found on a dead body. They usually
went for the eyes first and then they burrowed their way right into the corpse.
One soldier described finding a group of dead bodies while on patrol: "I saw some
rats running from under the dead men's greatcoats, enormous rats, fat with human
flesh. My heart pounded as we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet had
rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the
eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth leapt a rat.
Slide8No Man’s Land
Between the trenches of the opposing sides was No Man’s Land. An area filled with barbed wire, craters, and dead soldiers.
Slide9Often the first sign was that the soldier's breath would become extremely foul. Ulcerations on the papilla, or points between the teeth would cause them to become blunted and gaps would show between the teeth at the roots. Swallowing became painful as lymph nodes in the throat would swell. Eventually, supporting bone would deteriorate.
Treatment during World War I would have consisted of warm saltwater rinses, hydrogen peroxide application or rinses, and, if possible, better food and removal of the patient from the stressful trench area.
Slide10Trench Foot
After the war, Captain G. H. Impey, 7th Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment, wrote about his experiences of trench life.
The trenches were wet and cold and at this time some of them did not have duckboards and dug-outs. The battalion lived in mud and water. Altogether about 200 men were
evacuated for trench feet and rheumatism. Gum boots were provided for the troops in the most exposed positions. Trench feet was still a new ailment and the provision of dry socks was vitally important. Part of the trench was reserved for men to go two at a time, at least once a day, and rub each other's feet with grease.
Slide11Poison Gas
How do we get them out of the trenches?
Tear
– First used by the French against the Germans in 1914. Had very little effect and was not deemed a violation of the Hague Treaty. The Germans used heavy amounts of tear gas against the Russians in 1915. Dissipates quickly
Chlorine – in 1915 the Germans use Chlorine gas, an irritant that causes damage to the eyes, ears, nose, and if prolonged, or untreated, could cause death. Green cloud made it easy to see. Dissipates quickly and depends on the winds
Phosgene
1915 developed by French chemists. It was colorless and odorless so the enemy didn’t know it was coming. Dependent upon the winds, and dissipates quickly.
Mustard
1917 developed by Germany, called the Yellow Cross. Gas disables the enemy and can stay in the soil for three weeks
Slide12WWI Soldier
American doughboys
Russian Soldier
Machineguns
The arrival of the German Maxim 08
Made warfare a bloodier affair
Slide13WWI Weapons
Ground Warfare
The British developed the first tank used in WWI
the tank- a revolutionary tracked armored fighting vehicle, armed with guns.
Renault FT used by the U.S. in WWI
British 1915 prototype the Mark I called the “land ship”
Meant to break the stalemate of trench warfare. Most proved ineffective with the exception of the smaller British models. They were used more in WWII.
Slide14WWI Weapons
Submarines
Unterseeboot
= U-boat
First developed in 1850 by the Germans, the U-boats were used in WWI to attack convoys bringing supplies to the allied powers
British
the British used a one-man prototype called the Turtle in the American Revolutionary War
By WWI the British and the Germans had the largest navy equipped with submarines.
South America
1837
Submarino Hipopótamo
The French
Their design the Nautilus was a failure. They abandoned the project in 1804 (Napoleon people)
American
The Americans began using submarines in the Civil War (1860-1865).
British WWI
American Civil War
Slide15Shellshock
term coined to describe the
reaction of some soldiers in World War I to the
trauma of battle.
It was a reaction to the intensity of the constant bombardment
and fighting that produced:
•
Helplessness
•
panic and being scared
•
flight,
•
inability to reason, sleep, walk or talk.