What are the 4 key locations for the British Sector on the Western Front?

The Germans were on high ground and could therefore see the allied movements 

Why did the Germans have an advantage during the battle of Ypres?

The British trenches were low-lying, water-logged and muddy 

Why did the British have a disadvantage during the battle of Ypres?

Battlefield area surround on 3 sides by the enemy 

Salient definition (Ypres is an example of this)

It was the first time gas was used as a weapon - the Germans were the first to use it and they used chlorine gas

What was the significance of the second battle of Ypres?

Battle was thought under extreme conditions. The ground was waterlogged and extremely muddy! 245,000 British  casualties in total many occurred purely because of muddy conditions.

Signifance of the third battle of Ypres (Passchendaele)

Extremely high casualty rate - 60,000 British casualties and 20,000 men died just on the first day of battle.

400,000 allied casualties in total (put lots of pressure in medical services)

Total casualties of the battle of the Somme?

Chalky terrain meant allied soldiers dug a network of tunnels below Arras.

They could dig underground rooms with running water and electricity used for safety and secrecy.

What type of building was dug into Arras that was important for soldiers?

How many British casualties occurred at Arras?

Robertson set up a blood bank at Cambrai before the battle of Cambrai this meant there was enough blood supply for transfusions.

Medical significance of the battle of Cambrai?

First major use of tanks (450 totalled by allies)

War weapons significance of the battle of Cambrai?

Stretcher bearers —> Regimental aid post —> Field ambulance & dressing stations —> Casualty clearing stations —> base hospitals 

Fetched the wounded from trenches and no man’s land. They had limited resources e.g bandages and pain relief (morphine)

Very dangerous conditions as they were often under fire

- Limited by basic supplies                  - Only 16 bearers per 1000 men            - In muddy conditions it took 6-8 bearers to carry a stretcher               - Injured had to wait hours or days  to be rescued 

Main problems stretcher bearers faced (4 main issues)

In the front line trench or close behind. Normally in a dug-out or behind a wall.

Batallion medical officers, they bandaged minor wounds and sent people back to the front. But for more severe wounds they were given pain relief and sent to dressing stations.

Who run the regimental aid posts and what was their role?

- They were dirty and poorly lit         - Very dangerous as they were under fire a lot of the time                    - Only one medical officer per battalion (1000 men) and a smell team of assistants (often stretcher bearers)

Problems with the regimental aid posts (RAP)

Who run the field ambulance and dressing stations?

Mobile teams of doctors, assistants and from 1915 nurses.

Tents,derelict buildings - about a mile behind the front line.

Wounded soldiers by dressing their wounds and severe cases would be sent on to causality clearing stations my motor/horse drawn ambulances.

Lack of ambulances to take the wounded from dressing stations to casualty clearing stations.

Transportation was much slower which could cost lives.

what was the significance of a lack of ambulances?

Large tents or huts 10 miles from the front line.

Team of seven doctors and several nurses. They did operations and often these would be amputations.

Who ran the Clearing stations and how did they treat people?

Had operating theatres, mobile x-ray machines,wards, toilets and kitchens.

What were casualty clearing station’s equipment with that made things easier?

A triage system - which was used to divide casualties into categories: minor, critical wounds and hopeless cases

What system was used in the casualty clearing stations and what did they do?

Could deal with 1,000 patients at a time which meant that things could easily become overwhelmed.

Problems with the casualtie clearing stations:

Civillian hospitals near railway lines, far from the front.They received serious cases by train,motor ambulance or barge.

What were base hospitals/ what was the location of them?

Teams of doctors,surgeons who did operations and treated severe injuries.

What were base hospital’s equipment with?

What was the maximum number of patients available to be treated by base hospitals?

Laboratories to identify infection,operating theatres,x-ray departments, specialist centres e.g for treating gas injuries.

What other resources did these hospitals have?

Transport from the casualty clearing stations was painful and slow (time delay in getting to base hospitals)

What was one of the main reasons injuries were caused during war? 

One of the main problems with war wounds was…

Artilellery shells,rifles,machine guns and shrapnel.

Examples of weaponry causing these wounds 

Some preventions of war wounds include…

bacteria from the soil getting into wounds 

Sweet smelling wounds swollen with gas, turning white then green.

Why were antiseptic dressings ineffective?

Temporary blindness, loss of taste, coughing and skin irritation.

Washing gas off the skin and giving oxygen.

Soldiers urinated on hankies and held it over their faces.

Alternative ways soldiers attempted to deal with this:

Body lice in clothing and shared blankets.

Flu-like symptoms. Fever,headaches and joint pain lasting for 5 days.

What was originally used to cure trench fever that proved ineffective?

Passing electric current through areas in the body 

What percentage of men were seen unfit to fight due to trench fever by 1918?

- Damp conditions e.g waterlogged trenches or poor drainage.               - Tight boots which stopped blood flow                                                       - Lack of time to change socks

Numb,swollen and painful feet. Severe cases lead to gangrene and therefore amputation.

Cleaning and drying feet. Severe cases with gangrene lead to amputations.

Encouraged to change socks twice a day and whale oil rubbed onto feet to protect.

Shell shock was a psychological illness caused by the stress of shell explosions, sniper fire and risk of death.

Tiredness, nightmares, shaking and mental breakdowns.

Rest,food and talking to friends.Some hospitals even opened specialist centres for it.

How many soldiers approximately suffered with shell shock?

Aseptic surgery was impossible and soldiers were already infected with fragment of mud and clothing in their wounds by the time they were treated.

Problems with treating wounds and infection on the western front:

Debridement - cutting away damaged and infected tissues.             The Carrel-Dakin Method (1917)   Amputations (this was the last resort) 

Solutions to the issues surrounding treating wounds and infection on the western front:

Putting a sterilised slat solution into the wound through a tube.

The solution only lasted about 6 hours.This meant it had to be made when it was needed.

Reduction in amputation operations but by 1918 240,000 men had lost limbs.

Impact of these solutions on treating wounds and infections.

They often were compound fractures (broken bone pierced skin)

What was the major  issue with gunshot and shrapnel injuries?

The caused major blood loss, only 20% survival rate.

Why were compound fracture wounds a major issue?

Thomas splint (1916) : a brace that pulled leg straight to stop bones grinding and this reduced bleeding. This was taught to all medical officers at RAPs and dressing stations were trained to use it.

Prevented bleeding while the patient was being transported to CCs for surgery. This increased the survival rate to 82%

Transfusions had to be done person to person which was not possible on the battlefield.Storing blood was another issue as it clots up when it leaves the body.

Problem with blood transfusions at the start of the war:

1915: added sodium citrade to blood which allows blood to be stored for 2 days. 1916 citrate glucose was added to blood and allowed blood to be stored for 4 weeks.Blood banks set up by governments e.g blood bank in Cambrai (1917). Portabke machines for storing blood could be used near the front line.

Not enough machines and they overheated quickly and had to be left to cool down.

Issues with x-ray machines at the start of the war: 

more machines produced and they made them mobile by transporting them in trucks.

1916 most CCs had x-ray machines, all hospitals —> soldiers could be treated really quickly.

Surgeons lacked experience with dealing with facial wounds.

Problems with plastic surgery at the start of the war 

1915 skin grafts-  which was covering wounds by using another part of the body. 

He set up a specialist centre at Queens hospital Kent.

What did Harold Gillies do when it came to facial wounds?

1915 :  11,000 reconstructive operations completed.

Lengthy, complex and dangerous surgery. Often meaning soldiers would not survive.

Problem with brain surgery at the start of the war.

Harvey Cushing came up with a surgical magnet which removed metal fragment from the brain. Other surgeons discovered using rubber bands on heads limited bleeding. Finally local anaesthetic was used instead of general anaesthetic.

Medicine Paper Edexcel exam board - key information on the western front, for section A

Western front - medicine

Flashcards

Weimar Consstitution - strengths and weaknesses

Why the Weimar Republic was unpopular

success and failures of the League Of Nations

Treaty of Versailles

crime and punishment keywords gcse

Treaty of Versailles Revision notes