Trench Warfare

Trench Warfare on the Western Front

Most of the fighting on the Western Front was carried out from trenches. The design, organisation and construction of trenches in World War I is described below:

Trench design

Usually, trenches were dug below ground, with the upper level just above the surface and 'fortified' (protected) using hundreds of sandbags.
But, in wet areas, trenches were built upwards using 'breastworks' (sandbags full of clay).
Most trenches were 6 feet deep. It was a trade-off between deeper trenches giving more protection, but being slower to dig and harder to get out of to attack or escape quickly.

Trench organisation

Trenches were dug in 3 straight, parallel lines.
The front line (or front line trench) was made up of:
- The 'fire trench' - faced the enemy and was where most of the combat would take place.
- The 'supervision or communication trench' - used to move around behind the fire trench, transmitting orders, messages, and supplies.

Trench organisation continuation

The 2 lines behind the front line trench were:
- The 'support trench', ideally 100m behind the front line trench. This meant if the enemy fired mortars (shells from the air), the support trench would not be hit and damaged.
- A long way back from the battle site are the 'reserve trenches'. Here, soldiers not on the front line could shelter and support the soldiers on the front line if needed.

How were trenches built?

There were 3 main ways to build trenches:
- Entrenching involved many soldiers standing in a line and digging.
- Sapping involved 1 man digging outwards from the end of the trench.
- Tunnelling was similar to sapping, but a layer of earth was left along the top of the trench until it was completed.

Trench warfare on the Western Front damaged terrain and disrupted transport networks, making it hard for supplies to reach the front line and the wounded to be evacuated. The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Corps (FANY) were important medical units for the Allied Armies.

Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) field ambulances

The RAMC field ambulances set up mobile medical stations.
Stretcher bearers would transport the wounded through relay posts until they eventually reached either a medical post or a transport link (e.g. road, railway, river).

Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) 'chain of evacuation'

The 'chain of evacuation' system aimed to move casualties with the highest chance of surviving to medical areas as quickly as possible:
- First aid was given close to the front line to soldiers at regimental aid posts (RAPs).
- Dressing stations collected men from the RAP.
- Casualty clearing stations collected very seriously injured men from the dressing stations. Men could be given surgery in these buildings/tents between the front line and base camp.
- Base hospitals were usually in real buildings. These were effectively turned into normal hospitals.

First Aid Nursing Yeomanry Corps (FANY)

The women of the FANY worked as 'field ambulances', a bit like paramedics in non-wartime societies. They would move wounded soldiers between the 'chain of evacuation'.
They ran ambulance bus services called 'convoys' transporting people back to boats or trains which could get seriously injured soldiers away from the battlefield.

1Medicine in Medieval England

1.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

1.1.1Supernatural & Religious Explanations

1.1.2Hippocrates

1.1.3Galen

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Ideas About Disease

1.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Hippocrates' Contribution

1.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

1.2.1Medieval 'Doctors'

1.2.2Medieval Surgery

1.3Case Study

1.3.1The Black Death

1.3.2End of Topic Test - Medieval treatment

1.3.3Grade 9 - Medieval Medicine

2The Medical Renaissance in England

2.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

2.1.1Scientific Approach & Knowledge

2.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

2.2.1Changing Methods of Treatment

2.2.2Institutions & Technology

2.2.3Changes for Physicians, Surgeons & Hospitals

2.2.4Dissection & Vesalius

2.3Case Studies

2.3.1William Harvey & the Great Plague

2.3.2End of Topic Test - Medical Renaissance in England

2.3.3Grade 9 - The Medical Renaissance

3Medicine in 18th & 19th Century Britain

3.1Ideas about the Cause of Disease & Illness

3.1.1Germ Theory

3.1.2Koch & Pasteur's Vaccination

3.1.3Exam-Style Questions - Pasteur & Koch

3.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

3.2.1Improving Public Health

3.2.2Anaesthetics & Antiseptics

3.2.3Physicians, Surgeons & Nurses

3.2.4Exam-Style Questions - Nightingale's Contribution

3.3Case Studies

3.3.1Vaccination & Edward Jenner

3.3.2Fighting Cholera in London, 1854

3.3.3End of Topic Test - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

3.3.4Grade 9 - 18th & 19th Century Medicine

4Medicine in Modern Britain

4.1Modern Understanding of Disease

4.1.1Viruses & Bacteria

4.1.2New Diseases & Treatments in 20th C

4.1.3Diagnosing Disease

4.2Approaches to Prevention & Treatment

4.2.1Antibiotics

4.2.2New Treatments in the 20th Century

4.2.3New Approaches to Surgery & Prevention

4.2.4Social Changes in the Early 20th Century

4.2.5The NHS

4.2.6The NHS 2

4.3Case Studies

4.3.1Penicillin & Lung Cancer

4.3.2End of Topic Test - Modern Britain

4.3.3Grade 9 - Medicine in Modern Britain

5Treatment in WW1

5.1Medicine in WW1

5.1.1Trench Warfare

5.1.2The Impact of WW1

5.1.3Disease in the Trenches

5.1.4End of Topic Test- Treatment in WW1

5.1.5Grade 9 - Treatment in WW1

5.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Role of War on Medicine

6Themes in Medicine

6.1Themes in Medicine over Time

6.1.1The Role of Individuals

6.1.2Institutions - Government

6.1.3Institutions - The Church

6.1.4Science & Technology

6.1.5Attitudes in Society

6.1.6End of Topic Test -Themes in Medicine

6.1.7Grade 9 - Themes in Medicine

6.1.8Exam-Style Questions - Attitudes to Illness

7Some Extra Context (Not Compulsory for Exam)

7.1Medieval Medicine

7.1.1Islamic Advances in Medieval Medicine

7.1.2End of Topic Test - Extra Content

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