Year 9 History Assessment on the First World War

“Living and fighting in the trenches was a terrible and terrifying experience for all the soldiers involved” What evidence is there for and against this statement?

In this assessment you will find out about conditions in the British trenches on the Western Front during the First World War. You will use a range of SOURCES: Photographs. Diaries Memories of old soldiers. Film. Textbooks Songs Poems Statistics Websites

The resources you need can be found on Look for the eportal >HISTORY. > Yr9. 1.Click on Trenches Assessment for the questions. 2.Click on Life and Death in the Trenches to find sources. You need to use the sources not copy them.

Timber holding up back of trench. No Mans ’ Land Soldier on sentry duty Are these soldiers asleep or dead? Bottom of trench is dry. It could be summer. No sandbags. Trench may be damaged Water cans. Helmet, uniform and rifle are British Timber bridge over top of trench Capes used as cover Barbed wire This photograph does not looked posed as the soldier seems unaware of the camera. It is probably a reliable source. How to annotate photographs

Source A. Wounded British soldiers waiting to be taken to a field hospital behind the front line.

Source B. British soldiers playing football at a camp behind the front line.

Source C. Diary EXTRACT FROM THE DIARY OF JULIAN GRENFELL A young poet, killed on 26 May 1915 "I adore war. It's like a big picnic... I've never been so well or happy. No one grumbles at one for being dirty. I have only had my boots off once in the last ten days and only washed twice.“ What does Source C tell us about life in the trenches? How reliable are diaries written by soldiers in the trenches?

Source D. Letter. Captain Lionel Crouch wrote to his wife about life in the trenches in Last night we had the worst time we've had since we've been out. A terrific thunderstorm broke out. Rain poured in torrents, and the trenches were rivers, up to one's knees in places and higher if one fell into a sump. One chap fell in one above his waist! It was pitch dark and all was murky in the extreme. Bits of the trench fell in. The rifles all got choked with mud, through men falling down. Why is source D (letter) so different from Source C (diary)? How reliable are letters from soldiers about life in the trenches?

Source E. Casualties in the First World War. How bad were British casualties compared with other countries? Countries Total Mobilized Killed & Died Wounded Total Casualties Casualties % of Mobilized Allied Powers Russia12,000,0001,700,0004,950,0009,150,00076 France8,410,0001,357,8004,266,0006,160,80076 British Empire8,904,467908,3712,090,2123,190,23535 Italy5,615,000650,000947,0002,197,00039 United States4,355,000126,000234,300364,8008 Total42,188,8105,152,11512,831,00422,104,20952 Central Powers Germany11,000,0001,773,7004,216,0587,142,55864 Austria- Hungary 7,800,0001,200,0003,620,0007,020,00090 Turkey2,850,000325,000400,000975,00034 Total22,850,0003,386,2008,388,44815,404,47767 Grand Total65,038,8108,538,31521,219,45237,508,68657

Source F. Silent Film. The Battle of the Somme. This film was made before and during the Battle of the Somme by filmmakers working for the British Army. It was the world’s first full- length war documentary. It was shown in British cinemas in August Over the next three months almost half Britain’s population had gone to see it. The film is a silent film (talkies do not arrive until 1929). When it was shown it would have been accompanied by a live piano or organ. Title frames provided information. What could the film tell us about life in the trenches? What could the film not show?

Battle of the Somme. Film. Part of the original 1916 film

Source G. BBC Documentary The Trench. Why was it produced? A docudrama to show people how living and fighting in the trenches affected the soldiers. A reconstruction of events in October 1916 taken from the War Diary of the East Yorkshire Regiment (the Hull Pals). What does it tell us? Trench routines e.g. duties, sleeping, eating, shaving, washing, foot inspections, keeping warm. Soldiers only spent 5-10 days in direct contact with the enemy. Rotated every few days. Bombardments. Gas attacks. Raids. Standing to. Friendships. Leisure? Roll calls. When and where did they sleep? How important were letters? What did they eat and drink? The average British soldier gained a stone and a half in the army. Sentry duties: 1 in 3 soldiers at night. 1 in 10 soldiers in the day time. What did soldiers miss most? How reliable is it? A lot of research was done to make sure it was as authentic as possible. However the “soldiers” knew that they were only acting.

Source H. BBC website. How did so many soldiers survive the trenches?

Source I. BBC website on World War One.

“Living and fighting in the trenches was a terrible and terrifying experience for all the soldiers involved” What evidence is there for and against this statement? Your answer should be in four parts. 1. Introduction. Explain the question.

2. Evidence that the soldiers’ experience was terrible and terrifying. 3. Evidence that the soldiers’ experience was not always so bad. Photographs. Diaries Memories of old soldiers. Films. Casualty figures. How were soldiers killed or wounded? What were the trenches like? Health and hygiene problems. Shell shock. Desertion. Examples of battles such as the Somme (1916) and Passchendaele (1917) Photographs. Diaries Memories of old soldiers. Films. Casualty figures. Why did some soldiers enjoy life in the army? How much contact did soldiers have with the enemy? Why were soldiers not always in the front line? Which army roles kept soldiers away from the front line? Why did some soldiers cope better with the traumas of war?

4. Conclusion. Give a balanced conclusion. Did some soldiers have a terrible experience? Did some soldiers have a better experience?

Clues Evidence that the soldiers’ experience was terrible and terrifying. Evidence that the soldiers’ experience was not always so bad.