TRENCH WARFARE Thursday February 14th

November, 1914: the digging of trenches  After the failure of the Schlieffen Plan in September, 1914, the Germans retreated to the River Aisne.  There they “dug in” by digging trenches and waited for the French and British to counter-attack.  They failed to shift the Germans and so they too began digging trenches in case the Germans attacked them.  In the winter of 1914, the trench system took shape, running from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border: over 700 Km long. Trench Warfare - a form of land warfare using occupied fighting lines consisting largely of trenches

Trench system: aerial view

Small trenches rapidly grew deeper and more complex, gradually becoming vast areas of interlocking defensive works British trenches German trenches

What did they look like?

Trench system: aerial view

“No man’s land” varied in distance depending on the battlefield. On the Western Front it was typically between 300 and 500 feet, though only 90 feet on Vimy Ridge.

Bird’s Eye View Zig-zagged pattern

This meant that a soldier could see no more than 10 meters along the length of the trench.

Why were trenches necessary in World War I ?

Vickers Machine Gun This new and powerful weapon could “mow down” soldiers trying to attack

Machine guns needed 4-6 men to work them and had the fire power of 100 guns

Gas Attacks Chlorine and Mustard gas would slow down attackers, causing burns and suffocation

What was life like in the trenches?

Sanitary conditions in the trenches were quite poor, and common infections included dysentery, typhus, and cholera

Rats became common, and grew large as they would eat the soldier’s food

Poor hygiene also led to conditions such as trench mouth and trench foot

But what was life REALLY like in the trench?

At the age of 92, Arthur Savage was asked about his memories of life on the Western Front. “My memories are of sheer terror and the horror of seeing men sobbing because they had trench foot that had turned gangrenous. They knew they were going to lose a leg.

Memories of lice in your clothing driving you crazy. Filth and lack of privacy. Of huge rats that showed no fear of you as they stole your food rations. And cold deep wet mud everywhere. Memories of lice in your clothing driving you crazy. Filth and lack of privacy. Of huge rats that showed no fear of you as they stole your food rations. And cold deep wet mud everywhere.

And of course, corpses. I'd never seen a dead body before I went to war. But in the trenches the dead are lying all around you. You could be talking to the fellow next to you when suddenly he'd be hit by a sniper and fall dead beside you. And there he‘d stay for days.” And of course, corpses. I'd never seen a dead body before I went to war. But in the trenches the dead are lying all around you. You could be talking to the fellow next to you when suddenly he'd be hit by a sniper and fall dead beside you. And there he‘d stay for days.”

Words You Should Know:  Trench  Trench warfare  No-man’s land  Over the top

Your Task: Create Your Own Trench Look at the image below for # “must-have” elements. No man’s land The trench Sand bags and barbed wire Machine gun nest At least 2 people