S3 English

 In today’s lesson, we will…  Explore the background of WW1.  Discuss images from the war.  Listen to first hand accounts.

 World War 1 (also known as the Great War), was a global war fought in Europe between 1914 and  Over 60 million soldiers took part.  It claimed over 20 million casualties, including civilians.  The poppy is a symbol for dead WW1 soldiers and artificial ones are worn on Remembrance Day to commemorate their sacrifice.

Central Powers (Germany, Austria and Hungary) Allied Powers (Britain, France and Russia) Neutral (Spain, Netherlands)

 Propaganda is information that aims to persuade and influence peoples opinions.  Britain entered the war on 4 August  There was no policy of conscription at the time so there was urgent need of men to fight.  The government in London acted quickly in bringing out a stream of recruitment posters.

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 Both sides had heavily armed dug-out trenches.  The exposed area between the two opposing trenches was known as ‘no man’s land’.  Casualties were severe.  Medical services were limited and antibiotics had not yet been discovered.  Minor injuries could prove fatal through the onset of gangrene.

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 The greatest killer of all was disease.  Sanitary conditions in the trenches were poor, and common infections included dysentery, typhus, and cholera. dysenterytyphuscholera  Poor hygiene also led to fungal conditions, such as trench mouth and trench foot.fungaltrench mouthtrench foot  Burial of the dead was usually a luxury that neither side could easily afford.  Trenches were overrun with rats.

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 The British Army endured the bloodiest day in its history, suffering 57,470 casualties and 19,240 dead on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.British Armyfirst dayBattle of the Somme  Most of the casualties occurred in the first hour of the attack.  The entire Somme offensive cost the British Army almost half a million men.

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 On 11 November an armistice with Germany was signed in a railroad carriage at Compiègne.an armistice with Germany Compiègne  At 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918 — the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month — a ceasefire came into effect.

 For the next few years, much of Europe mourned. Memorials were erected in thousands of villages and towns.  The soldiers returning home from World War I suffered greatly from the horrors they had witnessed.  Many returning veterans suffered from post- traumatic stress disorder, called shell shock at the time.post- traumatic stress disordershell shock

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