The Western Front, 1914–18 Flashcards
All 49 cards in this deck
Where was the British sector of the Western Front?
In Flanders (Belgium) and northern France.
What was the Ypres salient?
A bulge in the British line around Ypres in Belgium, surrounded by German-held higher ground on three sides.
When was the Battle of the Somme, and why did it matter medically?
1916 – tens of thousands of casualties needed care on the first day alone, overwhelming the medical services.
Give one way the terrain of the Western Front made moving the wounded difficult.
The ground did not drain well and explosives churned up the soil, so the mud and flooded trenches made recovery and transport hard.
Give one way the trench system itself made transporting the wounded difficult.
The trenches were narrow and built in a zig-zag pattern, which made it hard for stretcher bearers to move along them.
True or false? Motor ambulances could usually be driven right up to the frontline trench.
False. It was difficult to get motorised transport or railways close to the battleground, so horse-drawn ambulances were often used.
What was the purpose of the support trenches in the British trench system?
They were behind the frontline trench and held troops and supplies who could reinforce or relieve the front line.
What was trench foot and what caused it?
A painful swelling/rotting of the feet, caused by standing in wet and muddy trenches.
What was trench fever and how did soldiers catch it?
A flu-like illness with high fever and headache, spread by lice, which infested men because clothes could not be kept clean.
Why did wounds on the Western Front so often become infected?
The soil of Flanders and northern France was full of bacteria, which got into wounds and caused infection and gangrene.
What was shrapnel and why was it so dangerous?
Metal fragments from exploding shells; it tore deep, dirty wounds and carried fabric and soil into the body, causing infection.
Why did head injuries increase on the Western Front, and what reduced them?
Increased use of high explosives made head wounds common; the Brodie steel helmet, introduced in late 1915 and widely issued in 1916, reduced them.
When and where was gas first used on the Western Front, and which gas was it?
Chlorine gas, used by the Germans at the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915.
What were the effects of chlorine and phosgene gas?
They attacked the lungs, leading to death by suffocation.
What were the effects of mustard gas, and when was it first used?
It caused internal and external blisters and could blind soldiers; first used in 1917.
How many stretcher bearers were there per company, and what effect did this have?
Only four, so the injured sometimes had to wait a long time for attention.
What were the four main stages of the chain of evacuation, in order?
Regimental Aid Post, Dressing Station (field ambulance), Casualty Clearing Station, Base Hospital.
Give two features of a dressing station on the Western Front.
It was a short distance behind the trenches, often in abandoned buildings or tents, and treated minor injuries so men could return to fighting.
Where was a Casualty Clearing Station placed and what did it deal with?
Close to the front but just outside the range of enemy artillery; it dealt with serious injuries, including surgery.
What was the underground hospital at Arras?
A hospital set up in the tunnels and quarries under Arras, ready for casualties from the British attack of April 1917.
What was the role of nurses at dressing stations and casualty clearing stations?
From 1915 nurses worked at some dressing stations, and at CCSs they increasingly assisted in surgical and medical care.
True or false? Base hospitals were located near the coast so the wounded could be shipped back to Britain.
True. Base hospitals were near the French and Belgian coast, close to the ports.
What was the Thomas splint used for, and when did it come into use on the Western Front?
To keep a broken leg rigid while a wounded man was moved; it came into use in 1916.
What effect did the Thomas splint have on survival rates for leg wounds?
Survival rose from about 20% in 1914–15 to about 80%.
What were mobile x-ray units used for on the Western Front?
They were set up close to the front to identify shrapnel fragments so they could be removed before the wound became infected.
What was the Carrel-Dakin solution?
A sterilised salt solution used to flush out infected wounds; it had to be reapplied every few hours.
What was wound excision (debridement)?
Cutting away dead and infected tissue around a wound before closing it, to stop infection spreading.
Why was a blood bank created before the Battle of Cambrai (1917)?
In anticipation of heavy casualties, so transfusions were available to stop soldiers dying from blood loss.
True or false? X-ray machines on the Western Front were only ever mobile units.
False. There were also fixed x-ray rooms at base hospitals and some casualty clearing stations, as well as mobile units.
Who discovered blood groups, and in what year?
Karl Landsteiner, in 1901.
How were the earliest blood transfusions on the Western Front carried out?
With a syringe and tube, donor-to-patient with the donor present, to stop the patient going into shock from blood loss.
Which researchers found ways of storing blood during the First World War?
Lewisohn (sodium citrate stopped blood clotting, 1915), Weil (refrigerated citrated blood, 1915), and Rous and Turner (a citrate-glucose solution that kept blood for weeks, 1916).
Why was storing blood a problem before the First World War?
Blood clotted very quickly once outside the body, so it could not be kept.
What is aseptic surgery?
Keeping germs out of the operating area altogether, by sterilising instruments, clothing and the theatre.
Who discovered x-rays, and when?
Wilhelm Roentgen, in 1895.
True or false? Aseptic surgery could be fully maintained in the conditions of the Western Front.
False. Mud, temporary tents and huge numbers of casualties made it very hard to keep conditions hygienic.
Give two examples of national sources for a Western Front enquiry.
Army records, national newspapers, government reports and medical articles (e.g. in The Lancet).
Give two examples of local or personal sources for a Western Front enquiry.
Personal accounts such as letters and diaries, hospital records and army statistics.
What do RAMC medical records show?
Each patient's injury and treatment, including details of surgery, and whether they recovered or died.
What are British Army war diaries, and what enquiry are they useful for?
Daily unit records kept during the war; useful, for example, for the problem of trench foot and the measures taken against it.
Give one strength of a first-hand nurse's diary as a source for the treatment of injuries.
The writer was a trained eyewitness recording events regularly, so observations about injuries should be accurate.
Give one limitation of a soldier's personal letter home as a source.
Details might be left out because of censorship or because the writer did not want to upset his family.
How were tanks used at the Battle of Cambrai (November–December 1917)?
In the first large-scale tank attack (over 400 tanks). They broke through at first, but a German counter-attack won back most of the ground.
What caused most deaths and wounds on the Western Front?
Artillery: high-explosive shells and shrapnel, rather than rifle or machine-gun bullets.
What was the RAMC?
The Royal Army Medical Corps: the British Army's medical service. Its doctors, orderlies and stretcher bearers ran the chain of evacuation and gave most of the medical care.
Give two features of the underground hospital at Arras.
Any two: room for about 700 patients; an operating theatre; piped water and electric light; it lay only a short distance behind the front line.
Who set up the blood bank used at the Battle of Cambrai (1917)?
Oswald Hope Robertson, an American army doctor. He stored 22 units of blood in advance and used it to treat wounded men suffering from shock.
Who led advances in plastic surgery for soldiers with facial wounds?
Harold Gillies, at the Queen's Hospital in Sidcup, Kent, who used skin grafts to rebuild damaged faces.
Give one problem with early x-ray machines.
Any one: the machines were bulky and hard to move; patients could suffer radiation burns or hair loss; exposures took a long time, so patients had to keep very still.