Living Conditions'

1
Living Conditions.

• The typical front-line trench was about 6 to 8
  feet deep and only wide enough for two men to
  pass.
• Dugouts in the sides of the trenches protected
  men during enemy fire.

2
Living Conditions.

• Barbed wire helped protect the firing trench from
  surprise attacks. Between the enemy lines lay a
  stretch of ground called "no man's land.
• The smell of dead bodies lingered in the air, and
  rats were a constant problem. Soldiers had
  trouble keeping dry, especially in areas of
  Belgium.

3
Living Conditions.

• Some soldiers stood guard. Others repaired the
  trenches, kept telephone lines in order, brought
  food from behind the battle lines, or did other
  jobs.
• At night, patrols fixed the barbed wire and tried
  to get information about the enemy.

4
Living Conditions Source

• What was it like to live in the trenches?
• How we do think of home and laugh at the
  pettiness of our little-daily annoyances! We
  could not sleep, we remember, because of the
  creaking of the pantry door, or the noise of the
  tramcars, or the kids playing around and making a
  row. Well, we can't sleep now because - six
  shells are bursting around here every minute, and
  you can't get much sleep between them Guns are
  belching out shells, with a most thunderous clap
  each time The ground is shaking with each little
  explosion I am wet, and the ground on which I
  rest is wet My feet are cold in fact, I'm all
  cold, with my two skimp blankets I am covered
  with cold, clotted sweat, and sometimes my person
  is foul I am hungry I am annoyed because of the
  absurdity of war I see no chance of anything
  better for tomorrow, or the day after, or the
  year after.

5
Living Conditions.

• Living on the trenches was very hard, many
  soldiers were executed for petty crimes. The
  following table shows us the executions of
  soldiers between 1914-1918

6
Life on the Trenches.

• During world war one, many soldiers caught
  diseases such as
• Trench Foot
• Shell shock
• Many people suffered from body lice.
• Psychological disorders
• Trench fever
• Starvation
• Nervous disorder

7
Impact Of Technology.

• In April 1915, the Germans first released poison
  gas over Allied lines in the Second Battle of
  Ypres.
• It caused vomiting and suffocation.
• After the introduction of the poison, gas masks
  were used.
• Another new weapon was the flamethrower, which
  shot out a stream of burning fuel.

8
Impact of technology and life in the trenches.

• We will now show a video, showing us how
  harsh life was on the western front.
• http//www.learningcurve.gov.uk/greatwar/g3/cs2/
  g3cs2s5.htm (30seconds -1min 9)
• As you can see, life on the trenches, was
  certainly not fun!

9
Weapons Used.

• Canons
• Guns
• Gas Cylinders
• Catapults
• Grenades.
• Gun Powder
• Bombs

10
What was it like to experience an attack?

• The German army used chlorine gas to attack the
  British army.
• It was described as a yellow- green gas
• It smelled like pineapple and pepper.
• Pads covered in ammonia were used to neutralized
  the chlorine. These pads were held over the face
  until the soldiers could escape from the
  poisonous fumes.

11
Trench System

• Whilst soldiers were sleeping, people were given
  jobs to keep a look out, for the enemy attacking
• They were called signallers, and they
  communicated by using flags, lamps, heliographs,
  Morse code and field telephones.
• This was a very efficient way of working.

12
British Soldier Uniform.
The British tropical uniforms were made of pure
wool and were excellent. British troops wore
steel helmets, which were very heavy, and
uncomfortable. Heavy boots were worn Fur lined
coats were worn, which kept soldiers warm.
13
German Soldier Uniform

• As you can see this differs from the British
  Uniform in many ways.
• The German army uniform was made from a
  watertight linen
• It was cut in a certain style
• In the early mornings, the material absorbed
  moisture from the dew so that it became
  intolerable to wear the uniforms.

• The material was too stiff and did not give
  adequate protection against hot or cold.
• These uniforms proved unsuitable both in style
  and material.

14
Attacking the Enemy- facts

• The Germans used poisonous gases.
• Throughout the war, the Germans used 68,000
  tonnes of gas.
• The British, Australian and Canadian guns, fired
  4,283,550 shells at the German defences. Soldiers
  sometimes developed shell shock.
• The German and British Armies, both used flame
  throwers, to attack their enemies.

15
War Plans.

• In 1913 General Ferdinand Foch and General
  Joseph Joffre devised a strategic plan for the
  invasion of Germany. It was called Plan 17.
• On the outbreak of the First World War, the
  French Army carried out Plan 17. After initial
  success at both Lorraine and Ardennes, strong
  German resistance and the success of the
  Schlieffen Plan resulted in orders being given by
  General Joseph Joffre on 24th August to retreat
  back to France.

16
War Plans.

• Small patrols of men were occasionally sent to
  no mans land to find out about the enemy army
  and what they were planning.

17
Comparison between the German and British armies.
18
Thank You for Listening!