2.Trench warfare Context from Wilfred Owen poetry

Purpose of Trench Warfare - Trench warfare is a defensive tactic. - Trenches are dug in strategic positions and are meant to make the enemy expose themselves. - Soldiers can hide in the trench with only a small part of their body exposed.

How it differs from previous combat strategies - Previous battles were fought with a lot of cavalry and hand to hand combat. - The trench system was meant to chance this into a more defensive combat strategy. - The trenches allowed officers to send waves of men over ‘the top’ when they wanted, this was different from previous battles because in these fights all men would go at once. - Many trenches were dug strategically and this meant that sides were able to cut of certain routes and connections to hinder their opponents.

Weapons used - Bolt action Rifle - Machine Gun - First ever Tanks - Planes - Mustard gas

Importance of camaraderie For many soldiers and volunteers, life on the fronts during the war dangerous. comradeship serves as a distraction and made the daily lives of the soldiers more tolerable. Soldiers would sing songs and play card games with each other to take their mind of the fighting. These activities helped a lot of soldiers through the horrible war. Having a friend to talk to and be able to share some emotions was good in this period of time, this is why camaraderie had such an important role in keeping the soldiers mentally strong and keep each others hopes up.

Daily life - Soldiers were regularly rotated through a basic sequence: fighting in the front line, followed by a period of time in the reserve or support line. Then later they would have a brief rest period. - during the day, maintaining the trenches required constant work: repair of shell-damaged walls, removal of standing water, creation of new latrines, and the movement of supplies. -Everyday life was overall hard and tough, Soldiers were living inside a war and everything around them would remind them constantly of how bad the war is.This is a hard thing to live with it.

Mustard Gas Molecular formula: C 4 H 8 Cl 2 S - Was originally called ‘LOST’ and was created by scientists Wilhelm Lommel and Wilhelm Steinkopf, for the Imperial German Army in It was deployed onto the battlefield by means of artillery, aerial bombs, rockets, or sprayed by planes. -If exposed directly to mustard gas and for a long period of time, the effects will result in having: Digestive system: abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, nausea and vomiting Respiratory system: runny or bloody nose, sneezing, hoarse throat, shortness of breath, coughing, sinus pain Skin: itchy redness that is replaced with yellow blisters as it progresses Eyes: irritation, redness, burning, inflammation and in worse cases, blindness

Diseases that soldiers faced Trench foot - the soldiers would constantly walk in cold and muddy water. This made the skin of the foot wear off and make the foot look decayed. Shell Shock - Through the constant bombings and shells blasting near the soldiers, they would often get ‘shell shock’ where they get a concussion, and it could disable them mentally and or physically for years. Rats - Because of the dead bodies piling up and food occasionally dropping, rat infestations were very common, some rats grew to the size of cats!

Footage and Documentaries - Horrendous reality of trench warfare (Documentary) 50 minutes. - Conditions in the trenches 4 minutes.