TRENCH WARFARE

How They Looked

What the Trenches were like… Filled with water and mud Duckboards along the bottom of the trench No privacy Dead bodies often left for days at a time Filled with rats and other rodents

A Duckboard is a platform made of wooden slats built over muddy ground to form a dry passageway. A Duckboard is a

Trench foot is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary and cold conditions

Symptoms of Trench foot Infected feet Numb turning red or blue as a result of poor vascular supply decaying odor swelling Advanced stages involves: Blisters and open sores Fungal infections (jungle rot). Untreated, trench foot usually results in gangrene which usually means amputation. If treated properly, complete recovery is normal. There is some pain and trench foot leaves sufferers more susceptible to it in the future.

…no coming back from this one…

Soldiers died… Falling off duckboards into the mud Falling off duckboards into the mud Buried alive Buried alive Suicide Suicide Killed by enemy snipers Killed by enemy snipers From diseases From diseases From lack of food From lack of food

Duties in the Trenches… Replace barbed wire –in “No man’s Land” so done at night to avoid detection Replace barbed wire –in “No man’s Land” so done at night to avoid detection Repair flooded trenches Repair flooded trenches Move supplies Move supplies Often men were bored and simply waiting for a battle Often men were bored and simply waiting for a battle

No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. First World War – the area of land between two enemy trenches No one wanted to take control of due to fear of being attacked by the enemy in the process.

All’s Quiet on the Western front # #

The Battle of Ypres April 1915 in Belgium (near city of Ypres, in region of Flanders) Task: to hold 3.5 km of the line in the face of heavy German attack This battle saw the first use of chlorine gas by the Germans Canadians used makeshift gas masks to hold the line with British reinforcements 6000 Canadian casualties (dead, missing, or wounded) The poem “In Flanders Fields” was written at this battle by Doctor John McCrae

The Battle of the Somme July to November 1916 in France Canadians fought as part of British forces, led by Sir Douglas Haig Allies used old tactics and were mowed down by German machine gun fire – disaster! 58,000 Allied casualties in one day **First use of tanks –broke through barbed wire and gave Allies the advantage After 5 months –gained only 8 km

Battle of Vimy Ridge April 1917 Canada’s greatest victory –succeeded where French and British had failed Well-prepared -used planes to gather information and constructed model ridge to practice 100,000 Canadians led attack New strategy called “leap-frogging” meant troops weren’t as tired 11,000 Canadian casualties Morale boost for Canada, beginning of national pride

Battle of Passchendaele November 1917, near Ypres in Belgium Bitter disaster for Canadians Incredible mud –horses and men sucked in and drowned Canadians led by Sir Arthur Currie, a Canadian Allied troops dead, 8000 Canadian casualties Gained only 7 km of mud that was soon lost again

The last 100 Days August to November 1918 USA entered the war, Germany desperate Germany launched huge attack along the Western Front Advanced within 80km of Paris but stopped by Allied counter attack (including Canadians) France and Belgium liberated Canadians defeated a quarter of the German army –more than American force that was 6 times as big Germans surrendered on November 11, 1918 Canadians treated as heroes by Belgians