1. The Western Front and Life in the Trenches

2. What was the Western Front?

3. The Western Front

4. The two main fronts:
On your coloured and labeled map of the alliances in your workbook, mark the Western front and the Eastern front.

5. Schlieffen Plan 3rd of Aug, 1914:
The aim of the Von Schlieffen plan was to knock France out of the war quickly so that Germany did not have to fight the French and the Russians (=Eastern front) at the same time.
The plan failed…

6. Why did the plan fail? See page 35.
Write down: The Schlieffen plan failed because:
(use short dot points)

7. The result of the failed plan:
After the first Battle of the Marne (= one month later, 5 – 19 sept, 1914), both sides dug trenches; the war of attrition had begun.
The western front became a deadlocked region of battlefields in Northern France where war turned into a long and bloody stalemate.

8. Why use trenches and how do they work?

9. What is in a Trench?
Barbed wire: to make running at the trench difficult.
Sandbagged parapet: to stop the trench collapsing.
Parados: to stop ‘shrapnel’ getting into the trench.
Fire step: to shoot from.
Duck Boards: stopped the bottom of the trench getting very muddy and slippery.

10. Trench System http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWtrenchsystem.htm
After the Battle of the Marne in September, 1914, the Germans were forced to retreat to the River Aisne. The German commander, General Erich von Falkenhayn, decided that his troops must at all costs hold onto those parts of France and Belgium that Germany still occupied. Falkenhayn ordered his men to dig trenches that would provide them with protection from the advancing French and British troops. The Allies soon realised that they could not break through this line and they also began to dig trenches. After a few months these trenches had spread from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier. As the Germans were the first to decide where to stand fast and dig, they had been able to choose the best places to build their trenches. The possession of the higher ground not only gave the Germans a tactical advantage, but it forced the British and French to live in the worst conditions. Most of this area was rarely a few feet above sea level. As soon as soldiers began to dig down they would invariably find water two or three feet below the surface. Water-logged trenches were a constant problem for soldiers on the Western Front.
Frontline trenches were usually about seven feet deep and six feet wide. The front of the trench was known as the parapet. The top two or three feet of the parapet and the parados (the rear side of the trench) would consist of a thick line of sandbags to absorb any bullets or shell fragments. In a trench of this depth it was impossible to see over the top, so a two or three-foot ledge known as a fire-step, was added. Trenches were not dug in straight lines. Otherwise, if the enemy had a successive offensive, and got into your trenches, they could shoot straight along the line. Each trench was dug with alternate fire-bays and traverses. Duck-boards were also placed at the bottom of the trenches to protect soldiers from problems such as trench foot. Soldiers also made dugouts and funk holes in the side of the trenches to give them some protection from the weather and enemy fire. The front-line trenches were also protected by barbed-wire entanglements and machine-gun posts. Short trenches called saps were dug from the front-trench into No-Man's Land. The sap-head, usually about 30 yards forward of the front-line, were then used as listening posts. Behind the front-line trenches were support and reserve trenches. The three rows of trenches covered between 200 and 500 yards of ground. Communication trenches, were dug at an angle to the frontline trench and was used to transport men, equipment and food supplies.

11. Tunneling

12. Trench Warfare:
Trench Warfare: Armies fought each other in dugouts but it often led to long periods of stagnation and a high death toll.

13. The theory and the reality…

14. Fighting in Europe:
By 1915, opposing armies on the Western Front had dug miles of parallel trenches to protect themselves from enemy fire.
This type of warfare led to huge losses of human life for very small land gains.

15. Trench Warfare
Attacks and Offensives- An attack usually involves a division (16,000) and an offensive was larger (at least one corps).
Military actions designed to take control of enemy trenches were called attacks or offensives. Whereas an attack usually involved a division (16,000 men), an offensive was much larger and would use at least one corps. The main objective of an attack was to break the enemy line but an offensive was an attempt to hold any positions that were taken during the operation. This meant sustained fighting in forward positions and raised serious problems of supplying soldiers with ammunition, food and water. Before attacks and offensives took place, heavy artillery was used to soften up the enemy trenches. At the offensive at the Somme in the summer of 1916 General Douglas Haig ordered an eight-day preliminary bombardment before sending 750,000 men (27 divisions) to attack the German trenches. The following year, Haig decided on a ten day bombardment during the offensive at Ypres (the Battle of Passchendaele). This barrage involved 3,000 guns firing 4,283,550 shells at the German defences.

17. Weapons and trench war fare

18. Weapons in WW1 Tanks Gas Machine guns Airplanes
Artillery (shells, mortars, bombs)

19. Weapons in WW1 You tube video of different weapons:

20. Weapons in WW1 Rapid technological innovation
Technology changed, but mindset of commanders did not….
Soldiers trained in old fashioned techniques (charging at enemy)

21. Tanks
Tanks: introduced by British in 1916 at the Battle of the Somme.

22. Tanks

23. Tanks
Winston Churchill (lord of the admiralty and home secretary in WW1) saw importance of tanks
Germans were surprised by tanks but because of their initial failure, did not take them seriously.
Germans did not devote large amounts of money, research or time to tank-development.
But British and French continue to improve on initial flawed design.
By end of war, tanks were used strategically to force break throughs.

24. Tanks See page 52 Tanks not used effectively by commanders until 1918
Germans did not see importance of tanks

25. Early tanks Very slow Chains ran off tracks Got stuck in mud
Engines overheated
Strategically misused and underused until 1918
Tanks included:
Gunner and drivers cabin
Gunner’s vision slit
Hotchkiss 8 mm machine gun
Steering handle
Gunner’s seat
Driver’s seat
6-cylinder water cooled engine
6 pounder gun
commander’s turret
signaling device
wooden beam and chains for getting out of ditches
exhaust pipe
air tank

26. Tanks You tube video showing tanks in use:

27. Chemical warfare
See page 49

28. Chemical Warfare French started with tear gas grenades.
Germany used chemicals in artillery shells, bombs, and grenades.
Gas masks developed quickly, became more sophisticated by end of war.
(Another idea from British: Set up 100,000 fans.)
Many types of gases were used, i.e: tear gas, mustard gas, chlorine gas

29. Chlorine Gas Used by both allies and central powers. Lung irritant.
First developed by IG Farben, a German chemical company.
Replaced by mustard gas and phosgene.
Used in the Second Battle of Ypres.
Distinctive smell – mixture of pineapple and pepper.
Distinctive taste – metallic taste.

30. Phosgene U.S. developed chemical.
Used by both Allies and Central powers.
Irritates mucous and skin.
Corrosive and toxic.
Successor to Chlorine Gas.

31. Xylyl bromide (tear gas)
Tear gas impeded ability to fight; incapacitated soldiers.
Irritates eyes and lungs.
Used by French in the form of grenades.
Used by both sides
Put into T-Shells, a shell with an explosive tip that was filled with tear gas.
Easy to manufacture; was popular because of that.

32. Mustard Gas Causes blistering Incapacitates soldiers.
Hard to counter, burns exposed skin.
Put into a variety of artillery, bombs, and other munitions.
Used by both sides.
Was persistent. It would remain for days, clothing and equipment that had been contaminated would spread the gas.

33. Chemical warfare
Soldiers wore gas masks.
Photo of an early gas mask.

34. Chemical Warfare, Quote
"[The] vapour settled to the ground like a swamp mist and drifted toward the French trenches on a brisk wind. Its effect on the French was a violent nausea and faintness, followed by an utter collapse. It is believed that the Germans, who charged in behind the vapour, met no resistance at all, the French at their front being virtually paralyzed." The use of gas at Langemarck ø as reported in the New York Tribune, April 27, 1915
This quote means that the French couldn’t do much to save the dying men from the fumes since they didn’t have enough gas masks.

35. Poison Gas: effects The gas eventually wore away.
Most dead men were left
Some died from the after-effects
Explosions left environment poisoned and destroyed
The gas in the trench wore away and men came out of the nausea or collapse stage, if they haven’t already died
Most of the men in the trenches were left there if they were dead or knocked out by the gas
3.Some of the men died from the aftereffects of the gas
4.The environment vastly destroyed the environment leaving it very unsanitary and messed up
5. The environment and habitat for animals around the area was destroyed

36. Machine Guns

37. Machine Gun
Fired ammunition automatically and could wipe out waves of attackers.
The machine gun made it very difficult for forces to advance across No Mans Land.

38. Bombs Bombs were very small in the beginning of the war.
Small arrows called Flechettes were also dropped on the enemy.
They were very inaccurate.
Bombing did not become effective until later in the war.
A bomber plane could carry one 1,650lb (=750 kg) bomb.
Only Zeppelins could carry big bombs.
Bombs were very small in the beginning of the war. small arrows called flechettes were also dropped on the enemy. Later on in the wAr they used 2000Ibs bombs but only one heavy bomber could carry one

39. Mortars
lobbe
lobbed a shell in a high arc over a relatively short distance
Widely used in trench fighting for harassing the forward trenches, for cutting wire in preparation for a raid or attack, and for destroying trenches.
In 1914, the British fired a total of 545 mortar shells; in 1916, they fired over 6,500,000.

40. Airplanes

41. The Planes… Low speed / low altitude Most planes had low horse power.
They were very flimsy and unstable.
Hard to fly.
Many WW1 pilots died from accidents.
, no fly by wire like today’s jets.
Normal machine guns mounted on the fuselage.
70mph to 130 mph

42. The Aces Manfred von Richthofen. (Germany)
Edward "Eddie" Rickenbacker. (US)
Von Richthofen had highest kill rate of any pilot.
He was shot down by ground fire.
Eddie had 27 kills.
Richthofen had 80.
Some of the aces wereManfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen. 80 kills,and
Edward "Eddie" Vernon Rickenbacker. with 27 kills.
Von Richthofen had the highest kill rate.

43. Zeppelins Went on recon missions. (reconnaissance = exploration)
Used as high flying bomb throwers
Heavily guarded by machine guns and anti aircraft guns.
Very dangerous to pilots.
Were as fast as airplanes
Sometimes tethered to ground.
Some of the planes of ww1 were the Fokker Dr.1,th curtiss JN-4, and the Sopwith Camel.
Country:GermanyManufacturer:Fokker Flugzeug-Werke GmbHType:FighterFirst Introduced:August 1917Number Built:320Engine(s):Oberursel UR.II, 9 cylinder reciprocating, 110 hp Le Rhône, 9 cylinder rotary, 110 hp (from captured aircraft)Wing Span:23 ft 7 3/8 in [7.19 m]Length:18 ft 11 1/8 in [5.77 m]Height:9 ft 8 inEmpty Weight:893 lbGross Weight:1,289.2 lb [586 kg]Max Speed: mph [165 13,120 ft [4000 m]Ceiling:20,013 ft [6100 m]Endurance:1.5 hoursCrew:1Armament:2 Spandau 7.92 mm light machine guns
Us Curtiss JN-4, Country:United States of AmericaManufacturer:Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor CorporationType:TrainerFirst Introduced:1916Number Built:6,813Engine:Curtiss OX-5, liquid cooled, V-8, 90 hpWing Span:43 ft 7 in [13.28 m]Length:27 ft 4 in [8.33 m]Height:9 ft 10 in [3 m]Empty Weight:Gross Weight:1,430 lb [648 kg]Max Speed:75 mph [120 km/h]Ceiling:6,500 ft [3,350 m]Endurance:2.5 hoursCrew:2Armament:None
and the Sopwith Camel.
Country:Great BritainManufacturer:Sopwith Aviation CompanyType:FighterFirst Entered Service:May 1917Number Built:5,734Engine(s):Bentley BR.1, 150 hp Reciprocating Le Rhône Rotary x 1, 110 hp Clerget 9B, 9 cylinder, air cooled rotary, 130 hp Clerget 9Bf, 9 cylinder, air cooled rotary, 140 hpWing Span:28 ftLength:18 ft 8 inHeight:8 ft 6 inEmpty Weight:889 lbGross Weight:1,422 lbMax Speed:118 mphCeiling:19,000 ftEndurance:2.5 hoursCrew:1Armament:2 Vickers .303 machine guns (F.1) 1 Vickers .303 and 1 Lewis .303 machine guns or 2 Lewis .303 machine guns (2F.1)
The world war 1 pilots also flew hot air balloons and Zeppelin to view the battle field
Often English pilots would pursue the zeppelins across the sky but they had little chance of catching them. The zeppelins would be at a considerable altitude and the zeppelin's cruising speed was often comparable to that of the aeroplane chasing it. To make matters worse, if a pilot did manage to catch up to the airship, the zeppelins were bristling with machine guns.
Some of the aces were, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen ,with 80 kills,and Edward "Eddie" Vernon Rickenbacker with 27 kills.

44. Submarines
Germans introduced the submarine (U-boats) in 1914 as an effective warship
its primary weapon was the torpedo = underwater missile.
German unrestricted submarine warfare would be a major factor in bringing the U.S. into war.

45. Flame throwers
Flame throwers- First used on the Western Front in 1914 to clear enemy soldiers on front-line.
Germans used it more often than allied powers.
Dangerous to operator and depending on wind.
The German Army first began experimenting with flame-throwers in 1900 and were issued to special battalions eleven years later. The flame-thrower used pressurized air, carbon dioxide or nitrogen to force oil through a nozzle. Ignited by a small charge, the oil became a jet of flame. Flame-throwers were first used at the Western Front in October Operated by two men, they were mainly used to clear enemy soldiers from front-line trenches. At first they had a range of 25 metres but later this was increased to 40 metres. This meant they were only effective over narrow areas of No Man's Land. Another problem was that the flame-thrower was difficult to move around and only contained enough oil to burn 40 seconds at the time. Soldiers who operated flame-throwers had a short-life span because as soon as they used them they were the target of rifle and machine-gun fire. The British Army also experimented with flame-throwers. However, they found short-range jets inefficient. They also developed four 2-ton thrower that could send a flame over 30 yards. These were introduced in July 1916 but within a couple of weeks two had been destroyed. Although these large flame-throwers initially created panic amongst German soldiers, the British were unable to capture the trenches under attack. With this failure, the British generals decided to abandon the use of flame-throwers.

46. Infiltration tactics
Both sides used small groups of experienced soldiers to sneak up on enemy and cut barbed wire.
Then sent infantry across No Man’s Land.

48. Casualties World War I took the lives of about 8.5 million soldiers…
Statistics at a glance:
Germany= 1.8 million
Britain= 908,000
Russia= 1.7 million
France= 1.3 million
Austria-Hungary= 1.2 million

49. But why so many casualties?
The new tools of war – machine guns, poison gas, armoured tanks, larger artillery - did not deliver the fast-moving war strategists had expected.
The new technology just killed greater numbers of people more effectively.

50. Questions
What prolonged effect would this type of warfare have on soldiers?
How would trench warfare affect how countries felt at the end of the war?
Would trench warfare be a good tactic to use today? Why and why not?
How do you think you would feel as a WW1 trench soldier? Write down 10 adjectives.

51. Daily life in the trenches

52. This is an entry in the diary of Harold Saunders, a soldier during World War One. He describes trench life as he knows it.
When I made my debut in the line I had a cheerful conviction that nothing would hit me.  And I remember standing on the fire-step for the first time and saying to myself exultantly: "You're in it at last! You're in it! The greatest thing that's ever happened!"
Lice and wind-up came into my life about the same time.  At stand-to one morning a flight of whizz-bangs skimmed the top of the trench.  The man next to me went down with a scream and half his face gone.  The sand-bag in front of me was ripped open and I was blinded and half-choked with its contents.
“When I made my debut in the line I had a cheerful conviction that nothing would hit me.  And I remember standing on the fire-step for the first time and saying to myself exultantly: "You're in it at last! You're in it! The greatest thing that's ever happened!"
Lice and wind-up came into my life about the same time.  At stand-to one morning a flight of whizz-bangs skimmed the top of the trench.  The man next to me went down with a scream and half his face gone.  The sand-bag in front of me was ripped open and I was blinded and half-choked with its contents.”

53. Days in the trenches Soldiers spent 8 days in trenches
Trenches were about metres deep
Patrols were sent into No Man’s Land
Fallen soldiers were often not buried.
Trenches were called dug outs
Trench Warfare
Soldier usually spent eight days in the front line and four days in the reserve trench.
2.The other four days were spent in a rest camp that was built a few miles away from the fighting.
3.At the trenches the solider wrote millions of letters to there family everyday.
4.Trenches on the western front were usually seven feet deep and six feet wide.
5.The small patrols were the men that often were sent into No Man’s Land to discover information about the enemy
6.Death was a common thing in the trench
7.Many men died on their fist day in the trenches as a consequence of a precisely aimed sniper’s bullet.
8. In the trenches which were called dug outs were where the soldiers had lived.

54. The Trench Cycle
Typically, a battalion would be expected to serve some time at the front line. 
This would be followed by a stint spent in support, and then in reserve lines. 
A period of rest would follow - generally short in duration - before the whole cycle of trench duty would start anew.

55. Inspection and Chores
After breakfast, men would be inspected by either the company or platoon commander (This was called “Stand-to”). After that the soldiers were assigned daily chores.
Daily chores included refilling of sandbags, repair of the duckboards and the draining of trenches.
Particularly following heavy rainfall, trenches fill up with muddy water, making life more miserable for its occupants as the walls of the trench rapidly became misshapen and were prone to collapse.

56. Duckboards in no man’s land

57. Daily Boredom
The front lines were constantly under watch by snipers and look-outs during daylight so movement was restricted until night fell. 
Thus, once men had concluded their chores, they were free to attend to more personal matters, such as the reading and writing of letters home.
Meals were also prepared.  Sleep was snatched wherever possible - although it was seldom that men were allowed sufficient time to grab more than a few minutes rest before they were assigned another task.

58. Dusk
At nightfall, the morning ritual of stand-to was repeated, to guard against a surprise attack as light fell.
After this, the trenches became a hive of activity.  Supply and maintenance activities could be undertaken.  Men would be sent to the rear lines to fetch rations and water.
Other men would be assigned sentry duty (lookout, guarding) on the fire step. 
Generally men would be expected to provide sentry duty for up to two hours. 
Any longer and there was a real risk of men falling asleep on duty - for which the penalty was death by firing squad.

60. Patrolling No Man’s Land
Patrols would often be sent out into No Mans Land. 
Some men were sent to add barbed wire to the front line. 
Others however would go out to assigned listening posts, hoping to pick up valuable information from the enemy lines.
Sometimes enemy patrols would meet in No Man's Land.  They were then faced with the option of hurrying on their separate ways or else engaging in hand to hand fighting.
They could not afford to use their handguns while patrolling in No Man's Land, for fear of the machine gun fire it would inevitably attract, deadly to all members of the patrol.

61. Rat Infestation Millions of rats infested trenches.
Two main types: the brown and the black rat. 
The brown rat was especially feared, they ate human remains (grotesquely disfiguring them by eating their eyes and liver).
Could grow to the size of a cat.
One male + female rat can produce up to 900 offspring in a year, spreading infection and contaminating food. 

64. Frogs, lice and worse
Lice were also never-ending problem causing men to itch unceasingly.
Even when clothing was periodically washed and deloused, lice eggs invariably remained hidden in the seams.
Lice caused Trench Fever, a particularly painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever.  Recovery - away from the trenches - took up to twelve weeks. 
Frogs infested shell holes covered in water; they were also found in the base of trenches. 
Many men chose to shave their heads entirely to avoid nits.

65. Trench Foot
A fungal infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary trench conditions.  It could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. 

68. Relieving Men at the Front
Men were relieved from front-line duty at night-time too. 
Units which were just relieved had to wind their weary way through numerous lines of communications trenches, weighed down with equipment and trench stores (such as shovels, picks, corrugated iron, duckboards, etc.). 

69. And the Smell
Finally, no overview of trench life can avoid the aspect that instantly struck visitors to the lines: the appalling reek given off by numerous conflicting sources.
Rotting carcasses lay around in their thousands. 
Overflowing latrines would give off a most offensive stench.
Men who had not been afforded the luxury of a bath in weeks or months would offer the pervading odor of dried sweat.  The feet were generally accepted to give off the worst odor.

70. In class writing task:
You are a young soldier on the Western Front. You have just been relieved from an 8 day stint at the front lines, and you now have time to write a letter home.
Use the information from this PPT, your text book and, if need be, info from the internet, to describe a typical day. Make sure it you use descriptive and evocative language.
Make it realistic by including historically accurate details.
Link goes to BBC’s website on World War One.
Click on “Launch the Animation” and select “Chapter 5: Gas Attack” (loads a flash animation w/sound)
Then pose this question to students after having watched the short video clip

71. Discussion
Which weapon do you think was most feared by World War One soldiers? Why?
Why do you think the Western Front became a bloody stalemate?
How did fighting on the Western Front differ from Europe’s expectations before the war?
Did pre-war plans match what actually occurred along the Western Front? Why or why not?
A share aloud discussion topic. This could also be used a brainstorm/mind-mapping activity. Question 3 ties in themes from a previous lesson on nationalism and militarism. The idea is to compare people’s misconceptions of how most felt the war would be quick, glorious, and decisive.

72. The Eastern Front
This area was a stretch of battlefields along the German and Russian border.
Russians & Serbs battled Germans & Austro-Hungarians.
It was much more mobile than the West but stalemates and slaughter were just as common.