using the source, what opinions can you form about trench w arfare?

Using the source, what opinions can you form about trench warfare?What part of the image made you form this opinion?

From this source I can tell that trench warfare is…

Key Question:

What effect did trench warfare have on a First

World War soldier?

Task

As the war grew on, trench warfare began to effect soldiers in a variety of ways.

Never before had soldiers been exposed to the conditions trench warfare for such long periods of time.

Throughout this lesson, you are going to examine a number of sources that inform you about what life was like in the trenches.

Learning Objectives

Be able to describe in your own words what conditions were like in the trenches (All)

Be able to use inference to form impressions about what trench conditions were like (Most)

Be able to use inference to explain how trench life impacted on a First World War soldier (Some)

Task

Much like the last activity, you will start to draw inferences (form opinions by reading between the lines) about the

conditions soldiers had to face – and be able to pinpoint the exact part of

sources that helped you draw such conclusions.

Task

Now that you have collected enough information about trench life, you are going to write out your inferences in an exam style answer. As part of your World War One assessment you will be given a question similar to the ones you are practising now….so make sure it’s a good as possible!

Choose one of the sources you have looked at, the follow this structure to set out your answer.

It is heartbreaking to watch a shell-shock case. The terror is indescribable. The flesh

on their faces shakes in fear, and their teeth continually chatter. Shell-shock was

brought about in many ways; loss of sleep, continually being under heavy shell

fire, the torment of the lice, irregular meals, nerves always on end, and the

thought always in the man's mind that the next minute was going to be his last.

[Shell-shock was a condition developed by some soldiers. It led to many men having

mental breakdowns] Corporal Henry Gregory, 1962

Example….

Example…What impression does this source give you about life in the trenches?

Find and copy a piece of the source that best supports the point made above.

‘Shell-shock was brought about in many ways; loss of sleep, continually being under heavy shell fire, the torment of the lice, irregular meals, nerves always on end, and the thought always in the man's mind that the next minute was going to be his last.’

How would this impact on a soldiers life?

This caused many men to have nervous breakdowns (or shellshock). At this point, a person would be unable to continue life as a soldier and would have to be given medical attention. I think this would have significantly impacted on a soldier for the rest of their life.

This source gives me the impression that the conditions in the trenches, were at times, so horrific that many men could not cope with the conditions.

How to structure your work…

From this source we can learn that…

We can tell this because…

This would have had an positive / negative impact on soldiers daily life because…

Extension:

From the sources you have looked at, were there any positive aspects of life

in the trenches? If so, what?

Can you spot any similarities in any of the sources? Write an explanation of

what you have found!

Lice. We were lousy. The lice were the size of grains of rice, each with its own bite, each with its own itch. When we could, we would run hot

wax from a candle down the seams of our trousers, our vests -

whatever you had - to burn the buggers out. It was the only thing to do. Eventually, when we got to

Rouen, coming back, they took every stitch off us and gave us a

suit of sterilised blue material. And the uniforms they took off, they

burned them - to get rid of the lice. For the four months I was in France I never had a bath, and I never had

any clean clothes to put on. Nothing.

Harry Patch, Last Post (2005)

It is heartbreaking to watch a shell-shock case. The terror is indescribable. The flesh

on their faces shakes in fear, and their teeth continually chatter. Shell-shock was

brought about in many ways; loss of sleep, continually being under heavy shell

fire, the torment of the lice, irregular meals, nerves always on end, and the

thought always in the man's mind that the next minute was going to be his last.

[Shell-shock was a condition developed by some soldiers. It led to many men having

mental breakdowns] Corporal Henry Gregory, 1962

The outstanding feature of the trenches was the extraordinary number of rats. The area was

infested with them. It was impossible to keep them out of the dugouts. They grew fat on the food

that they pilfered from us, and anything they could pick up in or around the trenches; they were

bloated and loathsome to look at. Some were nearly as big as cats. We were filled with an instinctive hatred of them, because however

one tried to put the thought of one's mind, one could not help

feeling that they fed on the dead.

After the war Stuart Dolden wrote an account of life in the

trenches.

‘Out here we’re all pals. We share each other’s troubles and get each other out of danger. You wouldn’t

believe the kindness between men out here. It’s a lovely thing is

friendship out here.’

An extract from a letter written by Private Mudd.

‘I am sorry you should have the wrong impression about the food; we always had more than enough, both to eat and drink. I give you a day's menu at random: Breakfast - bacon and tomatoes, bread, jam,

and cocoa. Lunch - shepherd's pie, potted meat, potatoes, bread and jam. Tea - bread and jam. Supper - ox-tail soup, roast beef, whisky and soda, leeks, rice pudding, coffee.

We have provided stores of groceries and Harrods have been ordered to send us out a weekly

parcel. However, if you like to send us an occasional luxury it would be

very welcome.’

Mike Graham wrote a letter to his family about the food

supplied to soldiers on the Western Front. 1915

‘Out he

‘If you have never had trench feet described to you. I will tell you. Your feet swell to two or

three times their normal size and go completely dead. You could stick a bayonet

into them and not feel a thing. If you are fortunate enough not to lose your feet and the swelling begins to go down. It is then that the intolerable, indescribable agony begins. I have heard men cry and even

scream with the pain and many had to have their feet and legs amputated.’

Sergeant Harry Roberts, Lancashire Fusiliers,

interviewed after the war.

‘Four of us were talking and laughing in the road when a dozen bullets came with a whistle. We all dived for the nearest door which

happened to be a lav, and fell over each other yelling with laughter. . .

I adore war. It’s just like a big picnic, without the boredom of a picnic. I’ve never been so well or

so happy.’

An extract from the diary of Captain Julian Grenfell, First

Royal Dragoons, October 1914.

‘Going over the top’

The usual approach began with a huge artillery barrage designed to

smash enemy defences and kill defending troops. This was

followed by a charge across 'no man's land', which might be a few kilometres or could be as little as

30 metres. Going over the top could be a devastating experience. If the artillery had done its job, the enemy's barbed wire fences would

be shredded and the defenders killed. But all too often this was not the case. German defences were

extremely deep and strong.

Extract taken from the National Archives Educational

website, 2013

Faced with the prospect of being killed or permanently disabled, soldiers sometimes hoped that they would receive what was

known as a blighty wound, and be sent back home. A blighty wound

was a wound that stopped you from fighting, but not serious enough to kill you. There were

some cases where soldiers shot themselves in an attempt to end their time on the frontline. Self-

inflicted wounds (SIW) was a capital offence and if discovered, a

man found guilty of this faced execution by firing-squad.

An extract taken from Spartacus Educational

Website, 2007

I used to countdown the days whilst serving on the frontline. We’d only spend around 5 or 6

days there a month. Then we’d be feeling a little safer in the reserve trench but even there I disliked it. It wasn’t until you were rotated

back to the billets that you felt the “normal” again. Eating a hot meal

and catching up on sleep. Even then you had in the back of your mind that you’d be back on the frontline in a matter of weeks. It

was hard to put it out of your mind, even when supposedly trying to

rest!

Account of Private Andrew Smith, 1958.

In your own words, describe the source tell you about life in the trenches?

Can you find and copy a piece of the source that best supports the point made above.

Level 3-4











What impression does this source give you about life in the trenches?



Level 5-7
















using the source, what opinions can you form about trench w arfare?

Documents

trench life

soldiers life

conditions soldiers

positive aspects of

trench warfare iskey

heavy shell

world war soldier

shellshock case