Trench Warfare Flashcards
(11 cards)
Soldiers daily life x4
Construction+repair of trench defences
Cleaning and inspection of weapons
Transfer of food supplies, rations and new equipment
Removing dead bodies and wounded from trenches and No Man’s Land
Soldiers food x4
Fresh food was rare
Bully beef, bread and biscuits (unvaried)
Tinned food lasted longer
Food.transported up communication trenches and took long to get there
Soldiers hygiene x4
Trenches foot- rain meant soldiers stood in muddy water for days
Cuts and blisters infected —> numbness, swelling and gangrene
Rats attacked food stores/rotting bodies
Lice spread trench fever—> poor hygiene, overcrowding and dirty clothes
Weather conditions impact on trenches x4
Snow: frostbite
Summer: flies with diseases
Rain: flooding, waterlogged trenches
Mud: rats and lice
Dangers in trenches x4
Gas attacks: soldiers died
Shell bombardments: shell shock
Enemy machine gun fire un No Man’s land
Enemy snipers
Why did the date of the Somme get moved from 1st August 1916 to 1st July
The battle of the Somme was intended to be a joint Anglo-French attack on 1 August 1916. however heavy French losses at verdun brought the date of the sum offensive forward by a month to 1st July on the insistence of general Joffre
What would General Haig and General Rawlinson have preferred
The attack to be later on on open planes of Flanders where there was more to be gained strategically and when the volunteer army raced by Kitchener had been trained more fully 
What was the plan for the Somme
1500 British guns were to bombard the German trenches for a week and the British officers were convinced that no Germans would be left alive
Field Marshall Haig felt the battle would end the stalemate of the trenches and bring the war to a swift conclusion 
What were Haig’s commands?
For the British infantry to advance in waves at walking pace to keep formation to take hold of the German positions followed by a charge of cavalry would sweep through towards Germany 
Did the First day of the Somme go well
No
There were nearly 60,000 British casualties
What were some main reasons for the disaster on the 1st day of the Somme
British errors:
- assumed German trenches/weapons/soldiers were destroyed
- no plan B
- General Haig was unapproachable and based 20 miles behind the front line
- British not armed when they went over the top
German strengths:
- their wire was very thick and strong
- trenches/artillery/soldiers not destroyed
- took cover in the shell craters (soldiers not killed)
Weather:
-Low cloud meant British planes couldn’t sport enemy artillery on the German front line
