How bad was the Western Front?

How bad was the Western Front?

Between 1915 and 1917 there were several offensives along this front. Entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire and artillery repeatedly inflicted severe casualties during attacks and counter-attacks and no significant advances were made.

What were the conditions like on the Western Front?

On the Western Front, the war was fought by soldiers in trenches. Trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the ground where soldiers lived. They were very muddy, uncomfortable and the toilets overflowed. These conditions caused some soldiers to develop medical problems such as trench foot.

What were the problems of the terrain on the Western Front?

One key feature of the terrain on the Western Front was that the ground was difficult traverse. Due to shelling and heavy use the ground was churned up. This was exacerbated by very high rainfall and meant no mans land and the trenches could be in deep in liquid mud, making movement difficult and dangerous.

What were the conditions for the soldiers at the front?

Trench life involved long periods of boredom mixed with brief periods of terror. The threat of death kept soldiers constantly on edge, while poor living conditions and a lack of sleep wore away at their health and stamina.

Is All Quiet on the Western Front still banned in Germany?

By week’s end, the Supreme Board of Censors in Germany had reversed its original decision and banned All Quiet on the Western Front, even though Universal Pictures had already revised the film, sanitizing the trench warfare scenes and removing dialogue blaming the Kaiser for the war.

Who won the Western Front?

the Allies
Thus after four years of unprecedented fighting, both in terms of its extent and the slaughter, the Allies claimed victory on the Western Front over the most powerful and most professional army in the world.

Did soldiers eat rats in ww1?

With no proper disposal system the rats would feast off food scraps. The rats grew bigger and bolder and would even steal food from a soldier’s hand. But for some soldiers the rats became their friends. They captured them and kept them as pets, bringing a brief reprisal from the horror which lay all around.

What were the worst conditions soldiers in WWI went through?

Disease and ‘shell shock’ were rampant in the trenches. With soldiers fighting in close proximity in the trenches, usually in unsanitary conditions, infectious diseases such as dysentery, cholera and typhoid fever were common and spread rapidly.

Why was aseptic surgery a problem on the Western Front?

It was not possible to perform aseptic surgery in the Dressing Stations and Casualty Clearing Stations for two reasons: 1. The contaminated conditions 2. The large number of wounded men New methods had to be found to match the problems facing medics on the Western Front.

What did the frontline trench do?

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. Communication trenches, were dug at an angle to the frontline trench and was used to transport men, equipment and food supplies.

Why did soldiers get lice?

Robert Sherwood’s main trench annoyance was lice, another constant among soldiers. Filthy, wet clothing welcomed these pests, where they lodged in seams and caused constant itching.

What did the trenches smell like?

Some men disappeared into the mud because it was so thick. The trenches had a horrible smell. They could smell cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke, and cooking food.

What was life like on the Western Front?

Poison gas had killed much of the vegetation. In Flanders, Belgium, where the 30th Division fought, the land was flat and low, and the trenches were often knee deep in water. When it was rainy, a wounded man might drown in the mud.

How was the war fought on the Western Front?

On the Western Front, the war was fought by soldiers in trenches. Trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the ground where soldiers lived. They were very muddy, uncomfortable and the toilets overflowed. These conditions caused some soldiers to develop medical problems such as trench foot.

How many people died on the Western Front in World War 1?

It was the main theatre of fighting in World War I and was the location of several major battles, including the Somme, Verdun and Passchendaele. Though the death toll from Western Front battles will never be accurately known, at least four million men were killed there.

When did Australia fight on the Western Front?

Between March 1916 and November 1918 more than 295,000 Australians served on the Western Front. The fighting had begun when Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914. The British Empire sent an expeditionary force to France and Belgium to help repel the Germans.