A Soldier's Life

transcript

The Great War

A Soldier’s Life in World War I

1. When do you think this image was taken?

2. Why?

3. What is probably on his mind?

4. What do we know about this soldier?

TheSoldiers

It's a long way to Tipperary, It's a long way to go; It's a long way to Tipperary, To the sweetest girl I know! Goodbye, Piccadilly, Farewell, Leicester Square, It's a long, long way to Tipperary, But my heart's right there!Mob

tion • Home by Christmas

• No major war in 50 years• Nationalism

The “Killjoy” had a 20 mile range

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are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

Before

Conditions

• Deafening noises, sudden flashes,

• extreme cold, little sleep• Water and mud everywhere• Trench foot• Rats, lice• Horrid sanitation

Use and Effects of Gas

• Chlorine gas - 1st used, affected respiratory system• Phosgene gas - 18 times more potent then Chlorine gas.

Can take 2 days for lungs to fill with fluid.• Mustard gas - burns eyes, skin. Swelling, vomiting

follow. Able to penetrate clothing. Battlefields couldn’t be reoccupied.

Poison gas exploding in “no man’s land”

Shells

Shellshock• “War neurosis” or “Combat Stress”• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)• Symptoms include tiredness, irritability, lack of

concentration, headaches.• Mental breakdown often occurred• Came from conditions, heavy artillery• Treatment not helpful - get soldiers back in the

trenches• Generals saw this as cowardice

n • If surviving the enemy was not bad enough, over 1000 soldiers were executed by their own armies.

Number Killed by Nation:

•Germany - 48

•France - 600

•Britain - 346

•Italy - 500+

•Canada - 25

Military Executions• Soldiers killed for insubordination, desertion,

refusing to fight• Leaders assumed it would help discipline and

morale• Those with shell-shock also executed

• Battles were on a massive scale and usually last weeks

• Battle of Somme lasted 5 months

• Started with a weeklong artillery bombardment - some 1,738,000 shells

• Believed that would destroy German trenches and barbed wire - it did neither

• Germans were in deep bunkers - when shelling stopped they came up and manned machine guns

Battle of Somme

• British troops and cavalry went “over the top”• Shear numbers allow attack to be “successful”• First day of battle 60,000 British soldiers killed• British general believed he had to attack - used

old tactics in new war• 420,000 British; 200,000 French; 500,000

Germans killed

ry• 65,038,000 mobilized

• 21,333,000 injured

Poison gas strikes the skin

Over 9,000,000 dead

nothing escaped the war. . .

british

austrian

french

canadian

american

russian

british

german

austrian

french and german

german

russian

italian

french

german

“In death there is not much distinction, friend or foe are treated alike”

Who is he? Does it even matter?

A Soldier's Life

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