3.3 THE WESTERN

FRONT

The Schlieffen PlanGermany did not want to

fight a war on two fronts.

Schlieffen Plan was

designed to quickly strike

and defeat France, then

focus on Russia.

FAILED at the Battle of the

Marne.

An attritional type of warfare where opposing armies attack

and find shelter within a network of trenches.

Since both sides were well-defended, victories were very

rare; consequently, fighting ended in a stalemate.

A situation where no action can be taken or progress made; deadlock;

standstill

New Weapons of WWI

Shrapnel

ShellFragments

Artillery

The T

renc

hes

Private Pollard on trench life…

“The trench, when we reached it, was half full of mud and water. We set to work to try and drain it. Our efforts were hampered by the fact that the French, who had first occupied, had buried their dead in the bottom and the sides. Every stroke of the pick encountered a body. The smell was awful.”

Life and dangers in the trenches“My memories are of sheer terror and

the horror of seeing men sobbing

because they had trench foot that had

turned gangrenous. They knew they

were going to lose a leg. Memories of

lice in your clothing driving you crazy.

Filth and lack of privacy. Of huge rats

that showed no fear of you as they

stole your food rations. And cold deep

wet mud everywhere. And of course,

corpses. I'd never seen a dead body

before I went to war. But in the trenches

the dead are lying all around you. You

could be talking to the fellow next to

you when suddenly he'd be hit by a

sniper and fall dead beside you. And

there he‘d stay for days.”

-Arthur Savage

Poison Gas

Shelling

Anonymous soldier on rats…

“The rats were huge. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn’t defend himself. Two or three rats would always be found on a dead body. They usually went for the eyes first and then they burrowed their way right into the corpse.”

Australian soldier on water…

“An axe would be the means of filling the dixies (iron stewing pots) with lumps of ice. We used it for tea several days until one chap noticed a pair of boots sticking out, and discovered they were attached to a body.”

Disease

Trench Foot

Sergeant Harry Roberts on trench foot…

“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 to not 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.”

Weapons: Flame Thrower

Weapons: Tanks

Weapons: machine guns, airplanes, grenades

Self-Inflicted Wounds

Shell Shock

Think-Write-Pair-Share

1. What is trench warfare?

2. What are some examples/details of what life was like in the trenches?

3. What might some long term impacts of trench warfare be?