Nature of Warfare

World War I introduced a brutal, industrialized form of warfare that transformed the nature of conflict. Let’s break it down into key elements so you can guide your students through the complexities of "The Great War."

Trench Warfare

Static, Defensive Fighting: Soldiers dug vast networks of trenches, leading to prolonged stalemates, especially on the Western Front.
Harsh Conditions: Trenches were muddy, rat-infested, and disease-ridden, with soldiers facing constant threats from snipers, artillery, and gas attacks.
"No Man’s Land": The deadly stretch of land between opposing trenches, filled with barbed wire, craters, and bodies, made advances incredibly costly.

New Technology and Industrialized Killing

Machine Guns: Made traditional charges almost suicidal, mowing down waves of soldiers with devastating efficiency. Lead to trench warfare
Artillery Barrages: Long-range shelling caused massive destruction and psychological trauma (shell shock).
Poison Gas: Chlorine and mustard gas inflicted horrific injuries, though gas masks became a partial defense.
Tanks: Introduced late in the war, tanks were an attempt to break trench lines, though early models were unreliable and limited mobility.

Total War and Global Scale

Mass Mobilization: Nations devoted all resources/industries to the war effort, drafting millions of soldiers and converting industries to produce weapons.
Colonial Troops: Empires drew soldiers from their colonies, turning the war into a truly global conflict.

War at Sea and in the Air

Naval Blockades: Britain’s blockade of Germany caused severe shortages, while German U-boats waged unrestricted submarine warfare, sinking civilian ships like the Lusitania.
Aerial Combat: Though primitive, airplanes were used for reconnaissance, dogfights, and even bombing runs. First time aeroplanes used in warfare

Psychological and Human Impact

War of Attrition: Both sides tried to wear each other down through sheer casualties, leading to battles like Verdun and the Somme, where hundreds of thousands died for minimal territorial gains.
Loss and Disillusionment: The unprecedented scale of death and suffering shattered romantic notions of war, leaving deep scars on survivors and influencing post-war literature, art, and politics.

Interactive from Twinkle trench

https://www.twinkl.com.au/go/resource/tg3-e-02-life-in-the-trenches-hotspots

What Was Trench Warfare?

Trench warfare involved opposing armies digging deep, fortified ditches to protect themselves from enemy fire. Soldiers lived, fought, and died in these trenches for months or even years, leading to brutal stalemates.

Structure of the Trenches

Front Line Trench: Closest to the enemy, where most fighting happened. Soldiers faced constant danger from snipers, artillery, and raids.
Support Trench: A secondary trench that provided backup troops and supplies to the front line.
Reserve Trench: Further back, used to rest soldiers and store supplies.
Communication Trenches: Connected the different lines, allowing for the movement of soldiers, messages, and equipment.

Trenches were often zigzag-shaped to prevent enemies from firing straight down the line if they broke through.

Life in the Trenches

Terrible Conditions: Trenches were muddy, waterlogged, and filled with rats and lice. Soldiers suffered from diseases like trench foot, caused by standing in cold, wet conditions for too long.
Constant Danger: Even when not actively fighting, soldiers endured constant artillery bombardments, sniper fire, and the threat of gas attacks.
Psychological Strain: The relentless danger and monotony of trench life contributed to severe mental trauma, known as shell shock (now recognized as PTSD).

Trenches plan.docx

Describe the structure of a WWI trenches

What features kept men safe?

What features helped men attack?

Using sources.

Which trench is this ?

What does this photo show us about trench warfare?

Why zig zag lines?

Western Front- 700 kilometers of trench lines

Explain the trench system

Write about the features of trench warfare in WWI

Draw this diagram and lable it correctly.

Using sources

Source A: We are lousy [infested with lice], stinking, ragged, unshaven, sleepless. Even when we’re back a bit we can’t sleep for our own guns. I have one puttee [fabric strip wound around the lower leg for protection], a dead man’s helmet, another dead man’s gas protector, a dead man’s bayonet. My tunic is rotten with other men’s blood and partly splattered with a comrade’s brains. It is horrible but why should you people at home not know.

Extract from a letter from John Alexander Raws to his family from the Western Front 1916. Raws was a South Australian soldier who only spent 4 weeks on the Western Front before he was killed in shelling 23 August 1916

Source B: I kept calling for the orderly to help me and thought he was funking (showing cowardice), but the poor boy had been blown to bits. Somebody got the tent up, and when I got to the delirious pneumonia patient, he was crouched on the ground at the back of the stretcher. He took no notice of me when I asked him to return to bed, so I leaned across the stretches and put one arm around and tried to lift him. I had my right arm under a leg, which I thought was his, but when I lifted I found to my horror that it was a loose leg with a boot and puttee on it. It was one of the orderly’s legs which had been blown off and had landed on the patients bed. The next day they found the trunk about 20 yards away.

Sister Kelly, an Australian nurse in France 1916.

Look at the following 2 sources: write the 5Ws (Who, What, When, Where, Why) Both Sources

Include:

-What do these sources reveal about the experiences of soldiers in the trenches? Draw a mind map.

Trench foot

Trench foot was a painful and dangerous condition that affected soldiers during World War I, especially those fighting in the trenches. It happened when feet were exposed to cold, wet, and unsanitary conditions for long periods without proper drying or warmth.

Here’s a breakdown of what happened:

Causes:

Prolonged exposure to moisture: Standing in waterlogged trenches for hours or days.
Cold temperatures: Chilling the feet, restricting blood flow.
Tight boots & poor hygiene: Cutting off circulation and trapping moisture.

Symptoms:

Early signs: Tingling, numbness, and swelling.
Progression: Skin turns red, blue, or even black as tissue begins to die.
Severe cases: Blisters, open sores, gangrene (tissue death), and possible amputation.

Why It Was So Common in WWI:

Trenches were flooded with rain and mud, with soldiers often unable to change socks or boots for days.
The lack of proper waterproof gear made it almost impossible to keep feet dry.

Treatment and Prevention:

Drying feet regularly and changing socks.
Rubbing feet with whale oil to create a moisture barrier.
Improved trench drainage and issuing more socks as the war went on.

Impact on Soldiers:

Mass casualties: Thousands of soldiers were incapacitated or sent home.
Psychological toll: The constant pain and fear of losing a foot or leg weighed heavily on morale.