Learning Intention: 

We will be learning about fighting on the Western Front 

Success Criteria:

• I can describe the purpose of the Western Front 

• I can explain how the Western Front impacted Australia and Allies

• I can utilise research skills to deepen my understanding of the key battles fought on the Western Front

• I can analyse sources to understand the attitudes of the Australians on the Western Front 

TASK 2: Comprehension

Read/Listen through the following information and then complete the questions that follow.

As we have seen, warfare on the Western Front quickly reached a stalemate. Troops on both sides were largely confined to the trenches, using machine guns, trenches, barbed wire and artillery to defend their positions. This stalemate meant that war on the Western Front became bogged down in a senseless series of attacks and counter-attacks, each achieving little but costing millions of lives.

These attacks tended to follow a pattern. Initially, one side would launch a long and sustained artillery attack, during which enemy trenches would be bombarded with explosive shells. These attacks could go on for a few hours or many days. The aim of these bombardments was to force the defending troops underground, destroy their fortifications and clear the way for attacking troops to cross no man’s land (the narrow strip of land between opposing trenches that belonged to neither army) and gain enemy ground.

One major problem, however, was that no man’s land was very difficult ground to cross. Soldiers struggled through mud-filled shell holes created by their own artillery, and were weighed down with heavy equipment. Once they had started to cross no man’s land, they might learn that their bombardment had not destroyed the barbed wire obstacles between the trenches. More frightening still was the possibility that the artillery attack had failed to destroy the enemy’s fortifications. As attacking soldiers made their way across no man’s land, the enemy could emerge from deep bunkers to fi re on them with machine guns.

Generally, these types of attacks on enemy trenches failed to achieve their goals. Confusion, smoke, noise and death quickly turned complex military plans into chaos. If attackers reached enemy lines, close combat with rifles, bayonets, pistols and grenades often followed. If ground was gained, it could be retaken in counter-offensives only weeks later. The only real result of most of the battles that took place on the Western Front over the four years was death and injury

Pair Research Activity: Battle of Somme + Battle of Passchendaele 

*This is a research task - you need to put on your historian hats and use your skills to find the information (hence why there is no link provided).

Step 1: Choose two battles to research from the years 1916-1918. You may choose from the list:

• Battle of the Somme (Northern France)

• Battle of Fromelles

• Assaults on the towns of Pozieres and Villers-Bretonneux

• Battle of Passchendaele in Ypres (Belgium)

• Battle of Hamel

• Battle of Amiens

These are the most significant battles that occurred on the Western Front.

Step 2: Research the objective, strategies, casualties & outcomes of the battle.

Step 3: Include the impact of new technologies (such as weaponry) AND the role of leadership (e.g. Field Marshal Haig).

Step 4: Write your findings in your books.

Brownie points: Can you find any sources (photos/texts/speech) that demonstrate the experiences of the soldiers?