Topic 5 -Trench Warfare Download
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TOPI C 5: Trench Warfare BACKG ROUND INFORM ATION One image above all dominates the memory of the war on the Western Front — that of the trenches . For most of the wa r, after the initial mo re fluid battles of late 1914 and be fore the mo re open warfa re that began in Ma rch 1918 , the Allies and the Germans engaged in a long period of static wa r. From the No rth Sea off Belgium to the Swiss bo rde r, the re st retched th rough Belgium and France major lines of de fence which, at periodic inte rvals, each side would t ry to b reak th rough in the sea rch for a decisi ve victo ry. In some a reas of mountain and dense forest the lines were light ly held, but in others elaborate de fences were constructed. In the a rea of no rthern France held large ly by British Empi re forces, the t rench system usual ly consisted of th ree parallel lines — f ront, suppo rt and rese rve — Out b eyond connected by com munications t renches .The line itself was n ev er straight, but zigzagged to p rev ent a long st retch of t rench being exposed to ene my fi re the t ren che s, if attac ked and temporarily c aptu red. Out b ey ond the t renches, thousands of kilomet res of barbed wi re were laid to sl ow ene my assaults. Behind thousands of the lines, thousands of a rtille ry pieces were assembled on both sides to pound enemy positions and provide support in any major attacks . kilomet res of Until 1918, neither side was able to bring back to the battlefield the barbed wi re we re mobility that c aval ry had p rovided in earlier centuries, and both sides fought cost ly actions as th ey tried to b reak th rough these st rong laid to sl ow de fensi ve lines .These were the g reat attrition battles of the wa r, whose names were remembe red with ho rror by those who fought in them or ene my assault s. who had lost relati ves in them — the Somm e,Verdun and Passchendael e. On the first d ay of the Somme battle alon e, 1 July 1916, the British Ar my sustained 60, 000 casualties, one-thi rd of whom were killed. Li fe in the t renches was general ly miserabl e. Not on ly was the re constant danger f rom ene my shell and sniper fi re, but the re was little p rotection f rom the elements .The winter of 1916–1917 on the Somme was a pa rticular ly s ev ere one for the Australians, as described by historian Bill Gammage: Boiling tea f roze within twenty pace s, hands exposed we re numbed after five second s, bread could not be cut with a kni fe, and water had to be chopped with an a xe and car ried in blo cks to the lin e. 1 AIMS Students at • Kn ow the main featu res/characteristics of t rench warfa re Level 1/2/3: • Identify the main weapons used • Identify dif ferences bet ween the theo ry and the reality of t rench warfa re • Empathise with the experiences of soldiers in combat Students at • Critical ly ana lyse a range of rep resentations of war Level 2/3: CLASS ROOM STR ATEGIES Level 1/2/3 A key concept in this topic is for students to t ry to empathise with soldiers facing dange r. A useful sta rting e xercise might be to ask students to imagine that the re is a fire in their hom e.The re a re fami ly and friends tr apped. How might th ey react? Would th ey run , st ay and t ry to hel p, go and get hel p, le ave it to others , or something else? While an a rtificial w ay of t rying to explo re the concept, it will help students to sta rt to think about dif ferent possible reactions such as were experienced by soldiers in the trenches. Level 2/3 A key element he re is for students to understand that the re a re dif ferent w ays of rep resenting the soldiers’ experienc e. Some emphasise the br avery, the courage and mateshi p. Others emphasise the hor ror and brutality of wa r. Both a re rep resented in this topic and can be discussed by students. WM E01220 A Australian artillerymen passing along a duckboard track in Chateau Wood , a portion of one of the battlegrounds in theYpres area, 29 October 1917 . 2 K3 1 2 3 WORKSHEET 5.1: TRENCH WAR FARE Soldiers on the Western F ront regular ly fought against the ene my. This was called ‘t rench warfa re’, because when th ey were p reparing to attack, the soldiers li ved in trenches dug into the g round. When it was time to attack th ey would come out of their t renches and m ove t owa rds the ene my t renches. After the attack th ey might be m oved to the rear to rest and rec over for a period of tim e. Illustration by D avid Simkin , Contempo rary Accounts of the Fi rst World War by John Simkin ,Tressell Publications , 1981 and in John Laffin , Western Front 1916-1917 ,The P rice of Honour ,Time-Li fe Australia and John Ferguson , Sydn ey, 1987 , page 18. ❘◗ Think about what a battle might h ave been li ke. What sounds would the re b e, what smells , what would the soldiers see? Write d own some words that describe what you imagine a battle might be li ke. 3 WORKSHEET 5.1 continued Look at the s ketch of a t rench, and the photogr aphs of soldiers in t renches .Then an swer the questions that foll ow. WM EZ0009 A WM E00739 WM E00825 A A ❘◗ What is the main purpose of a t rench? ❘◗ Do you think the re would be p roblems with: • cooking • water • washing • sleeping • keeping warm • keeping cool • flies • bo redom ❘◗ The photographs show different types of trenches and conditions . Why do you think these dif ferences existed? ❘◗ List the words that best describe life in the t renches to you. 4 K3 1 2 3 WORKSHEET 5.2: TRENCH WAR FARE Look at the s ketch of soldiers in the t renches bel ow. It sh ows the soldiers on the left (Allied soldiers) attacking the soldiers on the right (German soldiers). He re a re s ev en descriptions of what the Allied soldiers a re doing .Th ey a re not in the co rrect o rde r. ❘◗ Number them in the correct order from 1-7 that tells the story of what is happening . ❘◗ Then write the number in the box where that action is happening . One example has been done for you. 1 Allied soldiers a re advancing. The Allied soldiers dest roy the German guns. The Allied soldiers h ave an ae roplane ab ove the a rea that tells them what is h appening. The Germans run away. The Allied soldiers cut the ene my barbed wi re. The Allied soldiers dest roy the ene my t renches and c aptu re the Germans. The Allied soldiers dest roy the ene my villag e. 5 K3 1 2 3 WORKSHEET 5.3: TRENCH WAR FARE Now look at the same scen e, as it probab ly happene d.The Allied so ldiers have not done wh at th ey wanted to do . ❘◗ Why did their atta ck fail? Look at numbers 1-6 , and write in what the sketch sh ows happening . For exa mpl e, you might write — ‘Some Allied soldiers are shot be fore th ey can get to the ene my.’ 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 K3 1 2 3 WORKSHEET 5.4: TRENCH WAR FARE What was battle li ke for the soldiers? ❘◗ Look at these photographs and list your impressions and reactions to them about what war was like . WM E00807 WM E03149 A A WM E00777 A WM E01056 A 7 WORKSHEET 5.4: continued THE LANDS CAPE This type of warfa re also had an ef fect on the p hysical e nvi ronment of the a rea. ❘◗ Look at the illustrations bel ow and ma ke a list of words that describe the effect of the war on the landsc ape. Aerial vi ew of the t own of Zonnebe ke, 7 June 1917, be fore a Aerial vi ew of the town of Zonnebe ke, 14 September 1917, after major action. AWM J00188 a major action. AWM J00189 Mule team bogged in thigh deep mud near Potijze Farm in the Scene on the Menin road beyondYpres, 14 September 1917 . Yp res Secto r, 19 October 1917 . AWM E00962A AWM E00700A Poziè res , Franc e, be fore the wa r. AWM G01534i Poziè res , Franc e, dest roy ed during a battle in 1916 . AWM A05776 ❘◗ List a number of words that describe the e nvi ronment during wa r. ❘◗ How do you think soldiers might h ave felt during t rench warfa re? ❘◗ How do you think th ey reacted to battle conditions? 8 K3 1 2 3 WORKSHEET 5.5: TRENCH WAR FARE Some soldiers left reco rds of how th ey felt about and reacted to t rench warfa re.