GOAL To examine the realities of trench warfare.
What is Trench Warfare? Cross-section of a front-line trench Type of fighting during World War I in which both sides dug trenches protected by mines and barbed wire.
Answer the following questions on your white board Reflect: How did this movie compare, add, or contrast to what you thought before? Question: What questions do you have after watching this movie? BET YOU DIDN T KNOW http://www.history.com/videos/bet-you-didnt-know-trenchwarfare#bet-you-didnt-know-trench-warfare
British trench, France, July 1916 (during the Battle of the Somme)
British Vickers machine gun crew, western front, World War I.
French soldiers firing over their own dead
Officers walking through a flooded communication trench.
THE DIG It took nearly six hours for 450 men to construct 825ft. of trench. (.15 miles) After this they would have to add the other materials necessary: barbed wire, board walks, and sand bags, for example. Entrenching is the "normal" method of digging -standing on the ground, and digging downwards. This method was most efficient, as it allowed for many men to construct a trench at once. However, it also left the men exposed to the enemy above ground.
Western Front over 400 miles of trenches across Belgium and France 25,000 miles if laid end to end! Most offenses resulted in heavy casualties but gained little territory.
An aerial photograph of the opposing trenches and no-man's land in Artois, France, July 22, 1917. German trenches are at the right and bottom, British trenches are at the top left. The vertical line to the left of centre indicates the course of a pre-war road.
Respond to the following on your white board 0:00-6:58 Don t Forget: Reflect: Keep the question from the last movie on your board! Write one word that you would use to describe trenches or trench warfare. LIFE IN THE TRENCHES http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y GNqY9mjdpU
The barren void between the trenches Filled with craters, land mines, corpses, barbed wire Defended by machine guns and riflemen on both sides Why would this land be protected? Why would you cross it? No Man s Land
3 lines of trenches: a front-line trench located 50 yards to a mile from its enemy counterpart, guarded by tangled lines of barbed wire a support trench line several hundred yards back: brought food and supplies reserve line several hundred yards behind that: extra men and equipment Strategy
Probably the most feared weapon its impact would be over time and death could be days away possibly even more. Attuned to gas attacks and quick to put on their respirators poison gas was heavier than air and would drop down into craters Gas Attacks
Soldiers digging trenches while protected against gas attacks
'Gassed'. Painting by John Singer Sargent, 1918/1919.
Poison Gas Deaths: 1914-1918 Country Non-Fatal Deaths Total British Empire 180,597 8,109 188,706 France 182,000 8,000 190,000 United States 71,345 1,462 72,807 Italy 55,373 4,627 60,000 Russia 419,340 56,000 475,340 Germany 191,000 9,000 200,000 Austria-Hungary 97,000 3,000 100,000 Others 9,000 1,000 10.000 Total 1,205,655 91,198 1,296,853
Don t Forget: Keep the question from the last movie on your board! Reflect: Write one word that you would use to describe trenches or trench warfare. 17:40-20:00 Horrors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y GNqY9mjdpU
Personal Effects
You may not want to see these feet if you have a weak stomach! A photograph of a man suffering from trench foot.
Men could not wash themselves in the trenches limited access to running water The toilets of the trenches were usually just large buckets in a side trench some soldiers would opt to relieve themselves where they were. Understandably, dysentery was a common ailment in the trenches.
Trench Rats Many men killed in the trenches were buried almost where they fell. These corpses, as well as the food scraps that littered the trenches, attracted rats. "The rats were huge. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn't defend himself. Some were the size of domesticated cats!"
"I saw some rats running from under the dead men's greatcoats, enormous rats, fat with human flesh. My heart pounded as we edged towards one of the bodies. His helmet had rolled off. The man displayed a grimacing face, stripped of flesh; the skull bare, the eyes devoured and from the yawning mouth leapt a rat." one pair of rats can produce as much as 880 offspring a year, the trenches were soon crawling with millions of them!!
"IT IS SWEET AND FITTING TO DIE FOR YOUR COUNTRY." In all circumstances?
Making Connections Side A: Make a list of the benefits of trench warfare. How would you defend TW in an argument? What is your best argument? Side B: Make a list of the negative consequences of TW. How would you argue against TW? What is your best argument? Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Making Connections Your best friend tells you they are enlisting in the war. They want to serve their country and go fight in the trenches Using examples of the terrors faced by life in the trenches and the strategic benefits to trench warfare. What would you tell them? Should I Stay or Should I Go?