The Terrain & Impact on Transport & Communications (Edexcel GCSE History)

The Impacts of Terrain on Transport and Communication - Summary

The terrain of the Western Front was notoriously difficult. This was true for both the soldiers in the trenches and the transport used to gather the wounded.

Heavy rainfall between 1915 and 1916 created many problems. Illnesses increased and it affected the efficiency of stretcher-bearers and ambulances. Craters caused by artillery fire made transporting the wounded dangerous for both the stretcher-bearers and injured soldiers. Transport problems meant that thousands of soldiers who could have survived died from their wounds.

Although there were some developments in the transportation methods used to help the wounded. However, the terrain of the Western Front was a consistent problem for those groups helping the wounded away from the frontline.

This section provides an understanding of the work of the RAMCand FANY. It also explains the system of transport on the Western Front

Problems of Transport & Communications Infrastructure

Terrain of the Western Front

• Most of the fighting on the Western Front took place in northern France and Belgium

• The use of trenches led to static warfare where the battlefronts moved slowly

  • This meant that the terrain was constantly affected by shelling

• The terrain had many impacts on soldiers in the Western Front:

Impact of the terrain on stretcher bearers

• It was the job of stretcher-bearers to recover injured soldiers from the trenches and no-man's-land:

  • There were 16 stretcher-bearers per battalion

  • Four to six bearers moved each stretcher

  • They worked day and night

• Stretcher-bearers had to move quickly so that the injured soldier had a greater chance of survival:

  • This made them vulnerable to shelling and gunfire

  • Obstacles like craters, barbed wire, mud and puddles made it difficult for stretcher-bearers

  • They suffered heavy casualties - one unit suffered 42 casualties out of 48

Impact of the terrain on horse-drawn and motor ambulances

• The BEF did not use motor ambulances when they arrived in France in 1914

• Horse-drawn ambulances had many problems:

  • They could not cope with the large number of casualties

  • The movement of the horses on the difficult terrain shook the injured soldiers

  • Each ambulance required 6 horses

• A public appeal run by The Times newspaper raised enough money for 512 motor ambulances by October 1914

• The motor ambulances were to replace the horse-drawn ambulances 

• Motor vehicles also struggled to navigate the muddy terrain

Impact of the terrain on trains, barges and ships

• Transportation of the wounded to Base Hospitals, away from the frontlines, was by train: 

  • At the start of the war the RAMC used French goods trains to transport the wounded

  • The first ambulance train designed for carrying the wounded arrived in France in November 1914

  • Artillery destroyed many railway lines

• Canal barges were also used to transport the wounded to Base Hospitals:

  • The large number of trains used to transport the wounded caused congestion on the train network

  • Canal barges were slower than trains but more comfortable for the wounded

• Hospital ships transported wounded soldiers from the coast back to Britain