Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2024
First exams 2026
Health Problems in the Western Front Trenches (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note
Exam code: 1HI0
Illnesses caused by the trenches - Summary
Trenches and the terrain spread diseases on the Western Front
Extreme weather made conditions in the trenches worse
Hot summers made the smell of trenches unbearable and contaminated water
Heavy rainfall caused flooding and standing water in trenches
Cold winters led to flooding and frostbite
Sewage and rats led to disease and lice infestations
The use of artillery and machine guns meant that soldiers had poor sleep, leading to mental health issues
These conditions led to:
Reduced morale
An increase in casualties
Ill health due to the trench environment
Trench foot
Cause
Prolonged contact with cold, wet conditions
Tight boots, causing poor blood circulation
Symptoms
Swollen, foul-smelling and numb feet
Blue or purple skin caused by gangrene
Treatment
Amputation was sometimes necessary to prevent sepsis or further infection
Prevention
Changing socks regularly
Adding duckboards into trenches
Rubbing whale oil onto feet to create a waterproof barrier
Trench fever
Cause
Lice on rats, which thrived in the dirty conditions
Symptoms
Flu-like symptoms such as:
Headaches
Muscle pains
A high temperature
Treatment
Quinine was unsuccessful
Most patients had to wait for the fever to break
Prevention
The disinfecting of clothes
Creation of delousing stations
Shells-shock
Cause
Referred to now as PTSD
Extreme stress from:
Constant noise
The lack of sleep
Experiencing violence
Symptoms
Shaking
Nightmares
Tiredness
Mental breakdown
Treatment
Sent back to Britain for rest and treatment in the worst cases
Prevention
Shell-shock victims were considered cowards and treated poorly by the British Army
Punishments included:
Imprisonment
Fines
Loss of rank
Worked Example
Describe one feature of ill health among soldiers that arose from the trench environment.
2 marks
Answers:
The soldiers often developed trench foot (1). They had to stand in wet and muddy trenches (1).
Examiner Tips and Tricks
This question previously asked students to describe two features of a given event. This question was out of four marks. However, as of 2025, Edexcel will split this question into two subsections, asking you to describe a feature of two different events. Each subsection is worth two marks.
Make sure you read the question carefully before selecting a feature to write about. The above question asks you to describe features of ill health (also known as illnesses) caused by the trench environment. Discussing injuries caused by weapons would not be relevant to the focus of the question.
Worked Example
How could you follow up Source A to find out more about the problem of trench foot?
In your answer, you must give the question you would ask and the type of source you could use.
4 marks
Source A: From an account written after the First World War by Captain Impey. Captain Impey was an officer in the Royal Sussex Regiment, which served on the Western Front. Here he is describing the conditions in the trenches and the problem of trench foot.
The trenches were wet and cold and some of them did not have duckboards covering the mud on the floor of the trench. Many trenches also did not have dug-outs where soldiers could shelter while they slept. The battalion lived in mud and water. These conditions caused many men to develop trench foot. Altogether about 200 men with trench foot had to be evacuated from our section of the trenches. Trench foot was a new illness and it was virtually important to provide dry socks for the troops. Rubber boots were provided for the troops in the worst positions in the trenches. One section of the trench was kept as an area where men were sent, two at a time, to rub each other's feet with grease. They would do this at least once a day. |
Answers:
Detail in Source A that I would follow up: ‘Rubber boots were provided for the troops.’ (1)
Question I would ask: Was this effective in preventing trench foot? (1)
What type of source I would look for: Diaries from a range of different soldiers serving in the First World War (1)
How this might help answer my question: Extracts from a range of diaries could give us individual soldiers’ descriptions of the condition of their feet, explaining whether rubber boots were successful. (1)
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