![]() 75% of all men who died in World War 1 were killed by artillery. In fact, it was the huge boom of big guns, called artillery, being fired on the Western Front. In Britain, you could sometimes hear what sounded like thunder coming across the English Channel from Europe. For the first time, powerful new weapons and vehicles were used – at sea, on land and in the air – resulting in many people being killed or wounded. This war was very different from conflicts of the past. Every so often, soldiers on the Front Line would be instructed to leave their trench and venture into dangerous No Man’s Land (the area between the sides) to try to push back the enemy.Ī new type of war These big guns were new to warfare. There were millions of giant rats, overflowing latrines (loos) and terrible lice infestations. Over five million British soldiers spent time living in these muddy, miserable ditches, taking it in turns to be on the Front Line - the trench closest to the enemy.ĭid you know that we have a FREE downloadable First World War primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!ĭay-to-day life there was smelly and grim. Incredibly, nine out of ten men survived!īy the winter of 1915, the opposing sides had both dug long ditches called trenches which faced each other, in some places just 30m apart! These lines of narrow trenches stretched from the Belgian coast to Switzerland, and were known as the Western Front. Life in the trenches in World War 1 Soldiers in the trenches would spend their days doing chores, firing at the enemy, playing cards and writing letters home. In fact, the First World War lasted four terrible years, not four months. Many believed that Britain was so powerful it could win very quickly. When the First World War began that summer, most people thought it would be over by Christmas. Packed full of fun features, jaw-dropping facts and awe-inspiring photos – it’ll keep you entertained for hours!įind our magazine in all good newsagents, or become a subscriber and have it delivered to your door! Ask your parents to check out the ‘Subscribe’ tab on our website! (AD) As well as the infant gas mask, there was a gas-proof pram that could be used to protect babies from poisonous gas attacks.National Geographic Kids is an exciting monthly read for planet-passionate boys and girls, aged 6-13! Other than a few publicity photos these helmets were never needed, as there was never a gas bomb attack on Great Britain. Luckily, they were never put to the test in a real situation. During demonstrations there were reports that babies fell asleep and became unnaturally still inside the masks! It is likely that the pump didn't push enough air into the mask and the babies came close to suffocating. In fact there was some question over the safety of the baby’s gas mask. Despite instruction courses, few parents were totally happy with putting their child in an airtight chamber. Health Visitors and Child Welfare Centres gave lessons on how to use the mask. When the gas masks were made people didn’t realise that asbestos was a dangerous substance. With the baby inside the mask, an adult could start to use the hand pump. This was pushed back and forth to pump air into the mask. Attached to this was a rubber tube shaped like a concertina with a handle. There was an asbestos filter on the side of the mask, and this absorbed poisonous gases. The canvas had a rubber coating to stop gas seeping through the material, and the straps were tied securely so that the mask was airtight. Then they wrapped the canvas part around the baby's body with the straps fastened under its bottom like a nappy, and its legs dangling free below. ![]() There were also special gas masks for babies - parents placed their baby inside the mask so that the head was inside the steel helmet and the baby could see through the visor. The gas mask in the picture was designed for people who had breathing difficulties or other medical problems and was more like a helmet as it fitted over an adult's entire head. An advisor to the government - Liddell Hart - told the government to expect 250,000 deaths in the first week of the war alone. The government had planned for tens of thousands of deaths in London alone. In 1938, the British Government gave everyone, including babies, gas masks to protect them in case the Germans dropped poison gas bombs on Britain.
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