Transcript Trench Warfare

Trench Warfare
2016
•
Captain C.E.W. Bean, knee-deep in mud in a trench near Gueudecourt. He was later
to write and edit the multi-volume official history of Australians in the First World War.
(AWM E00572)
Diseases from the Trench
• Trench fever (an infection caused by louse excrement)
• Trench nephritis (an inflammation of the kidneys)
• Trench foot
– (the infection and swelling of feet exposed to long periods of
dampness and cold, sometimes leading to amputation)
– became common medical problems, and caused
significant losses of manpower
• http://www.awm.gov.au/1918/trenchwarfare/index.htm#film
Trench Fever
• The first clinical description occurred
during World War I (WWI),
• Disease among Allied troops serving in the
trenches during WWI.
• Reemerged as an epidemic on the eastern
European front during World War II.
• Symptoms: Fever, Rash, Abdominal pain
Trench Foot
• ‘Trench foot' was in fact a fungal infection
of the feet brought on by prolonged
exposure to damp, cold conditions allied to
poor environmental hygiene.
Rats and Fleas
• Rat’s were everywhere!!
• Fleas were everywhere.
– Disease spread quickly