Edexcel GCSE History The British sector of the Western Front 1914 to 18: a complete overview of the historic environment
A complete overview of the Edexcel GCSE History historic environment, the British sector of the Western Front 1914 to 18. Covers the trenches and conditions, the wounds and illnesses, the RAMC chain of evacuation, the medical breakthroughs, and the source enquiry questions unique to Edexcel Paper 1.
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What this study demands
The British sector of the Western Front is the historic environment part of Edexcel Paper 1, paired with Medicine. It examines the Western Front from 1914 to 1918 in detail and is tested through historical sources. Because it is the historic environment, you must combine knowledge of the trenches, wounds and treatments with the skill of using sources. This overview ties the four dot-point pages together.
The trenches and conditions
Soldiers fought from a complex trench system (front, support and reserve lines in a zigzag, linked by communication trenches) across the muddy, low-lying terrain of Flanders and northern France. Key battles included Ypres, the Somme (1916) and Cambrai (1917). Conditions were wet, cold, dirty and dangerous, with rats and lice, and caused illnesses such as trench foot, trench fever and shell shock.
Wounds and the RAMC
The biggest cause of wounds was shrapnel and shell fire, often contaminated with mud (causing gas gangrene). Gas (chlorine and mustard gas) burned the lungs, eyes and skin, and head wounds were about a fifth of injuries. The RAMC and FANY treated and moved the wounded through the chain of evacuation: the RAP, the Dressing Station, the Casualty Clearing Station (with major surgery and triage) and the Base Hospital.
Medical breakthroughs
The war drove rapid progress. The Thomas splint raised survival for broken legs from about 20 to around 80 percent. Mobile x-rays found shrapnel before surgery. Blood transfusions advanced, and storing blood (sodium citrate plus cooling) created an early blood bank before Cambrai (1917). Brain surgery (Cushing) and plastic surgery (Gillies) developed, and the Carrel-Dakin method (cutting away dead tissue and flushing with salt solution) treated infected wounds.
The source enquiry questions
The study is tested by two source questions unique to Edexcel. How useful are Sources A and B (8 marks) is answered using content, provenance (NOP) and contextual knowledge, judging what each source is useful for. How could you follow up Source A (4 marks) has four parts: the detail you would follow up, the question you would ask, a source you could use, and how it would help.
Check your knowledge
- Name two illnesses caused by trench conditions. (2 marks)
- What was the biggest cause of wounds? (1 mark)
- List the four stages of the chain of evacuation in order. (2 marks)
- What did the Thomas splint do? (1 mark)
- What made storing blood possible during the war? (1 mark)
- What were the four parts of the "How could you follow up" question? (2 marks)
Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) History (1HI0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2016)