[Charlotte]

I have a history assignment about life in the trenches, and would like to know if u could help me with any important dates, eg important battles, as all info i can find seems to be too high standard

Thanks!

Charlotte

This post has been edited by Charlotte: 13 February 2003 - 07:20 PM

[Mrs Faithorn]

Hello Charlotte,

It is hard to find information at your (Year 9?) level because there is just so much about WWI online.

Although this page is actually a worksheet produced by a teacher for their classes it does include a list of the most important events which I think will suit your purposes. You will need Acrobat Reader to be able to see it but most computers will already have that. Be patient because there are quite a few pictures as well so it takes a while to download. The list of events is all jumbled up so you will have to put them in order - but all dates are provided so that shouldn't be a problem and the worksheet itself is interesting.

There is a much more detailed chronology of the war here

and a page with links to information about important battles here

You say you are doing an assigment on life in the trenches. If you need information about what life was like in the trenches then this page has clearly organised links to many different aspects of trench life

I hope that helps. If you need more information or suggestions of other sites, do post again.

[Charlotte]

thanks a lot, it has really helped.

Charlotte

[Mrs Faithorn]

That's good to hear.

If you need any more help with this topic, or anything else in the future, don't hesitate to post again.

[Charlotte]

The B.E.F

Is the B.E.F a branch of the british army, or the full name of the army? was it created especially for this War, or had it always existed??



Thanks for your help

Charlotte

[Miss Boughey]

Charlotte you may find Spartacus - BEF a useful website to answer your questions about the BEF during WWI.

Hope this helps.

[Mrs Faithorn]

Hello again Charlotte,

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) is the name given to that part of the British Army that was sent over to defend Belgium (and then France) in 1914.

It would have been composed initially of (mainly) men who were already serving in the British Army, though since there were many volunteers who rushed to join the Armyin the early stages of the war it would have been composed of volunteers as well.

After conscription (compulsory military service) was introduced in 1915 the BEF would also have included conscripts.

So .... yes, Britain had a permanent (or 'standing') Army before 1914 - just as we do now.

The BEF was the part of the Army sent over to the Continent.
At first it was composed of professional soldiers and volunteers.
After conscription it was composed of professional soldiers, volunteers and conscripts.

Sorry. That's all a bit repetitive - but I hope it makes it all clear.

[Charlotte]

Thanks,

Was the BEF used in all the battles that were fought by the English, or just in specific battles, like the attacks at neuve chappelle??

[Charlotte]

Thaks as well Mrs Faithorn

[Mrs Faithorn]

OK. The BEF is the part of the British Army fighting to defend Belgium and France on the Western Front.

So .... when ever British Forces were fighting in a battle it is the BEF that you are talking about.

Of course, not all the soldiers who were part of the BEF were fighting at any one time. Some would have been held in reserve, others were on leave or injured in hospital and so on.

NOTE. You should always talk about British - not English - soldiers because there were also Scots, Welsh, and Irish soldiers fighting as part of the BEF as well as soldiers from various parts of the British Empire (eg. West Indies)

Hope you have got it clear now?

[Charlotte]

Ok, i am sorted now (at last!)

Thanks a lot for everything

[Mrs Faithorn]

Glad to help. It's good to know that you find this a helpful service. Tell your friends at school about us, why don't you? Also your teacher.

Also - always a pleasure to help someone polite and who actually responds to the help given

[Mr. D. Bryant]

Mrs Faithorn, on Feb 20 2003, 03:52 PM, said:

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) is the name given to that part of the British Army that was sent over to defend Belgium (and then France) in 1914.
It would have been composed initially of (mainly) men who were already serving in the British Army, though since there were many volunteers who rushed to join the Armyin the early stages of the war it would have been composed of volunteers as well.

Just a slight correction and an addition to the websites given on chronology of the First World War.

The B.E.F. which went to war in August 1914 was composed almost exclusively of full-time Regular soldiers, including reservists. They would have been supported by units of the Territorial Army, part-time soldiers, more or less fully trained. Very few, if any, volunteers would have taken part in any fighting until at least 1915, if not much later. The majority only saw their first major action around the time of the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

For a breakdown of the major battles fought by the British Army during the First World War, I would recommend consulting 'The Long, Long Trail' website, particularly this page on the Western Front. This page on life as a soldier is also very useful. Although the site can be difficult to get to grips with, it repays the effort.

[jennzie]

hi everyone,

ok well i have a major project to do on WW1 and i only have a week to do it!! how unfair!! this is the question of the project: why was the First World War so terrible?
this is what we have to include:

• recruitments into the army
  
• conditions in the trenches
  
• how did they fight in the trenches
  
• weapons
  
• tactics of the general
  
• a conclusion which answers the question
  
• anything else which is relevant.

i was just wondering if you have any good websites or any good information that would help. that would be great thanks. and also what other things should i include that would give me a better grade????


thank you so much for your time!

[Mr. D. Bryant]

I think that the best thing to start would be my usual advice to do a forum search as there has been a lot written about this on the forum. Perhaps concentrate on some of the more recent threads, as the links will probably be more up to date.

As you only have a week to complete this, you can't possibly be expected to write lots on each subject, so one way to produce a really top-class project might be to produce one or two excellent paragraphs on each bullet-point. This would mean reading quite a lot, but then editing it down into a much shorter version in your own words. You would also need to keep linking it to the question in the way you discussed recently.

To give you a start, here are a few ideas relating to the bullet points.
1. Recruitment: look at how many men joined up, what this meant for the size of armies and what happened to some towns in Britain after the Battle of the Somme (have a look for 'Pals Battalions')
2. Conditions in the trenches: think about how long trench warfare went on and the mud, smell, dirt, rats, trench foot and the ever-present chance of death etc.
3. How did they fight? look at what happened when attacks went wrong (e.g First Day of the Somme) but also at how many men died even in battles that were successful e.g Amiens 1918
4. Weapons: I think you have just found something on this! Were the weapons of the First World War more destructive than before?
5. Tactics: Linked to 3 really. I would find out about 'attrition' and would recommend having a look at the pages on Mr. Clare's site on Haig.
6. Conclusion: A good conclusion is one of the most important things to raise the level of your answer. From what I have seen, I don't think you need my help with this. If necessary, look back at some of the advice you have received recently.

Now at first sight, it may look as if I have broken my rule about not giving you the answer. However, two things: firstly, these are just some pointers and secondly, feel free to ignore any or all of them. Good luck.