World War One: The many battles faced by WW1's nurses Nursing in World War One was exhausting, often dangerous work and the women who volunteered experienced the horror of war firsthand, some paying the ultimate price. But their story is surrounded by myth and their full contribution often goes unrecognised, writes Shirley Williams. In his much-admired book published in 1975, The Great War and Modern Memory, the American literary critic and historian, Paul Fussell, wrote about the pervasive myths and legends of WW1, so powerful they became indistinguishable from fact in many minds. Surprisingly, Fussell hardly mentioned nurses. The 9 million unsung heroes of WW1: Dogs, horses and carrier pigeons made victory possible Trapped behind enemy lines during the First World War, the few surviving soldiers of the 77th Infantry Division came under fire from both sides. As German bullets strafed through the Argonne Forest in north-east France and picked them off one by one, they came under heavy shellfire from their own lines too. With less than 200 men from a 500-strong unit still alive, three messengers were sent on a perilous last-ditch mission to let HQ known their position. It was their only hope. Two were killed at once. The third was hit too.
New Zealand nurses and medical officers New Zealand Army nurses and medical officers pose in front of the carved gateway of the New Zealand Stationary Hospital at Wisques, France. Forty New Zealand nurses worked in the 1000-bed hospital at Wisques. The work was tough and constant: three hours off a day and a half-day's leave once every 10 days – unless there was a rush of wounded, and then all leave would be cancelled. Te Ara - New Zealand Origins The First World War was caused by the destabilisation of the balance of power in Europe due to the rise of Germany. The war began in 1914 when Austria-Hungary invaded Serbia because of the assassination of an archduke. Countries had made alliances with each other, and soon most of Europe was at war. New Zealand was part of the British Empire, and when Britain declared war on Germany, in August 1914, that meant New Zealand was at war too. The two sides were called the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary) and the Allies, which included the British Empire, Russia and France.
The greatest nurses of the First World War: Inspirational women who overcame fear and prejudice to save thousands of lives Each of these courageous women, though patriots of different countries, were ultimately devoted to the true calling of nursing - saving human life By Jill Reilly Published: 11:19 GMT, 11 January 2013 | Updated: 15:22 GMT, 11 January 2013 They overcame insurmountable odds, endured gender-based prejudice, and helped a constant barrage of wounded soldiers under enemy fire.
List of hospital ships sunk in World War I During the First World War, many hospital ships were attacked, both on purpose or by mistaken identity. They were sunk by either torpedo, mine or surface attack. They were easy as well as tragic targets, since they carried hundreds of wounded soldiers from the front lines. Background[edit] The ship should give medical assistance to wounded personnel of all nationalitiesThe ship must not be used for any military purposeShips must not interfere or hamper enemy combatant vesselsBelligerents as designated by the Hague Convention can search any hospital ship to investigate violations of the above restrictions
Animals and war Millions of animals were relied upon by all sides in World War One. Curator Dr Matthew Shaw discusses the role of animals in transport, logistics, cavalry and communications, and considers their psychological function for troops and as propaganda. Introduction Gallipoli and the Anzacs Arrival of the first sisters on Lemnos Island. Red letter day. Shells bursting all round, we are off Gaba Tepe [Sister Ella Tucker, AANS, Hospital Ship Gascon, off Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, in Jan Bassett, Guns and Brooches, p. 44] For Australians, the image usually associated with 25 April, 1915 is that of Australian soldiers charging bravely up the steep and barren slopes of Gallipoli. Less appreciated is the picture of an Australian nurse on that same day attending to hundreds of battered and bleeding men on the decks and in the confined wards of a hospital ship.
In the trenches of 1914-1918 What were the trenches? Although most of us think primarily of the Great War in terms of life and death in the trenches, only a relatively small proportion of the army actually served there. The trenches were the front lines, the most dangerous places. But behind them was a mass of supply lines, training establishments, stores, workshops, headquarters and all the other elements of the 1914-1918 system of war, in which the majority of troops were employed.
Women and WWI - Women at the Front: Been There, Done That During the war women were to be found mostly at the home front while a minority went close to the actual fronts where the war was being fought, some even into combat. The only woman soldier enlisted in the British Army managed the feat by passing herself off as a man. Dorothy Lawrence, a 20-year-old ambitious journalist, joined in 1915 the B.E.F. Tunnelling Company using the alias Denis Smith, aided by some sympathetic men.
The Anzac landing at Gallipoli The Anzac landing: overview Why did theAnzacs land? 25 April 1915: Anzac Cove, Gallipoli Anzac History World War I Letters from the trenches of WWI Gallipoli France Letters written by Bert Smythe and published in the Jerilderie Herald and Urana Advertiser on 30 June and 7 July 1916. Corporal Bert Smythe, an old Jerilderie boy, writes an interesting narrative concerning trench warfare in Gallipoli in which campaign he participated. At time of writing the soldier was an inmate of a London Hospital. He says:- “It is about 6 o’clock in the morning, and we are in the rest trenches due to go into the firing line for four hours (approx.) sometime during the morning. There is a splutter of rifle fire and a machine gun spits out about 20 rounds viciously.
Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell (/ˈkævəl/; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War, for which she was arrested. She was subsequently court-martialled, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death.