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The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches

Edexcel GCSE History · 1HI0/11 November 2020, Question 2(b)

1HI0/11November 2020Question 2(b)4 marks

Study Source A.

Source AFrom a diary account by Dr Harvey Cushing, 25 April 1915. Cushing worked as a surgeon on the Western Front.
When we got to the ambulances, we heard about a recent gas attack. A huge, greenish cloud of smoke with a yellowish top had rolled down from the German trenches. Only sixty men out of a thousand survived the attack. Later, I saw some of those who had been affected. Two of them were still conscious but gasping for breath, their faces discoloured, and they were about to die. I hoped they didn’t have long to wait, poor chaps. Then we saw many of the severely gassed men who had arrived at the hospital this morning. It was a terrible business. One man’s face was dark blue and with every cough, he coughed up a thick stream of discoloured phlegm. He was too busy struggling to breathe to bother much about anything else – a most horrible form of death.

How could you follow up Source A to find out more about the effects of a gas attack?

In your answer, you must give the question you would ask and the type of source you could use.

Answer frameComplete the table below.

  1. Detail in Source A that I would follow up
  2. Question I would ask
  3. What type of source I could use
  4. How this might help answer my question

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  1. 1HI0/11November 2020Question 2(a)8 marks

    Study Sources A and B in the Sources Booklet.

    Source AFrom a diary account by Dr Harvey Cushing, 25 April 1915. Cushing worked as a surgeon on the Western Front.
    When we got to the ambulances, we heard about a recent gas attack. A huge, greenish cloud of smoke with a yellowish top had rolled down from the German trenches. Only sixty men out of a thousand survived the attack. Later, I saw some of those who had been affected. Two of them were still conscious but gasping for breath, their faces discoloured, and they were about to die. I hoped they didn’t have long to wait, poor chaps. Then we saw many of the severely gassed men who had arrived at the hospital this morning. It was a terrible business. One man’s face was dark blue and with every cough, he coughed up a thick stream of discoloured phlegm. He was too busy struggling to breathe to bother much about anything else – a most horrible form of death.
    Source B
    Source B: A photograph taken in 1918. It shows British troops waiting for treatment at an Advanced Dressing Station, after a gas attack.

    A photograph taken in 1918. It shows British troops waiting for treatment at an Advanced Dressing Station, after a gas attack.

    How useful are Sources A and B for an enquiry into the effects of a gas attack?

    Explain your answer, using Sources A and B and your knowledge of the historical context.