The Life of a Soldier

Trench Warfare

Boys often lied about their

age so they could fight

Trench Warfare -25,000 miles long -zigzagged

-1/3 of casualties happened here

No Man’s Land

Barbed wire

Front line

Long range

artillery

Support lines

Constant shell fire brought random death

Men were buried in the trenches after a shell hit

Conditions

•Dirt

•Mud

•Smell

•Disease

•No sanitation

•Colorless

•No sleep

•Open cemetery

Going “over the top”

Waited for whistle

Climbed over parapet into no-

man’s land

Almost all attacks brought total death

Wounded were left

•Size of cats

• One rat couple produces 900 more

in a year

•Ate food and corpses

• Made nests in clothing

•Itching

•Caused trench fever

Trench Foot

• Rain flooded the trenches

• Feet couldn’t get dry

•Feet swelled up to 3 times

the normal size

• Amputation was rampant

Men who had no legs or arms were

called “basket cases”

Weapons

Tanks

Machine Guns

Rifles

Grenades

Flame Throwers

MUSTARD GAS

GAS

Caused lungs to dissolve suffocation

Blindness

Most deadly biological weapon

•Could blow back on your own side

•Smelled like pineapple and

pepper

•Some was odorless

•Covered mouth in rag with urine

•Some took 12 hours to take effect

•Skin blistered, throw up

Shell Shock:

Medical condition

Mental breakdown

Blighty Wounds:

Give self an injury to get out of

duty

Cloister of the Hotel de la Princerie

Before

and

After

Village of Esnes

Before

and

After

Amount of Serious Violence Per Hour

Outlet Number of Scenes Per Hour (2000-2001)

TELEVISION

ABC 3

CBS 17

FOX 10

NBC 3

CABLE

Basic 12

Premium 6

Movies 15

Ten Most Violent TV Series

1998 Number 2001Number

1. Walker, Texas Ranger - 82 1. Xena: Warrior Princess – 63

2. Oz – 54 (HBO) 2. Walker, Texas Ranger – 53

3. VIP – 38 3. Sheena – 47

4. Mortal Kombat – 47 4. Cleopatra 2525 – 38

5. L.A. Heat – 46 5. Andromeda – 33

6. New Adventures of RH – 366. Freedom – 31

7. Buffy – 20 7. Special Unit 2 – 27

8. Viper – 29 8. Charmed – 27

9. 7 Days – 33 9. Beastmaster – 25

10. Team Knight Rider – 19 10. Oz/Dark Angel - 23

Ten Most Violent Movies

1998 2001

1. Saving Private Ryan - 262 (R) 1. The Patriot – 159 (R)

2. Blade – 92 (R) 2. Gladiator – 110 (R)

3. Ronim – 92 (R) 3. Mission Impossible II – 108 (PG-13)

4. Lethal Weapon 4 – 91 (R) 4. Shanghai Noon – 99 (PG-13)

5. The Mask of Zorro – 82 PG-13 5. Romeo Must Die – 88 (R)

6. U.S. Marshals – 61 PG-13 6. Rules of Engagement – 79 (R)

7. Rush Hour – 56 PG-13 7. Shaft – 77 (R)

8. Small Soldiers – 56 PG-13 8. Scream 3 – 66 (R)

9. Man in the Iron Mask – 47 (13) 9. U-571 – 66 (PG-13)

10. The Negotiator – 26 (R) 10. X-Men – 65 (PG-13)

Big Questions

• Soldiers became numb to violence. Do you think our society has as well?

• What determines a person’s violence thresh hold?

• Do you think it makes a difference when it is real and when it isn’t?