World War One: propaganda and trench warfare

I can explain why propaganda about World War One was so effective, and understand the differences between this wartime propaganda and the realities of trench warfare.

Adult supervision: Adult supervision required

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    What you'll learn

    • Wartime propaganda was used to encourage recruitment and persuade the population that war was necessary.
    • Wartime propaganda promoted the idea that fighting would bring glory upon soldiers.
    • Much of World War One was fought in trenches.
    • Conditions in trenches were appalling: the mud, rats, shelling, gore and inactivity traumatised many soldiers.
    • Much war literature attempts to evoke conditions in the trenches.

    Common mix-up

    “Trench warfare was fighting characterised by intense and constant action.”

    Trench warfare was characterised by intense periods of action, but also long periods of inaction which could be demoralising, boring and harrowing.

    Keywords

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    propaganda
    communication which is designed to influence its audience; the information is often misleading
    trench warfare
    a type of war fought on land; deep ditches are dug and occupied by each warring side
    Wilfred Owen
    a British soldier and poet (1893-1918) best known for his poems about World War One
    symbolise
    when something is used to represent something else; trench warfare has come to symbolise World War One
    no man's land
    the area of land between enemy trenches; a dangerous place where soldiers were often killed

    Year 9 · English · Key Stage 3 · Lesson 2 of 24

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