The Battle Begins
Karenna Dominguez
The cries and screams of young men echoed on the empty battlefield. Mangled bodies and wounded soldiers lay helpless on the ground. The depressing realization that there was nothing to do to help these poor men, hung over the battlefield like a dark, ominous cloud. World War One started on July 28th, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. More than 7 million soldiers died and suffered through this war. The remaining soldiers were able to return to their homes and families, but this was not without hardship for many. Even though soldiers felt ecstatic to be once again with their loving families, the emotional and mental trauma they experience after living through the horror of war may never go away. The warmth of their families’ presences couldn’t justify the cost of possibly being injured physically or mentally.
Some had permanent injuries and would be reminded of their experience every day. Even the civilians who were barely affected had permanent images in their head of the terrifying sights they had seen. The most common injury was "shell shock," a brain injury earlier believed to be caused by the impact of exploding shells. The symptoms experienced were later discovered to be psychological damage caused by long exposures to the stresses of war. It is commonly related to PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is a state more than 80,000 soldiers experienced after war. Soldiers who experienced symptoms, understandably after going through the barbaric bloodshed of the human race, were ridiculed and looked at as cowards by military officials.
Arthur Hubbard was one of the millions who suffered through this state in 1916. He was taken to the East Suffolk and Ipswich Hospital after the battle to soon find out he would be diagnosed with this terrible illness. As Hubbard struggled to explain to his mother what had happened, he said, “We had strict orders not to take prisoners, no matter if wounded my first job was when I had finished cutting some of their wire away, to empty my magazine on 3 Germans that came out of one of their deep dugouts. bleeding badly, and put them out of misery. They cried for mercy, but I had my orders, they had no feeling whatever for us poor chaps... it makes my head jump to think about it.”
Some symptoms he experienced were random nightmares and flashbacks of violent scenes from the battlefield. Many soldiers, including Hubbard, were not able to eat or sleep until a long time after they returned. The treatments for PTSD varied, but the most common one was disciplinary treatment at the time. Doctors tried to use the least time consuming treatment in order to get the soldiers back in the war and keep them fighting. Electric shock treatment was very popular in World War I along with using shaming methods, which creates an emotion which is central to the development of PTSD. Also used were physical re-education and the infliction of pain. Men were forced to do what their condition made them afraid to do; for example, a man who was afraid to be alone was isolated from the world for periods of time.
Another huge problem soldiers experienced once coming home was settling down to their old environment. Many could not get their old jobs back that they had before the war and stopped making money. The women were forced to take on the role of the leader of the house. They had to take care of the children without help of their husbands, got jobs and made the money, and sometimes even older siblings had to take on extra roles in the house. War was even hard for the children; they did not know how to cope with their traumatized fathers and couldn’t communicate like they had before. It took several years for these depressed men to even become close to recover from this trauma.
PTSD took over the lives of many in World War I and caused these soldiers to never be the same. The sights that these men saw would be planted in their minds forever. Besides the returning soldiers with PTSD, as harmed as the wounded veterans, their families were just as damaged. They had to care for these men while supporting the rest of their family. These men went through experiences no one should ever have to go through. They took on the mindset of leading their country to success, but with the cost of their lives hanging by a small thread. World War I was a huge part of many peoples lives, and these strong men helped us shape our history today.