Life in the Trenches WWI

Trench Warfare By late 1914 both sides had constructed defensive trenches. ~600 miles of trenches on the Western Front From late 1914 to 1918, most of the fighting in WWI was a series of attacks and counter-attacks, coming from trenches. Millions of casualties on all sides The trench lines set in late 1914 would not move more than 10 miles in ~3 ½ years.

Construction of the Trenches Trenches were built with defense in mind. The average trench was ~ 8 feet deep X ~5 feet wide Trench walls were made of dirt and supported with sand bags and wooden planks. Trenches could stretch for miles, but were never built in a straight line Zig-Zagging helped protect against death by explosion

Construction of the Trenches Multiple Trenches were connected and served different purposes. Front-Line Trench, Support Trench, Reserve-Trench, Supply Trench, all connected by intersecting Communication Trenches. At the back end of a trench system was the heavy artillery, which could fire shells more than 10 miles.

Construction of the Trenches Parts of a Trench- Firebay- Step built into the wall for firing at the enemy. Sap- A small listening post, used to watch for attacks Dugout- A small hole dug into the trench wall. This is where soldiers ate, slept, and tried to rest. Some were fairly nice, most were cold, damp and muddy.

Construction of the Trenches Friendly and Enemy trenches were built on opposing sides of each other. Opposing trenches could be as much as a mile apart, or as close as 25-30 yards from each other. The land in between friendly and enemy trenches became known as “No Mans Land”. Protected by obstacles and barbed wire Constantly being shelled by artillery In range of enemy rifle and machine gun fire

Trench Routine- Most days in the trenches were fairly “boring”. Soldiers did the same thing, at the same time, every single day. manual labor, digging, reinforcing walls, carrying supplies from trench to trench. Average soldier wore ~ 70 pounds of equipment Although most days no attacks were made, soldiers had to worry about death 24/7.

Feeding the Soldiers Food was hard to come by- Most soldiers ate very little, and rarely got a hot meal Most food was dehydrated, to prevent spoilage Clean water was hard to come by- Many soldiers were forced to drink dirty water Sometimes from the bottom of a shell hole Officers, away from the front-lines, received much better food.

Conditions in the Trenches Trenches were almost always flooded by water. This made soldiers constantly cold and damp, and created thick, sticky mud.

Conditions in the Trenches Constant immersion in water led to “Trench Foot” Similar to frost bite. Skin on the feet rots and falls off.

Conditions in the Trenches Lice were rampant in the Trenches- Lice were annoying and painful, prevented the soldiers from resting. Lice could also spread disease

Conditions in the Trenches Rats in the Trenches- Hundreds of thousands of rats infested the trenches. They constantly harassed soldiers while looking for food When they could not find food, they ate the dead

Physical and Mental dangers in the Trenches Soldiers faced many physical dangers in the trenches. Being shot, hit by artillery, exposed to poison gas, dying of disease, drowning in mud, etc. Soldiers also faces many mental dangers in the trenches. Soldiers were deprived of sleep Soldiers had to think about, anticipate, and prepare for death 24/7

Going “Over the Top” Perhaps nothing was more terrifying than “Going Over the Top” Being ordered to leave your trench and charge across “No Man’s Land” Nearly 75% of soldiers that went over the top were killed or wounded.

Shell Shock Many soldiers could not handle the constant fear and mental pressure, and developed “Shell Shock” Shell Shock= a mental condition that paralyzed the nervous system (paralyzed by fear) Shell Shock was not understood during WWI Many soldiers suffering from Shell Shock were thought of as cowards. Some Soldiers were shot by their own officers for refusing to follow orders. Shell Shock would affect some soldiers for the rest of their lives.

Poison Gas Poison Gas bombs were used by all sides in WWI. Chlorine, Phosphine, and Mustard gasses were used with horrific effects. Poison gas burned and suffocated the soldiers exposed to it. Soldiers often suffered for many days before dying

End of Trench Warfare Trench Warfare would continue in the same fashion until early 1918. ~20 million men were killed or wounded in ~3 ½ years By 1918, battle tactics were changed, and trench warfare became ineffective Tanks, Flame –throwers, storm troopers. Bombers, etc.

How were mines used to break trench lines? How were tanks used? Tunnels were dug underneath enemy trench lines, sometimes for months. Mines were placed and set off at the same time, destroying trench lines. Tanks – Tanks are used to smash through trench lines. Troops are protected from fire, (although tanks are very dangerous). Tanks change the rest of the war.