Life in the Trenches

World War I Erupts The First World War erupted in the summer of 1914. At first, the war brought optimism as hundreds of thousands of people volunteered for duty.

A Continuous Front For a while both sides attempted to beat the other but they were unable to get a lasting victory The trenches spread from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier The allies soon realized they could not move past this line so both sides began to dig in

Stalemate In the West the Germans decided they must hold on to parts of France and Belgium that they occupied They were ordered to dig trenches to protect them from the advancing French and British troops The trenches were about 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide and had deep dugouts that housed lots of soldiers

Life in the Trenches As soon as soldiers began to dig, they would find water a few feet below the surface Soldiers did not spend all their time in the trenches but as time went on and when the army was short of men it was not uncommon to spend 30 days in the trenches

Trench Layout and Weapons Trenches on the Western Front were protected by thick barbed wire to protect the enemy from advancing No Man’s Land was the area between the two opposing sides, averaged about 200-250 meters The most common artillery were guns but also large weapons were also used such as the German “Big Bertha”

Conditions in the Trenches Apart from being cold, hungry and wet most of the time, soldiers suffered from a variety of problems during the war. Rats, lice, dysentery, trench foot made life in the trenches horrific and impossible to forget Food was limited to bully beef (canned corned beef), bread and biscuits

Trench Foot and Shell Shock Many soldiers suffered from tench foot, which was an infection of the feet cased by cold, wet and unsanitary conditions If trench foot was left untreated, the foot of the soldiers would have to be amputated Shell shock symptoms included tiredness, irritability, and lack of concentration and headaches Eventually these men suffered mental breakdowns which made it impossible for them to serve on the front line

Results of the war The war resulted in more than 9 million people dead and more than 20 million people wounded Some survivors would share their experience through art and literature but others would choose to share it with no one