Trench Warfare “Over the Top!”

It reached peak brutality and bloodshed on the Western Front in the First World War.

Bird’s Eye View Zig-zagged pattern Communication “traverses”

This meant that a soldier could see no more than 10 meters along the length of the trench.

Trench Cross-Section

Vickers Machine Gun This new and powerful weapon could “mow down” soldiers trying to attack

Gas Attacks

These led nowhere and were built to confuse and slow down the enemy Blind Alleys These led nowhere and were built to confuse and slow down the enemy

attackers couldn’t cross “no man’s land” fast enough to avoid casualties

“no man’s land” varied in distance depending on the battlefield “no man’s land” varied in distance depending on the battlefield. On the Western Front it was typically between 100 and 300 yards, though only 30 yards on Vimy Ridge.

Small trenches rapidly grew deeper and more complex, gradually becoming vast areas of interlocking defensive works British trenches German trenches

What was life like in the trenches?

But what was life REALLY like in the trench?

At the age of 92, Arthur Savage was asked about his memories of life on the Western Front. “My memories are of sheer terror and the horror of seeing men sobbing because they had trench foot that had turned gangrenous. They knew they were going to lose a leg.

Memories of lice in your clothing driving you crazy Memories of lice in your clothing driving you crazy. Filth and lack of privacy. Of huge rats that showed no fear of you as they stole your food rations. And cold deep wet mud everywhere.

And of course, corpses. I'd never seen a dead body before I went to war. But in the trenches the dead are lying all around you. You could be talking to the fellow next to you when suddenly he'd be hit by a sniper and fall dead beside you. And there he‘d stay for days.”