1. “The trench was a horrible sight
“The trench was a horrible sight. The dead were stretched out on one side, one on top of each other six feet high. I thought at the time I should never get the peculiar disgusting smell of the vapour of warm human blood heated by the sun out of my nostrils. I would rather have smelt gas a hundred times. I can never describe that faint sickening, horrible smell which several times nearly knocked me up altogether”
British Captain Leeham,

2. “No-man's land under snow is like the face of the moon: chaotic, crater ridden, uninhabitable, awful, the abode of madness”
Lieutenant Wilfred Owen

3. Trench Warfare: The Horror, the Filth, the death

4. Trench Warfare Standard war tactic
Emerged because of the limited use of the airplane and non-existence of tanks at the beginning of the war
Trenches varied in size, purpose and quality
Some were quite elaborate with underground bunkers while others were nothing more than a muddy ditch

5. How Trenches Were Built
Usually built about 400 meters apart
Began simply as large ditches dug by infantry soldiers – often measured between 6-8 feet deep
Where time allowed:
trench walls were fortified with wood to keep them from collapsing
the bottom of the trench was lined with wood or bamboo to avoid a build-up of mud
underground bunkers (rooms) were built to house officers

6. How Trenches Were Built
Parapet: a standing post for a sniper or a place for a lookout (very dangerous)
Machine Gun Nest: machine gun built into the top of the trench; surrounded by concrete or sandbags
No Man’s Land: narrow strip of land between the two lines of trenches; covered with barbed wire, netting, mines and shell holes
Reserve trenches: built in case the front line trenches were surrendered; also where soldiers spent their “free” time away from the front line

8. Life in the Trenches
Soldiers fought, ate and slept in the trenches for weeks at a time - completely exposed to the elements
Trenches were cold and damp in the winter and were often flooded with rain and mud
While soldiers were protected from direct fire, they were not protected from shelling (bombs)
Death was a constant companion
Estimated that 1/3 of all deaths during World War One happened in the front line trenches

9. Life in the Trenches
The trenches offered little protection from enemy fire
More “sophisticated” trenches included holes dug into the sides for soldiers to hide in during an artillery attack

10. Life in the Trenches
“The air is full of shells...the small ones whistling and shrieking and the heaviest falling silently, followed by a terrific explosion which perforates even the padded eardrums, so that a thin trickle of blood down the neck bears witness that the man is stricken stone deaf. The solid ground rocks like an express train at full speed, and the only comparison possible is to a volcano in eruption with incessant shudder of earthworks and pelting hail of rocks”
Source: Toronto Globe, April 15, 1916

11. Life in the Trenches Often cold, wet and cramped
Trench floors were often flooded with mud and water
Supplies such as food and basic medical supplies were low

12. Life in the Trenches
Wounded soldiers were cared for by medical officers in the trenches
Often they had to wait days before they could be taken to a field hospital
Those who died were often left in the trenches to rot – unable to move the bodies
Those soldiers wounded in No Man’s Land were often left to die as it was too dangerous to try and retrieve them

13. Life in the Trenches
Trench foot: a painful condition caused by prolonged exposure to mud
Caused soldier’s feet to swell and turn black

14. “Going Over the Top”
An advance ordered by officers – an attempt to cross No Man’s Land to take control of the enemy’s trench
Thousands forced to run across completely exposed to machine gun fire
Machine guns mowed down soldiers by the hundreds – 1000 shots per minute
Use of the machine gun was the main reason for a three-year stalemate

15. Changing Face of War
Battles of Attrition – battles were no longer decisive victories, rather attempts to grind down the enemy while hopefully outlasting them
Superior defensive weapons made it difficult for soldiers to win any land
Total War – all of the resources of one nation are organized for the war effort
Includes the battle front as well as the homefront
Contributions of the homefront were vital to the overall war effort

16. Technology on the Battlefield
Tanks: first used at the Battle of the Somme
Developed to solve problems of trench warfare
Could roll through barbed wire and machine gun fire
Seen as a major reason for Allied victory
Poison Gas: first used at the Battle of Ypres
Chlorine gas pumped into No Man’s Land; used the wind to travel to enemy trenches
Caused blindness, burned away the lining of the lungs and caused soldiers to drown

17. “Mustard Gas"
A victim of a gas attack
A gas attack

18. Technology on the Battlefield
Machine Guns: used to
efficiently and effectively
kill advancing troops
Machine guns accounted
for most deaths throughout
the war
Submarines: used primarily to sink merchant vessels bringing supplies

19. Technology on the Battlefield
Airplanes: in the experimental stage during World War I
Often used to scout enemy positions
Would play a much larger role during WWII