Ww1 Trench Warfare
Nature of Life in the Trenches
The nature of life in the trenches was a dangerous place. It was a place for the dead or for the survivors. Trenches were a front line which was dug metres underground, inside the trenches, were supplies, training areas, stores and mainly headquarters. The trenches were the main area to store arms of artillery and mortars. Life was hell for soldiers. Bearing the pain they went through, the diseases, the infections, the bad conditions living in, having to deal with sickness, all these illnesses became worse in the long run as soldiers ceased from them.
The whole idea of the trenches was to gain and to give protection from enemy lines who would want to attack their enemies once seen, so trenches were a good hiding spot hence other various reasons as well. September 1914 was when trench warfare began and ended in August 1918. In the area of the River Somme on the Western Front, the ground is deathly and is easily tunnelled. The trench sides would dissolve easily after rain so the ideas would have to be changed and wood, sandbags or any other suitable material would have to be a substitute of dirt. Trenches were never built to be straight for a reason, in case an enemy ever jumped into the trench they could have point blank shot of everyone hiding inside it, whereas, trenches were built in a zigzag form to avoid quick target shots from enemies.
The living conditions in the trenches were unbearable. In order to minimise the risk of trench foot (a disease on the feet) they would have to build duckboards on the bottom of trenches to clear the mud and faeces at the bottom. The health risk was very severe and was a maximised hazard of death as the unhygienic smell can affect the body. The weather was a big factor in the trenches, temperatures down to less than 10 degrees Celsius was made impossible for soldiers to cope while sleeping or doing any activity. Diseases such as frost bites could occur as well as exposure and trench foot.
The nature of life in the trenches was a dangerous place. It was a place for the dead or for the survivors. Trenches were a front line which was dug metres underground, inside the trenches, were supplies, training areas, stores and mainly headquarters. The trenches were the main area to store arms of artillery and mortars. Life was hell for soldiers. Bearing the pain they went through, the diseases, the infections, the bad conditions living in, having to deal with sickness, all these illnesses became worse in the long run as soldiers ceased from them.
The whole idea of the trenches was to gain and to give protection from enemy lines who would want to attack their enemies once seen, so trenches were a good hiding spot hence other various reasons as well. September 1914 was when trench warfare began and ended in August 1918. In the area of the River Somme on the Western Front, the ground is deathly and is easily tunnelled. The trench sides would dissolve easily after rain so the ideas would have to be changed and wood, sandbags or any other suitable material would have to be a substitute of dirt. Trenches were never built to be straight for a reason, in case an enemy ever jumped into the trench they could have point blank shot of everyone hiding inside it, whereas, trenches were built in a zigzag form to avoid quick target shots from enemies.
The living conditions in the trenches were unbearable. In order to minimise the risk of trench foot (a disease on the feet) they would have to build duckboards on the bottom of trenches to clear the mud and faeces at the bottom. The health risk was very severe and was a maximised hazard of death as the unhygienic smell can affect the body. The weather was a big factor in the trenches, temperatures down to less than 10 degrees Celsius was made impossible for soldiers to cope while sleeping or doing any activity. Diseases such as frost bites could occur as well as exposure and trench foot.