Trench Warfare Research Paper

The purpose of the trench warfare was so that defending units could be protected by small arms fire and provide sheltered against artillery. This shows they would protect as much land from the enemy. Trench warfare was very important in WW1 this is because when the Germans realized that they were going to lose due to Russia and France they dug in and tried not to let the enemy take any of their land back so that their country would grow bigger and stronger. I will be answering the question about, how effective was Trench warfare in World War 1, and how effective was it as a method used by both sides in war Triple Entente and Triple Alliance.
Firstly Trench Warfare is a method of defence that was used throughout the First World War. We know
Rats in their millions infested trenches. There were two main types, the brown and the black rat. Both were despised but the brown rat was especially feared. Gorging themselves on human remains they could grow to the size of a cat. Men, exasperated and afraid of these rats (which would even scamper across their faces in the dark), would attempt to rid the trenches of them by various methods: gunfire, with the bayonet, and even by clubbing them to death. It was futile however: a single rat couple could produce up to 900 offspring in a year, spreading infection and contaminating food. The rat problem remained for the duration of the war although many veteran soldiers swore that rats sensed impending heavy enemy shellfire and consequently disappeared from view. This rat problem was so big that a lot of soldiers died due to infection and there was no way of ridding them. Rats were by no means the only source of infection and nuisance. Lice were a never-ending problem, breeding in the seams of filthy clothing and causing men to itch unceasingly. Even when clothing was periodically washed and deloused, lice eggs invariably remained hidden in the seams; within a few hours of the clothes being re-worn the body heat generated would cause the eggs to hatch. Lice caused Trench Fever, a
Rotting carcases lay around in their thousands. For example, approximately 200,000 men were killed on the Somme battlefields, many of which lay in shallow graves. Overflowing latrines would similarly give off a most offensive stench. Men who had not been afforded the luxury of a bath in weeks or months would offer the pervading odour of dried sweat. The feet were generally accepted to give off the worst odour. Trenches would also smell of creosol or chloride of lime, used to stave off the constant threat of disease and infection. Add to this the smell of cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke and cooking food yet men grew used to it, while it thoroughly overcame first-time visitors to the front. So trench life was horrible people called it hell however people got used it and many people thank the trenches as that is what saved their