Life in the Trenches WWI Trench Warfare By

Life in the Trenches WWI

Trench Warfare �By late 1914 both sides had constructed defensive trenches. � ~600 miles of trenches on the Western Front �From late 1914 to 1918, most of the fighting in WWI was a series of attacks and counter-attacks, coming from trenches. � Millions of casualties on all sides �The trench lines set in late 1914 would not move more than 10 miles in ~3 ½ years.

Construction of the Trenches �Trenches were built with defense in mind. �The average trench was ~ 8 feet deep X ~5 feet wide �Trench walls were made of dirt and supported with sand bags and wooden planks. �Trenches could stretch for miles, but were never built in a straight line � Zig-Zagging helped protect against death by explosion

Construction of the Trenches �Multiple Trenches were connected and served different purposes. � Front-Line Trench, Support Trench, Reserve-Trench, Supply Trench, all connected by intersecting Communication Trenches. �At the back end of a trench system was the heavy artillery, which could fire shells more than 10 miles.

Construction of the Trenches �Parts of a Trench� Firebay- Step built into the wall for firing at the enemy. � Sap- A small listening post, used to watch for attacks � Dugout- A small hole dug into the trench wall. This is where soldiers ate, slept, and tried to rest. �Some were fairly nice, most were cold, damp and muddy.

Construction of the Trenches �Friendly and Enemy trenches were built on opposing sides of each other. � Opposing trenches could be as much as a mile apart, or as close as 25 -30 yards from each other. �The land in between friendly and enemy trenches became known as “No Mans Land”. � Protected by obstacles and barbed wire � Constantly being shelled by artillery � In range of enemy rifle and machine gun fire

Trench Routine�Most days in the trenches were fairly “boring”. �Soldiers did the same thing, at the same time, every single day. � manual labor, digging, reinforcing walls, carrying supplies from trench to trench. �Average soldier wore ~ 70 pounds of equipment �Although most days no attacks were made, soldiers had to worry about death 24/7.

Feeding the Soldiers �Food was hard to come by� Most soldiers ate very little, and rarely got a hot meal � Most food was dehydrated, to prevent spoilage �Clean water was hard to come by� Many soldiers were forced to drink dirty water �Sometimes from the bottom of a shell hole �Officers, away from the front-lines, received much better food.

Conditions in the Trenches �Trenches were almost always flooded by water. � This made soldiers constantly cold and damp, and created thick, sticky mud.

Conditions in the Trenches � Constant immersion in water led to “Trench Foot” �Similar to frost bite. Skin on the feet rots and falls off.

Conditions in the Trenches �Lice were rampant in the Trenches� Lice were annoying and painful, prevented the soldiers from resting. � Lice could also spread disease

Conditions in the Trenches �Rats in the Trenches� Hundreds of thousands of rats infested the trenches. � They constantly harassed soldiers while looking for food � When they could not find food, they ate the dead

Physical and Mental dangers in the Trenches �Soldiers faced many physical dangers in the trenches. � Being shot, hit by artillery, exposed to poison gas, dying of disease, drowning in mud, etc. �Soldiers also faces many mental dangers in the trenches. � Soldiers were deprived of sleep � Soldiers had to think about, anticipate, and prepare for death 24/7

Going “Over the Top” �Perhaps nothing was more terrifying than “Going Over the Top” � Being ordered to leave your trench and charge across “No Man’s Land” � Nearly 75% of soldiers that went over the top were killed or wounded.

Shell Shock �Many soldiers could not handle the constant fear and mental pressure, and developed “Shell Shock” � Shell Shock= a mental condition that paralyzed the nervous system (paralyzed by fear) �Shell Shock was not understood during WWI � Many soldiers suffering from Shell Shock were thought of as cowards. �Some Soldiers were shot by their own officers for refusing to follow orders. �Shell Shock would affect some soldiers for the rest of their lives.

Poison Gas �Poison Gas bombs were used by all sides in WWI. � Chlorine, Phosphine, and Mustard gasses were used with horrific effects. � Poison gas burned and suffocated the soldiers exposed to it. �Soldiers often suffered for many days before dying

End of Trench Warfare �Trench Warfare would continue in the same fashion until early 1918. � ~20 million men were killed or wounded in ~3 ½ years �By 1918, battle tactics were changed, and trench warfare became ineffective � Tanks, Flame –throwers, storm troopers. Bombers, etc.

How were mines used to break trench lines? How were tanks used? �Mines� Tunnels were dug underneath enemy trench lines, sometimes for months. � Mines were placed and set off at the same time, destroying trench lines. �Tanks – � Tanks are used to smash through trench lines. � Troops are protected from fire, (although tanks are very dangerous). � Tanks change the rest of the war.