Life in the Trenches

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Life in the Trenches
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• Frontline Trenches
• Usually 7 feet deep and 6 feet wide
• Sandbags were placed in front and behind the
  trench to help absorb enemy bullets and shell
  fragments sandbags at back helped soldiers blend
  in to the background to help hide them from enemy
  fire. These rear sandbags also helped protect
  them from those firing behind from support
  trenches
• A typical bullet used in WWI would only penetrate
  15 inches into the sandbag

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• Barbed-Wire Protection
• Frontline trenches were also protected by
  barbed-wire entanglements
• -Barbed-wire was placed far enough from the
  trenches so enemies couldnt get close enough to
  lob a grenade into the trenches
• Barbed-wire entanglements were effective and
  nearly impassable
• Before an attack, soldiers were sent out to cut a
  path with wiresnips or detonate a torpedo under
  the wire

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Fire-Steps -Most trenches were too large for a
soldier to see over the sandbags, so a 2-3 foot
ledge called a fire-step was built -Soldiers
would fire their guns from this step -The
fire-step was also lined with soldiers when
commanded to Stand-To
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• Stand-To Command
• The most likely time for an attack was early in
  the morning
• An hour before dawn and an hour before sunset a
  Stand-To order was given
• Even though the enemy knew of this routine, many
  attacks still happened on a Stand-To command,
  especially if the enemy knew there were
  inexperienced troops manning the frontline

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• No-Mans Land
• The land between two opposing trenches
• Often spanned from 46 meters to 460 meters
• Contained lots of barbed-wire especially in areas
  most likely to be attacked (right before
  frontline trenches)
• Full of broken and abandoned military equipment,
  and dead or wounded bodies
• It was difficult to cross No-Mans Land not only
  because soldiers became an easy target for enemy
  fire, but also coping with barbed-wire, mud, and
  shell holes

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• Call of Nature
• - Trench toilets were called Latrines
• - 4ft 5ft deep, dug at the end of short saps
• In many units, sanitary duty was given as a
  punishment to anyone who broke army regulations
• Before a change-over in troops, the latrine was
  supposed to be filled in an a new one dug for the
  new troops arriving

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• Trench Rats
• Dead corpses and food scraps in trenches
  attracted rats
• One pair of rats can reproduce 880 offspring a
  year resulting in an infestation in the trenches
• The rats were huge. They were so big they would
  eat a wounded man if he couldnt defend himself
• Two to Three rats would eat a dead corpse would
  start with the eyes and burrow into the body

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• Self-Inflicted Wounds
• Many soldiers hoped to get a blighty wound so
  they could be dispatched home
• Many men would shoot their own foot, or
  self-inflict a wound so they could be relieved of
  their duty
• If caught, the soldier would face jail time, and
  even execution

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• Shell Shock
• Symptoms include tiredness, irritability,
  giddiness, headaches and inability to concentrate
  which eventually led to mental breakdowns
• Caused by bursting shells surrounding them which
  disturbs cerebral-spinal fluid
• Some doctors ordered complete rest to recuperate,
  however the army was reluctant believing it was
  just cowardness

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• Lice
• Lice caused frenzied scratching and carried
  disease called Trench Fever (Pyrrexhia)
• Symptoms included shooting pains in shins
  followed by fever not fatal but debilitating
• Most effective way to remove lice was to burn
  them off clothes with a candle

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• Trench Foot
• Caused by cold, wet and unsanitary conditions
• Feet would gradually go numb and turn red or blue
  from constantly standing in wet trenches
• If untreated, trench foot could become gangrenous
  and lead to amputation
• Only remedy was for soldiers to dry their feet
  and change their socks multiple times a day
• Some also coated their feet in whale-oil to help
  prevent trench foot

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