Life in the Trenches of World War I

Life in the Trenches of World War One

Following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914, the then superpowers of Europe decided to carve up France because Germany wanted it for themselves, and Britain and its allies opposed this idea. In September of 1914 German commander General Erich von Falkenhayn ordered the construction of defensive trenches to ensure that the Allied forces couldn't overrun his own men. The Allies responded in kind and two long trenches were dug from the coast of France to Switzerland, which was soon dubbed the Western Front. The trenches mostly ran alongside each other, and varied from a distance of over a kilometre to as little as 15 metres apart, such as at Hooge, near Ypres1.

Soldiers who thought that joining up for the good of their country was all guns and glamour were to be proved horribly, horribly wrong. Instead of dashing about on horses, or fighting in the beautiful fields of Europe (and meeting lots of nice French girls to boot), the soldiers found themselves facing their enemies from inside a big hole in the ground. The trenches soon became extremely inhospitable and terrible places and aside from the fact that some bloke a few yards away was trying to kill you in a variety of ingenious ways, there were many other things to contend with.

Parasites and Rodents

In the cramped conditions many parasites thrived. Lice, notoriously hard to get rid of, were a never-ceasing problem; they bred in the seams of uniforms and caused the occupants to itch. All the soldiers could do was to burn them out with a match. Some men shaved their entire heads to avoid a dreaded nit infestation. Lice could also cause Trench Fever, a blood-borne infection caused by a bacterium known as Bartonella quintana. The symptoms are similar to influenza, with increased pain and a high fever and only rest, usually away from the front-line, could assure that the condition could be treated. Full recovery usually took up to twelve weeks, but because the pesky lice were not actually identified as the culprits of Trench Fever until 1918, some men it was assumed, had just a high fever associated with another illness. As such, many succumbed to the disease whilst recuperating away from the trench due to inadequate medical treatment.

Weather Conditions

Another factor that depressed the troops was the abysmal weather. The bitter cold could claim digits to frostbite, and the heavy rain flooded the trenches and turned the soil into thick, slimy mud. The trenches sometimes filled with water up to the waists of the less than impressed soldiers. This submersion of the feet for long periods of time led to a terrible condition called 'Trench Foot' - a fungal infection that could turn septic, resulting in amputation. Thus a clean dry pair of socks and a decent pair of boots was something akin to heaven on Earth. Our trenches are ankle deep in mud. In some places trenches are waist deep in water. - Private Livesay, from a letter to his parents, 1915

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• world
• war

[TheBlackDeath756]

5th assesment aswell

[LiltedLullaby]

I wish I didn't have to watch this for revision.

[Ginginthestarbuck]

third ! x for a assessment

[Awesomechild96]

SECOND!!!!!

[endonoho]

first