ipl-logo

Trenches In World War I

1165 Words5 Pages

During World War I, the majority of the fighting on the western front was done from trenches. These trenches were built differently by each country, but they all served the same goal, to provide soldiers cover and concealment, as any movement outside of trenches could be extremely costly. The life of a typical soldier fighting in World War I trenches is characterized by zero sleep, rat infestations, amputations, and a constant fear of death. The fighting in these trenches was violent and often seemed futile, with the small land gains being paid for with huge losses of life. Trenches in World War I were built with only protection in mind. While they were being built, they began as a series of holes. All the soldiers would hide in these as …show more content…

Living conditions were horrendous and soldiers rarely got any time to sleep. Soldiers were not allowed to sleep at night, in fact, sleeping was considered a serious felony punishable by death or imprisonment. The only time that soldiers were permitted to sleep was after they had completed all their morning duties. Some of the morning duties executed by soldiers were spying on the enemy with periscopes. In an article by BBC news they state, “Standing upright with mirrors at each end, periscopes allowed men to observe the battlefield from the safety of the trench below.” Periscopes were a useful piece of technology as soldiers didn’t have to put their lives in danger to observe the enemy. Unfortunately Soldiers dealt with a multitude of problems. Living and working in unsanitary conditions for several weeks often would cause a disease known as trench foot. During wintertime trenches would often flood after heavy rainfall, due to this heavy rainfall soldiers would often have to walk in polluted and muddy water. This would cause trench foot, which would eventually lead to soldiers having to get their feet amputated. Another problem soldiers would have to deal with was rat infestations. According to some soldiers these rats grew to the size of a normal house cat. However, dogs were commonplace in most trenches and served as rat catchers, and helped clean out trenches. Not only did they help kill rats they served …show more content…

Although life for the average soldiers was absolutely terrible, for the officers it was much easier. Officers were sheltered in underground bunkers, and even had the piano played for them. Germans undoubtedly had some of the best bunkers, they served as a place to relax and play with service dogs of the

Show More
Related
647 Words | 3 Pages

The Patriots were feeling defeated after the first 2 years of war, and the makeshift Pennsylvania winter camp didn 't add to their spirits. Valley Forge was a tough time for the American Army, and many soldiers wanted to quit because of the hardships. If I were a soldier, I would have quit Valley Forge for a multitude of reasons. The living conditions were inadequate, there was a minimal amount of supplies, and illness and death was common in the camp. In essence, the cons of staying at Valley Forge outweighed the Pros.

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

During World War I from 1914 to 1918, soldiers in the front line their main priority for survival was getting some sleep, something to eat, a way to move their artilleries, themselves, their gear, and even the wounded from one location to another. Some soldiers with different ranks were allowed to write diaries. Sergeant Elmer F. Straub wrote in his diary how he was able to get some sleep through artillery barrage. Corporal Eugene Kennedy wrote in his diary how tents had to be taken down, roll packs, and leave with in fifteen minutes; not to mention the loaf of bread that he shoved in the breast of his overcoat. And Captain John Trible, who register in his diary that his medical unit had moved to a "pretty civilized" village, and secured a place with a local family where he could sleep in a bed for the first time in the last two months.

Read More
843 Words | 4 Pages

The trenches were well also known for their rat infestations. These rats, were notoriously known as “corpse” or “trench rats” and grew to insanely abnormal sizes. They added to the filth and unsanitary conditions of the trenches, which increased rates of sickness and death among the soldiers. (INTRO TO QUOTE) “We must look out for our bread.

Read More
2090 Words | 9 Pages

In between the chores soldiers had to complete in the trenches during the day, there was some time for leisure, this

Read More
259 Words | 2 Pages

In order to analyze and answer the question, we must first understand the context of trench warfare. World War 1 was a time when advanced weapons and technology were invented. Weapons such as machine guns, artillery, tanks, and other long range military weapons were used at the opposing side. To defend against a wide use of artillery and other long range weapons, trench warfare was used by both the allied and central powers. Trench warfare was a very important factor in World War 1, not only because it would defend one’s own trench, but also attempt to attack the enemies at the same time.

Read More
1110 Words | 5 Pages

World War I started in 1914 and ended in 1918. It is known as the trench warfare war and one of the worst wars in history. Many soldiers from the French and German sides died. The war was fought in France and is known as one of the worst wars. The book All Quiet on the Western Front is about Paul and his journey throughout the war.

Read More
104 Words | 1 Pages

In “The Rear Guard” the soldiers in the trench are depicted as “muttering creatures” showing the intense fear and poor conditions they they are suffering. The conditions are shown to be terrible, as it says “Tins, boxes, bottles, shapes too vague to know, A mirror smashed, the mattress from a bed” This shows that the soldiers have let the trench become untidy, possibly because of an attack by the enemy or a mutiny, either way the soldiers rather face the hellish conditions that have been created in the trench than face the war above; not even to remove the body of a fallen

Read More
972 Words | 4 Pages

However at that time they did not have a specific diagnosis for all the soldiers going through them (Bourke bbc.co.uk). As a result of the constant shelling and the shellshock that stemmed from it, it is obvious how miserable these soldiers must have been after going through that kind of

Read More
841 Words | 4 Pages

The use of imagery to describe trenches in both texts plays a big role in building up the theme that war destroys innocence and youth. For example, in Sassoon 's "Suicide in the Trenches", the phrase 'winter trenches ' is paired with words such as glum and lice, both of which have a negative connotation. (Sassoon, 5-6.) Sassoon also uses imagery to portray the front/the trenches as hell, and explicitly states that that is where youth, innocence, and laughter go to "die" because war destroys a person mentally, even if it doesn 't physically them. (Sassoon, 12.)

Read More
679 Words | 3 Pages

First, the soldiers had to have a tough guy façade. When under fire, the men would sometimes squeal and beg God not to let them die, but once the attack was over, they would compose themselves. They exhibit their

Read More
936 Words | 4 Pages

PTSD is a condition that affects soldiers and others who experience traumatic events during their lives. In All Quiet On The Western Front many of the characters, including Paul, experience PTSD. All Quiet on The Western Front takes place during the events of World War One when PTSD was called shell shock. The condition was often dismissed as cowardice, and soldiers even after experiencing many traumatizing events, were forced to fight and go back to the front line. PTSD now and in World War One are the same condition, and were often caused by chaotic and modernized warfare.

Read More
1702 Words | 7 Pages

From one account of a soldier at Gallipoli, he stated “A few bivvies, excavated in the walls of trenches, but most men only had the floor of the trench upon which to lie” - Colonel Herbert Collett, 28th Battalion. In the movie, it was seen that there were only “a few bivvies” to sit and lie in while there were many soldiers sitting on the dry ground, this is a very accurate recreation of the firsthand accounts and pictures taken at Gallipoli. The trenches were not a pleasant place as they were unhygienic, and disease-ridden because of the constant death in and around the trenches, Weir falsely recreates the trenches with dead bodies buried in the walls and little-seen disease except the flies in the soldier’s food. Another account from 2nd of December describes the trenches as not being under “continuous bomb fighting and bombarding all the time” instead “the chief occupation is the digging of mile upon mile of endless trench” -Dispatch, Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Weir’s Gallipoli reconstructs life in the trenches as standing around for ages and filling time with activities like smoking and small gambling or betting, this was the case but many soldiers had to be constantly digging more lines of trenches which were not shown in the movie.

Read More
853 Words | 4 Pages

Depending on which army the solider belonged to, this meant that the typical solider was carrying 55 pounds to 75 pounds worth of equipment and belongings. “This Equipment comprised of: two blankets rolled up in a ground sheet, a spare pair of boots, a sheepskin or quilted coat, a shovel, or pair of heavy wire-clippers, a mess-tin and a large pail for rations, two liters of win, two quarts of water, food for four days, 200 cartridges, six hand grenades and a gas-mask, as well as assorted clothes and personal belongings.” (Ellis, 36). Soldiers would generally cover 15 to 20 miles with only 10 minutes of rest per the hour while tracking in muddy trenches with these immensely heavy

Read More
213 Words | 1 Pages

If I were a soldier, my day would be a constant reminder of what I was preparing to do. As a civilian, I would have been concerned about attacks from the enemy and would be living under food rationing and blackouts where your windows and anything that could create light had to be covered in case of nighttime air attacks from the Germans.

Read More
490 Words | 2 Pages

According to Morey “Accordingly, when they were serving in the army, their little farms were neglected, or ravaged by the enemy, their families were driven away, and their property was destroyed. In this way, while serving their country, they were deprived of their houses and fields, and of the means of subsistence, and so were reduced to a condition of poverty and great distress.” (Morey,

Read More

More about Trenches In World War I

Related Topics

Open Document