Trench Warfare in World War 1 and World War 2 was very deadly. Many soldiers in the trenches died from random causes. Just about every trench in both of the wars where very nasty. It was a place that no one ever wanted to be or would ever want to go. Trenches were built about every way that you could imagine. They were built above ground and underground. Building trenches was very difficult and time consuming. It would take 450 men six hours to construct a trench that was 250 meters long. Most trenches where about two meters deep and two meters wide and where never built in a straight line. They built the trenches zigzagged because when they dropped a bomb on one part of the trench the blast wouldn’t be able to kill everyone. They also …show more content…
The brown rat was feared the most. Some of the rats grew to be the size of a domestic cat because they gorged themselves on human remains. They often disfigured them by eating their eyes and liver. A single rat couple could produce 900 offspring in one year which caused them to invest the trenches. Lice was also a big problem in the trenches because they were also invested there as well. Lice would breed and reproduce in the seams of soldiers clothes. Lice eggs could hatch within a few hours off the body heat that was generated from soldiers. Lice was a big problem in the trenches because it caused men to itch constantly and they could also cause Trench Fever which was a painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever. Recovery away from the trenches took about 12 weeks. You never wanted to go to the recovery tents. Soldiers would go to the medical tents often for diseases and other problems. A lot of the men went because of trench foot. Trench foot was caused by cold, wet and dirty trench conditions. It would make the foot become swollen and change the color of it. Trench foot often resulted in amputation. There wasn’t very many things to do in trenches. The daily routine of the trenches would be described as scary and boring. The daily routine would always begin with the morning stand to. Every morning they were roused from sleep by the company orderly officer and sergeant and ordered to climb up on
Each soldier must have seen or experienced something gruelling that they didn't really want to see. This caused bad memories for them making them feel insecure that something that bad is possible to happen to them. This made them abit nervous about staying tin the trenches as people have died in them,
Trenches varied from eight to six feet in height. In these waterlogged trenches, there was a need for extra support wood boards were placed on the side and on the floor for a safe area for walking. The Soldiers stood no chance against the diseases. Body lice were among one of the diseases that traveled among the trenches the most. Body lice caused scratching and led to trench fever. Fifteen percent of sickness was from body lice (Simkin).Trench foot was another disease found in the trenches. After hours of standing in waterlogged trenches, the feet would begin to numb, change color, and swell, and this would soon result in amputation.
During World War I, trench warfare was very common. It was a newer technique in battles as in wars prior to the Great World War, fighting was less invasive and men merely marched at each other from opposite ends of fields and fought until only one side remained standing or a white flag was hung high in surrender. In fact in older wars, the fighting was far less dangerous to the point where battles were often times viewed by locals who watched from side lines with really no threat of getting hurt. In World War I however, the fighting had upscaled to the most sadistic type the world had ever experienced. With the industrialist wave that had overcome us in the late 1800s into
Starting with trench foot, trench foot was a condition caused by the water in the trenches. This happened because the poorly built trenches caused water to stay in the area.The water started to get muddy and since they had no bathroom, the area would just flood with muck. As you would walk back and forth through the water your feet could start to decompose and rot, it could cause hypothermia and many other medical conditions. Another danger was raids and gun fire, The raid would last for a long time . The soldiers would aim to kill the enemy, they would open fire and carry knives , they would try to kill as many on the opposing side as possible. This excerpt from ‘Neath a Foreign sky’ written by paul allen says “men are being evacuated with frostbite and exhaustion by the hundred. Today four men were dug out of the mud who had been unable to move for three days. The conditions were so bad that we were unable to see the actual trenches” this is showing the sickness and dangers of the trenches this shows how terrible the trenches were and how they caused sickness and cold greatly affected the way the soldiers
World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.
Although trench warfare was beneficial in certain situations of the First World War, the conditions and roles of military leaders in trench warfare were harmful. The conditions of the trenches were horrible for the soldiers
The long period that the soldiers had to spend within the trenches,normally because dirty rain flood,with soaked shoes in mud puddles,rats and decomposing bodies,caused the
One of the reasons the fighting was so horrible is that the British trenches were not as developed as the Germans. The British trench was more constructed to maintain readiness, rather than being prepared for different elements. Also, many toes were amputated because of being exposed to cold water. This is more commonly known as “trench foot”.
These endless zigzag trails were the soldiers’ home for as long as they were assigned duty to them. The trenches were often infested with “rats and lice… ‘There are millions! Some are huge fellows, nearly as big as cats…’ The soldiers often went weeks without washing or changing clothes, and most were infested with body lice” (Newman 141). Conditions were so wet and dirty and the men had to live with it. As a result of the wet and dirty conditions, many soldiers got ‘trench foot’. “Their feet swelled up to two or three times their normal size and went numb…but when the swelling went down, the pain was agonizing.
In World War One, about ten million soldiers lost their lives. Many of these men died in Trench Warfare, due to the constant enemy fire. Also rats, sometimes the size of cats, infested the trenches leading to the spread of infections. One sickness that spread throughout the Trenches was Trench Fever, caused by lice. The three causes of World War One were alliances, militarism, and imperialism.
World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.
Intro: The life for the average soldier in the WW1 trenches was pretty horrible. They had to live in mud, fellow dead soldiers and lots of rats, some the size of your hand. Life of a soldier was very tough, having to see your best mate get shot and he left to rot. Any soldiers that made it out of the war would have suffered either shell shock or post-traumatic stress disorder and living with either of these would have been terrible.
In World War 1, there were many new tactics that war has never seen before. Trench warfare was one of the new tactics that they used in World War 1. They used the trenches for many things. In World War 1 and All Quiet on the Western Front. They are an accurate portrayal of each other because of the way they fought while in cover, built them, and the way they put all their resources in them.
Trench warfare was implemented to provide cover for soldiers during battle in WW1 seeing that most battlefields were open field & farms, so soldiers had little or no cover from rifle fire. After suffering thousands of casualties, soldiers began to dig into the ground creating cover. Over the months the trenches grew & evolved to hold barracks & equipment. Within a few months trenches were equipped with all essentials to ensure there was no need to leave them unnecessarily. Trenches were first dug by hand but soon soldiers would be equipped with shovels to increase productivity. Trenches were also mainly built at night to avoid detection by enemy troops.
To explain the main features of trench warfare we must look at all the points the trench design, the modern technology etc. Trenches were designed in a specific way. They were built in a zigzag fashion to accommodate for bombs destroying them. If a bomb did hit them then only a corner of the