World War 1 Trench Military Letters

The book “The Face of Battle: a study of Agincourt, Waterloo, and the Somme” authored by John Keegan is a non-fiction resource dedicated to enlightening the reader concerning the history of the military with the emphasis being between the 1960s and 1970s. Keegan provides a more detailed and accurate representation of combat in three fundamental battles in British history, and these include Agincourt, Waterloo, and Somme. In addition, the author attempts to explore the life of a common soldier, which according to him, is shaped by blood, anguish, and gripping fear.

Death and disease were omnipresent in the trenches. The health and the living conditions in the trenches were one of the biggest issues faced in World War one. Diseases in the trenches killed more soldiers than bombardment or bullets. Scraps of discarded food, empty tins and other waste, the nearby presence of the latrine, the general dirt of living half underground and being not able to wash or change for a considerable length of time or weeks on end created conditions of severe health risk (1914-1918.net, 2014). The unsanitary living conditions not only caused several health problems but this caused vermin and parasites to be very commonly present in the trenches. The rats were known to grow ‘as big as domestic cats’ according to soldiers fighting in the

Field Artillery received recognition for its efficiency on the battlefield as early as the 18th Century earning the name “King of Battle.” In countless conflicts victory on the battlefield was determined by which

It has been quite some time since I have last seen you. If all goes well, hopefully I will be able to see you again! People are dying all around me and I fear I may be next. I thought that I would write to let you know that I am fortunately well but there are many things that have been troubling me.

Being in these trenches are not only dark, wet and smelly, but there are rats everywhere. These rats are not normal size they are the size of cats. They feed off of the dead bodies in the trenches. One of my fellow cabin mates is in charge of killing the rats. Yesterday I witnessed a rat eating his way through a human body while that person was still alive. These rats are causing as much stress as the Germans. Rats are not the only pests in the trenches. Another pest is lice. I cannot stop itching my head and body. The lice have affected everyone. I hope this letter finds you well. Please pray for me. Your son

Field Artillery “The King of Battle” dates back as far as the birth of the United States Army itself. The Battle at Bunker

Just like their constant companions the lice and the rats, the soldiers in the trench adapt to the hell that they find themselves trapped in – doing whatever it takes to survive. They even fight each other over food ‘at each others throats like hungry, snarling animals’. As the novel & the war progresses so does the inhumane side of the soldiers who become increasing more detached from killing, unconcerned with the death of friends. The soldiers are conditioned, hardened up and desensitised with self preservation becoming a key motivator. This is shown as the soldiers plunder the city of Arras allies ' town and vandalize houses with no consideration of the local

I have two battalions in the trenches of the first line and the third in relief at rest just behind our trenches. The three rotate. Our boys have had their baptism of fire. They have patrolled No Man 's Land. They have gone on raids and one of my lieutenants has been cited for a decoration…I am very proud of what we 've done and are doing. I put the whole regiment through grenade (live grenade) practice. Nasty, dangerous business. They did it beautifully… The boys keep

Happy Easter Monday mom! How are you? Hope all are doing well in Canada. Walter and I are doing bonzer. We deeply miss you mother and, of course, father too. We both have bonzer possies here. The chief is really nice to us now. I still can’t believe it has been over a year since we have seen you. It fascinates me that exactly few years ago we were altogether even dad was with us. We have created so many memories together especially the ones we created on this specific day. Every Easter Monday, Walter will make us laugh by saying nonsense and we will all tell him to chub. Those are good times that I will never forget.

The war has been dragging on for far longer than predicted. Life in the trenches is dreadful. The constant bombardment from the enemy causes many to run and hid, along with many getting what we are calling shellshocked. We use it to describe when one can’t move with no visible injury or when they mentally can’t fight. But the worst has to be the rats, the rats are over the size of our house cats, we call them corpse rats for the soul reason that the rats eat the dead that laid in no man's land. Some of us shoot them for sport. The lice and trench foot is minor. But the Storm Troopers that we’ve been hearing about are fighting, their lightning quick attacks that demolish the line is one thing I don’t want to see. I hope Erik is okay, and well.

The “King of Battle” is becoming a better king. The overall progression in the U.S. Army has been rapid to say the least. With every new battle, the Field Artillery has brought something new and important to that table. Paving the way to the accurate and predicted fires that we have in today’s Artillery world. We will shine light on key events throughout the history of the Field Artillery, leading up to Current technology and training goals. You will have a vastly greater knowledge of how the Field Artillery came to be what it currently is.

I know it has been a long time since I´ve wrote to you. I have been quite busy, hence the time difference of the letters I write. But more importantly, I wrote to say that I miss you , Mary, and Mama very dearly, where the time apart has left me quite homesick. Otherwise, if you haven't already known, my squad and I are headed in to Sicily, Italy. I know! How exciting! I will have to see if I can visit our Aunt Sally up in Rome.

One motif that is presented is presented in the novel is nature. In the beginning of the boom nature resembled glorious thoughts. Some examples include poppies, which represents optimism for the future and the trenches and shell holes, which represent protection. Then at the end of the novel, nature represented no end to pain and death. A few examples would be the heat which represented no soon end. Another example would be the cold which took place in the last few months of the war. The cold represents the end of life. Nature is one of the motifs represented in the novel.

Hey honny im sending you this letter for valentines day cause i know you love to hear about what goes on out here on the frontlines of the war. Its been mostly good for now weve been winning as i've been told but almost everyday theres a new disease trying to get to us everyday, mainly because of the rats. These rats even eat all of our food and sometimes i've seen some that are the size of full grown cats its dusgusting and there eating everything and spreading more disease then ever right now. The day is now november 18th and my commander says that the battle we just fought was called the battle of Somme and that there has been at least 1.2 million casualties on either sides of the battle but it has for the most part ended. Most of these

Remarque also says that “The rats have become much more numerous lately because the trenches are no longer in good condition” (Remarque 102). *INTRODUCE QUOTE*Remarque says “We have a spell from the rats in the trench. They are in No Man’s Land- we know what for. They grow fat; when we see one we have a crack at it” (Remarque 128). Remarque explains through his novel that the rats are fat, numerous, and feast off bodies in No Man’s Land. All of these statements are factual. Anthony Brandt, *credibility needed*, explains that “As the machine of war ground away, so many corpses accumulated in no-man's-land that the stench of rotting flesh became ubiquitous. The corpses in turn attracted fat brown Norway rats in extraordinary numbers” (Brandt). Brandt validates each of the three claims made by Remarque in his book. The trench rats in World War One were frighteningly large due to eating the corpses of soldiers in No Man’s Land, and were substantial in number. At the 10:05 mark of the documentary named The Arming of the Earth, A man who served in and lived through the Great War explains that “Rats as big as dogs” ran over the faces of men attempting to sleep in the trenches (Films Media Group). He continues to explain