Trenches Wwi

Unfortunately, heavy rains were not sufficient to wash away the filth and foul odor of human waste and decaying corpses. Not only did these unsanitary conditions contribute to the spread of disease, they also attracted an enemy despised by both sides—the lowly rat. Multitudes of rats shared the trenches with soldiers and, even more horrifying, they fed upon the remains of the dead.

Feb 25, 2020  Trench warfare in World War I. Trench warfare reached its highest development on the Western Front during World War I (1914–18), when armies of millions of men faced each other in a line of trenches extending from the Belgian coast through northeastern France to Switzerland.

Soldiers shot them out of disgust and frustration, but the rats continued to multiply and thrived for the duration of the war.

Trench WarfareFor the common soldier, the defining experience of WorldWar I was trench warfare. After the French and British stopped the Germans atthe Battle of the Marne, the opposing armies raced to the sea trying tooutflank each other, creating a long line of trenches along the way, fromSwitzerland to the English Channel. The conflict all along the Western Frontthen settled into four years of gruesome stalemate. Armies dug hundreds ofmiles of complicated trenches zigzagging in all directions, with typically5,000 men per mile on each side.

The front trench would be on average at least6 foot deep and wide, then there was a second support trench a mile or so backbehind. Finally, there was a third line of reserves, ready to advance whenneeded.The conditions in the trenches were agonizing. Armieshad not planned to make so many miles of trenches, and they were woefullyunprepared to sustain millions of people in them for years. Soldiers reportedthat the food was barely edible, healthy hygiene impossible, and basicsanitation nonexistent. These poor conditions combined with the wet and cold,lice and rats, led to diseases such as trench foot—which if left untreatedcould lead to amputation—and pneumonia. Days of tedium were then suddenly interruptedby moments of sheer terror when officers ordered their soldiers “over the top”of the trench to race head on into machine gun fire, barbed wire, and artillerybarrages.Fritz Meese, a Germany soldier, described the dreadfulconditions of the trenches on the Western Front. He was killed in 1915.“For the last week in a trench which is a mere ruinthrough which water flows in wet weather—stiff with clay and filth, and therebysupposed to protect us from the awful shell-fire.

A feeble human defenceagainst powerful forces. I am still alive and unwounded though my pack and myclothes are torn to rags by bullets. I can’t say that I am enjoying myself, butI have not lost my sense humor.

Pray for fine weather and food for me, for wetand hunger are the worst enemies. You simply can have no idea what it is like,to be in the trenches for days and weeks on end under enemy fire.

Life hereisn’t worth a damn, one thinks nothing of losing it. To-day, for instance, Iwalked for half an hour through violent rifle-fire just to have a wash andbecause I hoped to get one or two cigarettes” (Lewis 65)A French soldier, Alan Seeger, described the tormentingexperience of modern trench warfare for the vulnerable soldier. He was laterkilled at the battle of the Somme in 1916:“This style of trench warfare is extremely modern andfor the artillerymen is doubtless very interesting, but for the poor commonsoldier it is anything but romantic. His role is simply to dig himself a holein the ground and to keep hidden in it as tightly as possible. Continuallyunder the fire of the opposing batteries, he is yet never allowed to get aglimpse of the enemy. Exposed to all the dangers of war, but none of itsenthusiasms or splendid elan, he is condemned to sit like an animal in itsburrow and hear the shells whistle over this head and take their little dailytoll from his comrades. His feet are numb, his canteen frozen, but he isnot allowed to make a fire.

City of heroes wiki. He is not even permitted to light a candle,but must fold himself in his blanket and lie down cramped in the dirty straw tosleep as best he may. How different from the popular notion of the eveningcampfire, the songs and good cheer” (Lewis 63).Content by Vern Cleary Design by Stephen Pinkerton.