LIFE IN THE TRENCHES
Life for soldiers during Trench Warfare in WWI was horrible. It is believed that around 1/3 of deaths of allied forces on the Western front were in the trenches. The trench system was usually 3 trenches deep with roughly 200yds in between each trench. In between the trenches of the two armies was a place called No Mans Land where there were dead bodies, landmines, and barbwire etc. Soldiers stayed in the trenches in cycles and a normal deployment would last 12 - 24 months.
Conditions in the trenches were deplorable. Aside from the normal fighting of war soldiers had to deal with mud from the rain which would make it much harder to get around and in some cases soldiers would get stuck in the mud and drown. Trench foot was another thing caused by the muddy wet conditions. Soldiers were forced to stand in water for days at a time which would cause them to get gangrene and possibly have their toes or even whole foot amputated.
Trenches were also a perfect condition for pests one of which was the rat. Rats flourished during WWI inside of the trenches. They would eat the corpses of dead soldiers and spread disease among the live ones. Fleas and head lice was another common problem in the trenches. Due to the smell of feces, that was there because there was no other place to use the bathroom, swarms of flies would also plague the trenches.
Conditions in the trenches were deplorable. Aside from the normal fighting of war soldiers had to deal with mud from the rain which would make it much harder to get around and in some cases soldiers would get stuck in the mud and drown. Trench foot was another thing caused by the muddy wet conditions. Soldiers were forced to stand in water for days at a time which would cause them to get gangrene and possibly have their toes or even whole foot amputated.
Trenches were also a perfect condition for pests one of which was the rat. Rats flourished during WWI inside of the trenches. They would eat the corpses of dead soldiers and spread disease among the live ones. Fleas and head lice was another common problem in the trenches. Due to the smell of feces, that was there because there was no other place to use the bathroom, swarms of flies would also plague the trenches.
One major thing that stuck in the heads of soldiers first coming to the trenches was the smell. Thousands of rotting bodies laying in shallow graves, unsanitary and overflowing bathroom situations, men not being able to bathe for weeks at a time. The smell of poison gas sent from the enemies stuck in the air and only added to the already putrid smell of the trench.