What did trenches look like in World War 1?

Answer 1

Trenches were very helpful for the soldiers in WW1! Trenches were around 7ft deep and built by the soldiers themselves, they could span for hundreds of km's. Some of the main features of the trenches were.....

• Barbed wire, this was placed around 6 ft away from the top edge of the trenches. This was the 1st line of defence in the trenches to stop enemy soldiers entering the trenches.
• Fire step, this would help soldiers to get 'Over The Top'(out over the top of the trench) also it would help the soldiers get better aim when shooting out of the trench.
• Dug out, This was to protect soldiers whilst they were getting their well earned rest.
• Zig-zag formation, exetremly hard to take over as their could be an ambush around any of the corners, also strong against aerial bombings as the force of the force of the bomb couldn't sweep down a straight line it had to take out all the corners aswell.
• Machine gun posts, were strategically placed around trenches to gun down any on coming enemy soldiers.

Answer 2

The trenches in WWI were generally split into 3, with a front line, a communication line, and a support line. They were not straight, and would sometimes span for mile upon mile. When it rained, the bottom of trenches filled with water. At the bottom, they laid boards if available, to keep their feet out of the water. But most soldiers stood in the water for hours and days on end. When feet sit in water with no way to dry, men develop trench foot-- where the skin rots. This disease normally lead to gangrene and many soldiers legs had to be amputated during their times in the trench. The trenches in WWI were unsanitary, unclean places; men had to urinate and defecate somewhere in the trench because they could not leave their posts. Eating, urinating, and defecating in the trenches brought rats that ran through the trench system. Also, chemical warfare allowed deadly gases to linger and move through the trenches, causing more deaths. Overall, the trenches were graves. The deceased lay where they fell during shooting. Living soldiers could not remove the bodies because the enemy might fire upon them. The trenches of world war one were disgusting, unsanitary, tense, angry places where many diseases spread due to the dead bodies and rats infesting the networks. The trenches were often quiet, isolating places, with beds dug in under layers of rock. The area between the allies and axi's trenches was called "no mans land". Sometimes the enemy trenches were only metres apart. There were rumors that if the soldiers stretched their arms enough, they would be able to shake hands with the enemy on SOME occasions. Many poets were inspired by life in the trenches, and many soldiers wrote about their war experiences.

Answer 3

The trenches were usually 8 feet deep holes cut into the ground in order for the men to hide in so casualties were not sustained. Since they were so deep, there was a firing stand for the men to step up onto in order to be able to see over the top. Above ground, there would be sandbags placed to stop bullets and barbed wire placed so enemy troops couldn't get through.

Answer 4

Extremely dirty, often filled with knee-deep waste, and scattered corpses. There were rats the size of cats, and most soldiers slept standing up. The trenchs were not a pleasant place to be, and many soldiers claimed the stench of waste and dead bodies could be smelled miles away.

Answer 5

A trench was basically a big ditch in the ground where soldiers fought and slept in. they were dug in a zig-zag fashion so if an enemy soldier gets into the trench he wouldn't be able to kill as many soldiers.

Answer 6

A trench is a long, narrow "ditch". Being ditches, the trenches in WWI collected water, which led to "trench foot". Because men ate in these trenches, food scraps attracted rats, which bit the men as well. Urination and defecation in the trenches brought diseases, along with rats. Lack of sanitation led to E Coli infections (but medical personnel had not yet discovered bacteria and antibiotics). Wounded, dying, and deceased soldiers were in the trenches, too, but the living could not remove them or the enemy could kill the living.

Answer 7

The trenches were ditches with barbed wire on the enemy side. They were often wet.

Answer 8

they looked like holes