What were the conditions of the trenches like in World War 1?

Answer 1

Answer

The conditions of the trenches in WW1 were very poor. Whenever it rained, the water would pool up down towards the bottom of the trenches,and all of the soldiers had to step in all that water everyday until it dried, which took a very long time.

Answer

Life in the Trenches was extremely bad. When it rained the ground would flood. The soldiers would have to walk through the water and that would end up causing TRENCHFOOT. Trenchfoot was when the foot was wet all the time and ended up rotting away. There were also Rats that would eat off the dead bodies and sometimes the live bodies. It is said that the Rats got as big as a normal size CAT!!!! There were also many diseases spread from one to the other. Mainly through the bathroom use. They had no showers so they began to smell, and lice spread quickly

Answer

Rats and lice filled the first world war trenches, and there was a huge stench. Rats ate from dead soldiers, and if they were very hungry,males would sometimes attack injured or sleeping soldiers. Beds were on ground level, and one had to be aware when asleep, as rats would eat through your boots and clothes. An injured soldier was a treat for the rats, and they would eat from the bare wound.

Answer

Conditions in the WW1 trenches were horrific. likely for a man to die of disease than in battle. The trenches were like muddy Swimming Pools and the water was often filled with frogs! Many soldiers suffered from trench foot a disease when the foot , if left in wet socks and boots for a long time, would sweel up and start to rot. It was not until the swelling went down that the pain started and many wished for amputations. Othere ailments included trench fever, like flu, shell shock e.t.c. The soldiers had to sleep on floor level beds whilst covered in clothing full of lice. In their spare time soldiers exploded lice with lit matches as it was the only way to get rid of them.

answers

so all it all it was very bad and you wouldnt like to be there

Answer 2

Conditions in the trenches during WW1 were horrendous. Better trenches would be about seven feet deep and four -six feet wide. Sometimes sand bags would line the sides of the trench otherwise a kind latticework wall of hazel branches was used (a bit like hurdle fences). Planking would be laid in the base. On the lip of the trench would be sand bags and barbed wire. Frequently, allied and enemy trenches could be as little fifty feet apart. Here and there dugouts were literally dug into the earth to provide shelter when the fighting wasn't too intense. Other than that there was little shelter. In summer the trench would be exposed to the hot sun and in winter to pouring rain and snow. The rain filled up the trench and water seeped in through the sides leaving the troops up to their knees in thick, stinking mud that made any movement difficult. There was no sanitation and rats were a problem. Diseases were rife such as dysentery and trench foot. There would be no relief for front line troops for weeks on end. Even a near miss from an artillery shell could collapse a trench or cause dugout to collapse burying alive those inside. The nearness of death, the fear of it and smell of it, the horrific sights of shattered bodies, the screams of friend cut in half and the constant shelling combined to send many men insane either at the time or later in life. Conditions in the trenches were literally hell on earth. The type and nature of the trench positions varied a lot, depending on the local conditions. For example, in the area of the River Somme on the Western Front, the ground is chalky and is easily dug. The trench sides will crumble easily after rain, so would be built up ('revetted') with wood, sandbags or any other suitable material. At Ypres, the ground is naturally boggy and the water table very high, so trenches were not really dug, more built up using sandbags and wood (these were called 'breastworks'). In parts of Italy, trenches were dug in rock; in Palestine in sand. The bird's-eye view (below, from an official infantry training manual of March 1916) shows a typical but very stylised trench layout. There is a front line, or "Main Fire Trench" facing the enemy. It is not straight, but follows contours or other natural features allowing good defence or a view over the enemy lines. Thousands of men became casualties in fighting for, or making small adjustments to their lines, to give this cover or observation. It also is dug in sections rather than a straight line, so if a shell explodes inside one of these 'bays' (also called 'traverses'), or an enemy gets into one, only that section is affected. Behind it is another line, similarly made, called a support line. In this would be found 'dugouts' cut into the side of the trench wall, often very small but with room for perhaps three or four men to squeeze in for shelter, or for a telephone position for a signaller, or for a Platoon or Company HQ. Communication trenches linked the rear areas with both lines, and it was along these that all men, equipment and supplies had to be fetched, by hand. Probing out from the front line were trenches usually called 'saps', which often went beyond the protective belts of barbed wire, terminating somewhere in 'no man's land' between the two opposing front lines in a listening post, manned by one or two infantrymen. The cross-section shows how the front and rear of the trench was ideally protected and built up using sandbags at the front and rear, or 'parapet' and 'parados'. The enemy had a very similar system of trenches. The distance between the two lines varied from as little as 30 yards (just under 30m) to several hundred yards. The space between the two opposing lines was called no man's land. As defensive and offensive tactics developed later in the war, trench positions became formidable fortresses with barbed wire belts tens of yards deep in front of them, and concrete shelters and emplacements, often below ground level. Machine guns would be permanently trained on gaps deliberately left in the wire, and the artillery would also have the positions registered for firing at short notice. Trench cross-section Where possible, the floor of the trench was made by using wooden duckboards. One of the features the diagrams above do not show is the latrine, which had to be dug somewhere close to hand. This was generally as deep a hole in the ground as possible, over which was mounted a plank to sit on. Men would, with permission, leave their post to use the latrine. This rough form of snaitation was often a target for enemy snipers and shellfire, and was also a considerable smell and health hazard for the men in the trenches. The conditions of the trenches in WW1 were very poor. Whenever it rained, the water would pool up down towards the bottom of the trenches,and all of the soldiers had to step in all that water everyday until it dried, which took a very long time. Life in the Trenches was extremely bad. When it rained the ground would flood. The soldiers would have to walk through the water and that would end up causing TRENCHFOOT. Trenchfoot was when the foot was wet all the time and ended up rotting away. There were also Rats that would eat off the dead bodies and sometimes the live bodies. It is said that the Rats got as big as a normal size CAT!!!! There were also many diseases spread from one to the other. Mainly through the bathroom use. They had no showers so they began to smell, and lice spread quickly Rats and lice filled the first world war trenches, and there was a huge stench. Rats ate from dead soldiers, and if they were very hungry, males would sometimes attack injured or sleeping soldiers. Beds were on ground level, and one had to be aware when asleep, as rats would eat through your boots and clothes. An injured soldier was a treat for the rats, and they would eat from the bare wound. :P Conditions in the WW1 trenches were horrific. It was more likely for a man to die of disease than in battle. The trenches were like muddy swimming pools and the water was often filled with frogs! Many soldiers suffered from trench foot a disease when the foot , if left in wet socks and boots for a long time, would sweel up and start to rot. It was not until the swelling went down that the pain started and many wished for amputations. Othere ailments included trench fever, like flu, shell shock e.t.c. The soldiers had to sleep on floor level beds whilst covered in clothing full of lice. In their spare time soldiers exploded lice with lit matches as it was the only way to get rid of them. Gemma, 14 conditions were pretty terrible. men were constantly wet due to the awful and rainy weather conditions. they received little food and when they did it wasn't up to par, especially on the front lines. they had extremely hard biscuits that some soldiers reported were so hard that they wouldn't break when being bashed on a rock. they'd get canned meat and mostly drank tea. many of the men developed illnesses and diseases that plagued the trenches. rotting corpses were always nearby, leaving an awful stench and creating more diseases. It was dirty and when it rained there was mud everywere. It was worse than just dirty mud Obviously I wasn't alive during WW1 but life was disgusting there. Rats with diseases were in there and soldiers sometimes shot the rats. If they were bittenby a rat then that part of them might have to be amputated. Also in trenches soldiers were packed pretty closely so when someone got sick, they basically all got sick. It was really dirty, too.

Answer 3

These trenches were filled with mucky water, and buried in the mud were dead bodies. They swelled, and bursted, which attracted rats and disease. Because the soldiers were soaked in this diseased, gross water, they got whats called trench foot. Its terrible and painful, and often people shot themselves in the foot, so they could be removed from these trenches. Usually still water attracts mosquitos, and I wouldn't be surprised if malaria was common. Food shortages were common. The generals made days such as "no meat mondays" to save food. Not to mention, by scrambling out of the trench in hopes of grenading the enemies defenses, put them at risk of being shot by machine guns and rifle fire. The casualties were devastating, and several thousand men were lost on both sides in major battles. The conditions of these trenches were very very bad.

Answer 4

There is a book called "Forgotten Voices of the Great War by Max Arthur" which gives the personal experiences of those men who fought in the trenches - some descriptions defy belief. I thoroughly recommend the book, as the grandchild of a former sapper I now understand why the men of his generation were loath to talk about their experiences after the war.
World War 1 Trench Warfare

The Western Front during World War 1 stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier with France.

Both sides dug themselves in ending any possible chance of a quick war; this caused a stalemate, which was to last for most of the war. Over 200,000 men died in the trenches of WW1, most of who died in battle, but many died from disease and infections brought on by the unsanitary conditions.

Life in the Trenches

The first thing a new recruit would notice on the way to the Frontline was the smell, rotting bodies in shallow graves, men who hadn't washed in weeks because there were no facilities, overflowing cess pits, creosol or chloride of lime, used to stave off the constant threat of disease and infection. Cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke, and cooking food. Although overwhelming to a new recruit, they soon got used to the smell and eventually became part of the smell with their own body odour.

A Dead soldier lies rotting on the battlefield

Rats and Lice

Rats were a constant companion in the trenches in their millions they were everywhere, gorging themselves on human remains (grotesquely disfiguring them by eating their eyes and liver) they could grow to the size of a cat.

Men tried to kill them with bullets shovels or anything else they had at hand, but they were fighting a losing battle as only 1 pair of rats can produce 900 offspring in a year.

Some soldiers believed that the rats knew when there was going to be a heavy bombardment from the enemy lines because they always seemed to disappear minutes before an attack.

Lice were a constant problem for the men breeding in dirty clothing they were impossible to get rid of even when clothes were washed and deloused there would be eggs that would escape the treatment in the seams of the clothes.

Lice caused Trench Fever, a particularly painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever. Recovery - away from the trenches - took up to twelve weeks.

It was not discovered that lice were the cause of trench fever though until 1918.

Millions of frogs were found in shell holes covered in water; they were also found in the base of trenches. Slugs and horned beetles crowded the sides of the trench. Many men chose to shave their heads entirely to avoid another prevalent scourge: nits.

The cold wet and unsanitary conditions were also to cause trench foot amongst the soldiers, a fungal infection, which could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench Foot was more of a problem at the start of trench warfare; as conditions improved in 1915, it rapidly faded, although a trickle of cases continued throughout the war.

Highland Territorials jumping a German trench when attacking on the Cambrai front

Shell Shock

Between 1914 and 1918 the British Army identified 80,000 men (2% of those who saw active service) as suffering from shell-shock. Early symptoms included tiredness, irritability, giddiness, lack of concentration and headaches. Eventually the men suffered mental breakdowns making it impossible for them to remain in the front-line. Some came to the conclusion that the soldiers condition was caused by the enemy's heavy artillery. These doctors argued that a bursting shell creates a vacuum, and when the air rushes into this vacuum it disturbs the cerebro-spinal fluid and this can upset the working of the brain.

Hell on Earth

Death was everywhere in the trenches, at any time of day or night it could be your corpse laying in the mud, whether through the shell bombardment, poison gases, disease or a random bullet from a sniper

Trench Foot

Many soldiers fighting in the First World War suffered from trench foot. This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war. For example, during the winter of 1914-15 over 20,000 men in the British Army were treated for trench foot. Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier argued that: " The fight against the condition known as trench-feet had been incessant and an uphill game."

A photograph of a man suffering from trench foot

Arthur Savage pointed out that trench foot had serious consequences: "My memories are of sheer terror and the horror of seeing men sobbing because they had trench foot that had turned gangrenous. They knew they were going to lose a leg." Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier explained how the officers tried to solve the problem: "Socks are changed and dried in the line, thigh boots are worn and are dried every four days when we come out."

The only remedy for trench foot was for the soldiers to dry their feet and change their socks several times a day. By the end of 1915 British soldiers in the trenches had to have three pairs of socks with them and were under orders to change their socks at least twice a day. As well as drying their feet, soldiers were told to cover their feet with a grease made from whale-oil. It has been estimated that a battalion at the front would use ten gallons of whale-oil every day

Answer 5

The conditions were horrible. It was muddy, cold, and damp. The moral of the troops were low, and you were often in the same cramped position for long periods of time.

Answer 6

dirty,dusty,croudy