Download Trench Warfare

Inside the Trenches
World War 1
Students will find out what trench warfare was like for soldiers
Students will understand the everyday challenges faced by soldiers aside
from combat.
Students will understand how trench warfare was used and were it started
The system design of trench warfare was introduced in
September, 1914. After the Battle of Marne, German troops
held land in France and Belgium. In order to keep this land
from occupation of the Allies, German troops were ordered to
dig trenches to prevent Allie advancement. Upon realizing the
trenches were solid barriers, Allie troops dug trenches as well.
The trenches in 1914 stretched from the North Sea to the Swiss
Frontier.
The German soldiers often had the advantage
when it came to trench construction. They were
the first to dig trenches and were able to pick
the best places, furthest above sea level.
Trenches dug at sea level usually resulted in
water-logged trenches.
Go to:
The Front Line
No Man’s Land
Medical Problems
For more information on water-logged trenches and the problems
they caused click here.
-Trench Foot
Front Line
Being in the front line
trenches was very
dangerous for soldiers.
One third of all casualties
on the Western Front were
killed while fighting in the
front line. Not only were
soldiers battling enemy
fire, but they also had to
worry about artillery fired
from their own troops. It
was estimated that almost
75,000 British troops were
killed from friendly
artillery.
Click above image
for stories and
recollections of
soldiers who fought
the front line.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWparados.htm
This is an image of a sideview of the trenches on the front line. They
are protected on either side by the Parapet and the Parados with
sandbags and barbed wire. The Parados was often built higher than
the Parapet to prevent snipers from getting a good eye at the enemy
and to prevent attacks from behind on the front line
Go Back
No Man’s Land
• The area referred to as No Man’s Land is the land in-between the two
fighting lines. This area was often filled with barbed wire and land
mines. Rarely were soldiers ordered to cross or enter No Man’s Land
but when they were they faced obvious difficulties. When they did
enter No Man’s Land, they had to avoid shell holes, water holes,
bodies, barbed wire, planted mines, and of course enemy fire.
• Soldiers would rarely go on full attacks across the land to the other
side but would more often enter the area to obtain information from the
enemy, getting as close as possible.
•
Patrols into No Man's Land
•
Zonnebeke, No Man’s Land stretched only seven yards.
C. R. W. Nevinson, Paths of Glory (1917)
Go Back
www.vac-acc.gc.ca/.../
firstwar/vimy.htm
Medical Problems
• Soldiers not only had to worry about
artillery fire while in the trenches but also
had to battle medical problems such as
– Trench Fever
– Trench Foot
– Dysentery
Go Back
Trench Fever
•
First reported on Western Front in 1914. Signs of fever included headache, leg
pains, inflamed eyes, and skin rashes. Soldiers generally recovered after only a
few days but would sometimes need to be hospitalized for several weeks.
Caused by excretions from lice in the trenches. The disease was transmitted
from bites from body lice.
•
For more medical information on trench fever click here
Medical Problems
Trench Foot
•
•
Fungal infectionof the feet usually caused by long exposure to damp, wet
environments in the trenches caused by water-logging. It was a very serious
condition. Unlike Trench Fever, Trench Foot was deadly and difficult to
recover from. By 1914, it is estimated that some 20,000 British troops died
because of Trench Foot. Toes and Feet were often amputated if gangrene
occurred.
Improvements in trench drainage, water resistant footwear, and feet
inspections allowed the problem to slow down, though it still effected soldiers
throughout the war.
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/trench_fever.jsp
The feet of a soldier suffering from trench foot
Medical Problems
Dysentery
This was generally caused by contaminated water
for the trenches were extremely unsanitary with
poor latrines. Latrines were simply holes in the
ground and often filled up without time to make
another one.
The disease itself is the inflammation of the large
intestines which causes stomach pains, diarrhea,
and vomiting, which leads to dehydration. Many
soldiers died from dehydration caused by
dysentery.
Since there was such a limited supply of clean
water in the trenches, soldiers often relied on dirty
unsanitary water found in shell holes.
Medical Problems
For more on Dysentery in
the trenches with
recollections from soldiers
click here