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Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

Life in the trenches WW1

What are trenches?


Trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the
ground where soldiers lived all day and night. There
were many lines of German trenches on one side
and many lines of Allied trenches on the other. In
the middle of all this, was no man's land, it gets its
name because it didn't belong to either army.
Soldiers only dared to cross "No Man's Land" when
they wanted to attack the other side. Most of the
soldiers in the trenches wouldn't get much sleep,
but when they did they would of been woken up by
either the sound of a gunshot or the sound of a
shell exploding.

Living conditions
The living conditions in the trenches were
horrendous there would of been rats the size of cats
running about whilst they slept and also, the
soldiers would of caught lice from them which
would of made their job a whole lot harder. The
British Army would of found feeding over 2 million
soldiers food hard, so the food they ate had to be
rationed. The usual meal most of the soldiers ate
were, just over 1 pound in meat, 1 pound of bread
and 8 ounces of vegetables each day. Occasionally
as a present the soldiers families sent parcels with
chocolates, tobacco, cake and tinned food.

Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

Medicine and illness

Gas: It was used to make the enemy soldiers nose to run


and their eyes to water so they couldn't fight as well, but
other gases were far more dangerous and required
medical attention. The only way to cure this is to bathe and
wash in water, but as the soldiers didn't have access to
this they wouldn't of been cured.
Trench foot: This was caused by the soldiers standing in
cold mud and water for a long time, therefore making them
lose blood circulation in their feet. The affects of trench
foot were dreadful, in some severe cases soldiers would of
had to amputate their feet/legs. This would mean that they
would of had to carry on fighting with missing body parts,
which wouldn't of been a pleasant experience for the
soldiers.
Trench fever: During the war trench fever caused soldiers
to suffer from headaches, aching muscles and sores on
their skin. This illness was caused by body lice and it took
around 12 weeks to recover from and in this time the
soldiers would of had to carry on fighting. It was highly
contagious because it was passed on from one soldier to
the next, and as the soldiers were tightly packed together
it was almost certain you would get it. For some unlucky
soldiers this illness struck them more than once!!
Shell shock: This was a mental illness that caused soldiers
to go crazy. Many soldiers suffered from this illness the
most because of the constant sound of guns and
explosions this made the soldiers scared and
uncomfortable. This illness resulted in soldiers going
home to get seen to by special hospitals, but for other
soldiers they would of been forced to carry on fighting.

Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

Warfare- Battles, tactics,


weapons.

Battles:
The battle of Verdun, 1916.
The battles of Marne, 1914, 1918.
The battles of Ypres 1914, 1915, 1917.
The battle of the Somme, 1916.
The battle of Cambrai, 1917.
Tactics:
Mustard gas: Mustard Gas was first used by the
German army in September 1917. It was one of the
most lethal of all the poisonous chemicals used during
the war it also took twelve hours to take effect. The
skin of the soldiers who suffered from this blistered,
their eyes would be sore and they would begin to
vomit.
Snipers: Many soldiers in front-line trenches suffered
from enemy snipers. The main strategy to use this
tactic was to creep out into no man's land and remain
there all day wearing camouflaged clothing. A
common trick was to send up a kite with English
writing on it and anyone who raised their head over
the trench to look at it would of been shot.

Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

Tunnelling: The army would of employed specialist


miners to dig tunnels under no man's land which
would lead to the enemy's trench. The main objective
for this tactic to be successful was to place mines
beneath the enemy defensive positions without being
caught. When it was detonated, the explosion would
destroy that section of the enemies trench.
Weapons:
Rifle: This was one of the main weapons used by
British soldiers, it could fire 15 rounds in a minute and
a person 1,400 metres away could be killed.
Machine gun: This weapon took 4-6 men to operate
them and they had to be used on a flat surface. They
also had the fire power of 100 guns which was
devastating to the enemy.
Gas: One type of gas that was frequently used was
chlorine gas. The Germans first used this at the battle
of Ypres in 1915, because it causes a burning
sensation in the throat and chest pains.
Zeppelin: This weapon is also known as a blimp it
was used to carry guns and bombs. However, this
weapon isn't as deadly as the others because it's
easy to shoot out of the sky which is why it wasn't a
popular weapon in WW1.
Tanks: Tanks were first used at the Battle of the
Somme, they were developed to cope with the
conditions in the Western Front. Its maximum speed

Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

was 3 mph but


this was later

developed to travel at 4 mph.

Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

Looking into the eyes of a soldier

My eyes flooded with tears


as I looked up to the midnight sky,
I sit and wonder if I'll ever make it out alive,
constantly thinking about the people I left behind.

Sleep was now a distant memory


which left me long ago
I have to stay awake
no time to sit and watch the snow.

My life's hanging on a shred,


my mind... trapped in a maze of tunnels
all alone with nowhere to run
how can they say to us it's not all work but fun?

My stomachs growling with hunger and fear


as I look at what remains here,
rats the size of cats running around
after the enemy open fire no one makes a sound...

Dan Smith, History, 9s-2, Miss Garret

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