world war 1 trench life/warfare

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Life in the Trenches “Months of boredom punctuated by moments of extreme terror.”

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A broad look at what it was like to live and fight in a WW1 trench.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Life in the Trenches

“Months of boredom punctuated by moments of extreme terror.”

Page 2: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Soldier’s Thoughts

The average day in the ordinary bit of the trenches was just doing nothing!

Except perhaps filling a few sandbags to strengthen a bit of the parapet of the trench.

But of course there had to be always somebody on sentry go all the time, on each section of the trench.

Apart from that, trench life was extremely dull. You simply slept and wrote letters, except when you were on that sort of duty. – James Pratt

Our life was this: from the beginning of the day until the night, we were eating – sometimes some bread, chocolate, cheese – and smoking, firing at the Germans.

Sometimes we received a few bombs. And that was the life. – French Soldier

Page 3: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Disease and Health Problems

Your feet swell to two to three times their normal size and go completely dead. You can stick a bayonet into them and not feel a thing. If you are lucky enough not to lose your feet and the swelling starts to go down, it is then that the most indescribable agony begins. (Harry Robert).

Rats and Lice were also a problem.

• Typhoid• Influenza• Trench Fever• Trench Foot

Page 4: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Shell Shock Often mistaken for cowardice. Soldiers would be shot for not going over the top. Shell Shock was unfamiliar to many doctors.Well I just thought it was a failure of life itself, the failure of the mind to take the enormous depression that it had got. If you are standing under a bombardment for so long and you’re seeing fellows going up in the air and you’ve got to stick it for a couple or three days it isn’t funny.

I don’t think they were cowards at all; any man that went up there if he was a coward he wouldn’t have gone, he’d have done anything not to go up there. – British Private

Page 5: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

British Forces https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

hAA9ZVgZauA Trench Slang “Gone West” – A term for a soldier who had died. “Brass Hat” – Enlisted men’s term for an officer. “Belly Flopping” – To hit the ground quickly during

an attack. “Elephant” – Small dug-out with sheets of

corrugated iron. “Gunfire” – Strong tea, usually laced with rum.

Page 6: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Trench Design

Page 7: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Trench Digging Usually took place at night. A line of soldiers would dig about 10

feet deep. If the water levels were too high they

would make above ground trenches using sandbags.

Soldiers would decorate sandbags to look like soldiers.

Page 8: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Strengthening the trench

Page 9: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Trench Lines

Page 10: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Trench Warfare https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Ciq9ts02ci4 Machine guns and artillery

devastated the enemy. Brutal hand to hand combat in the

trenches. There were more trenches to take

after the first one.

Page 11: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Poison Gas Chlorine gas – First used Phosgene gas – More potent than chlorine. Mustard gas – Most popular gas during the war.

Page 13: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Christmas Truce https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOz9SpWc_yE

We were in the front line; we were about 300 yards from the Germans. On Christmas Eve, we’d been singing carols and this that and the other, and the Germans had been doing the same. And we’d been shouting to each other, sometimes rude remarks more often just joking remarks.

Anyway, eventually a German said, ‘Tomorrow you no shoot, we no shoot.’ And the morning came and we didn’t shoot and they didn’t shoot. – British Private

• Christmas trees were set up.

• Gifts were exchanged.

• A few troops even played soccer together.

Page 14: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Soccer Match

Page 15: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

Band of BrothersI can honestly say that nothing that we were made to do ever gave us any feeling of resentment. We knew we were there to do that job and our patriotism, we were so fond of our country – everybody – and we were like a lot of brothers together. – William Holmes

Page 16: World War 1 Trench Life/Warfare

World War 1 Movies The Lost Battalion Sergeant York Paths of Glory All Quiet on the Western Front Lawrence of Arabia