Being a soldier during World War One was not fun. The living conditions in the trenches were terrible. I'll tell you all about it! Here are some little facts about being in the trenches during World War One:
And just to verify, this website was created by Max Burns for Mr. Stille's class.
The trenches were narrow, so you couldn't move around too much. Soldiers had to do jobs in the trenches, such as repairing damaged sandbags or barbed wire, inspecting weapons, and cleaning the latrines. They were only allowed to sleep during the daytime, and there always had to be a soldier watching out for enemies while the other soldiers rested or worked.
Soldiers often had dogs in the trenches. Sentry dogs were trained to alert soldiers if enemies are nearby. Some dogs were equipped with medical supplies to aid wounded soldiers on the battlefield. There were also messenger dogs that were used for communications. Dogs were ideal for this since they run faster than humans and are smaller targets. Dogs also provided comfort to the soldiers.
Rats were a HUGE problem in the trenches. There were thousands of them. They would eat the soldiers' food, which was very limited. They would also eat the rotted flesh of soldiers' trench foot, which we'll talk about in a little bit. These rats were a huge problem, but soldiers were not allowed to waste ammunition on them. Some soldiers just did not give a hoot and shot the rats anyway. However, they mostly used bayonets or other melee weapons to eliminate the rats. Rats freaking suck.
Ah, trench foot. A HUGE problem during WWI. The conditions in the trenches were awful, so trench foot was very common. The trenches often flooded, and were cold, and when your feet are cold and wet for an extended period of time, they begin to rot like a corpse. They start go numb, and after a while, they just decay. Often times, the affected soldier had to get his foot amputated.
That concludes our journey to the trenches. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?