How did soldiers sleep in the trenches?
Getting to sleep When able to rest, soldiers in front line trenches would try and shelter from the elements in dugouts. These varied from deep underground shelters to small hollows in the side of trenches – as shown here.
Who built the trenches in ww1?
The trenches were often constructed during nighttime by a group soldiers called engineers so that the trenches were built before the enemy attacked. During WWI there were 3 main types of trench construction: Sapping: The trench was started by digging a short trench, which then be extended at either end of the trench.
What was living in the trenches like?
Trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the ground where soldiers lived. They were very muddy, uncomfortable and the toilets overflowed. These conditions caused some soldiers to develop medical problems such as trench foot. In the middle was no man’s land, which soldiers crossed to attack the other side.
What was the bloodiest battle of WW1?
The Battle of the Somme
Why was WW1 so deadly?
The loss of life was greater than in any previous war in history, in part because militaries were using new technologies, including tanks, airplanes, submarines, machine guns, modern artillery, flamethrowers, and poison gas.
Why did they build trenches in WW1?
During WWI, trenches were used to try to protect soldiers from poison gas, giving them more time to put on gas masks. Dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever, and trench foot were all common diseases in the trenches, especially during WWI.
Why were there no trenches in WW2?
Remember, though, that casualty rates were at least as high in WW2 as they were in WW1. Very briefly, because trench warfare was no longer viable. The reason it was no longer viable was primarily due to the advances in air power.
What did soldiers eat in the trenches?
The bulk of their diet in the trenches was bully beef (caned corned beef), bread and biscuits. By the winter of 1916 flour was in such short supply that bread was being made with dried ground turnips. The main food was now a pea-soup with a few lumps of horsemeat.
Were trenches good or bad?
Trenches were dirty, smelly and rampant with disease. For soldiers, life in the trenches meant living in fear. In fear of diseases like cholera and trench foot. And, of course, the constant fear of enemy attack.
What was the bloodiest year of WW1?
1916
Why were casualties so high in WW1?
Why were the casualties so high in World War 1? The High casualties were the result of advancing technology and weapons systems such as planes, tanks, machines guns, grenades, chemical weapons, submarines, etc. Combined with outdated tactics such as trench warfare, frontal assault, and attrition.
How did they build trenches in ww1?
The WWI trenches were built as a system, in a zigzag pattern with many different levels along the lines. They had paths dug so that soldiers could move between the levels. Trenches typically had an embankment at the top and a barbed wire fence. The trenches were dug by soldiers and there were three ways to dig them.
Why did soldiers walk in WW1?
The legend of the British rising from their trenches and walking stolidly forward into a hail of machine gun fire is often referred to in the context of the Battle of the Somme as the “race to the parapet.” This “race” was between the British troops leaving their assembly trenches in order to assault the German …
Who built the best trenches in WW1?
Simple answer: Germany, by far. Why? Because Germany recognized, at the beginning of stalemate in late ’14, that frontal assault was suicide, and that defensive warfare was far more economical and efficient, unlike the allies who kept trying for the “great breakthrough”.
How did the first world war start?
The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play (alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. When Russia began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia.
What dangers did soldiers face in the trenches?
Life in the trenches was dangerous for many reasons. The more obvious dangers included enemy fire, poisonous gas attacks and artillery shelling. While the trenches offered general protection from enemy fire and artillery shelling, they could also be extremely dangerous places.
Was life in the trenches really that bad?
Trench life involved long periods of boredom mixed with brief periods of terror. The threat of death kept soldiers constantly on edge, while poor living conditions and a lack of sleep wore away at their health and stamina.