What were living conditions in the trenches?
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.
What were the terrible living conditions in the trenches?
Life in the trenches was very difficult because they were dirty and flooded in bad weather. Many of the trenches also had pests living in them, including rats, lice, and frogs. Rats in particular were a problem and ate soldier’s food as well as the actual soldiers while they slept.
Why was life in a trench so horrific?
Disease and ‘shell shock’ were rampant in the trenches. Constant exposure to wetness caused trench foot, a painful condition in which dead tissue spread across one or both feet, sometimes requiring amputation. It’s believed that as many as one in 10 of all fighting forces in the conflict were killed.
What are some positive things about living in the trench?
ADVANTAGES:Advantages of trench warfare was that you were invisible to the other enemy because you were protected from inside the trench, you were also protected by enemy fire and shells. It was also a safe place to live despite the bad conditions. You also had a good view of the other enemy.
What was daily life like in the trenches ww1?
Individuals spent only a few days a month in a front-line trench. Daily life here was a mixture of routine and boredom – sentry duty, kit and rifle inspections, and work assignments filling sandbags, repairing trenches, pumping out flooded sections, and digging latrines.
What was the daily routine in the trenches ww1?
Day-to-Day Work Following morning stand-to, inspection, and breakfast, soldiers undertook any number of chores, ranging from cleaning latrines to filling sandbags or repairing duckboards. During daylight hours, they conducted all work below ground and away from the snipers’ searching rifles.
What else made conditions in the trenches horrific?
But the majority of loss of life can be attributed to famine and disease – horrific conditions meant fevers, parasites and infections were rife on the frontline and ripped through the troops in the trenches. Among the diseases and viruses that were most prevalent were influenza, typhoid, trench foot and trench fever.
Was trench foot a disease?
Trench foot, or immersion foot syndrome, is a serious condition that results from your feet being wet for too long. The condition first became known during World War I, when soldiers got trench foot from fighting in cold, wet conditions in trenches without the extra socks or boots to help keep their feet dry.
What did the trenches smell like?
Some men disappeared into the mud because it was so thick. The trenches had a horrible smell. They could smell cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke, and cooking food.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of trenches?
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF TRENCH WARFARE Trenches were easy to make, easy to defend, cheap to build, and don’t need lots of men to defend them. Unfortunately trenches are wet, cold, and hard to get in an out of without being seen by the enemy.
What were working conditions like for citizens in ww1?
For the working class in 1914 life was hard and terrible poverty was common. Nevertheless, life was improving and certain reforms were introduced around that time. At the beginning of the 20th century surveys showed that 25% of the population of Britain were living in poverty.
What was life like in a World War One trench?
What was life like in a World War One trench? On the Western Front, the war was fought by soldiers in trenches. 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.
What was the cause of trench fever in World War 1?
Trench Fever: Trench fever was a horrible disease caused by body lice. It was easily passed down from soldier to solider, which caused high fever, headaches, aching muscles and sores on the skin. For many soldiers this illness struck for more than once.
What did lice do to soldiers in the trenches?
Pests and Pain. Rats and lice tormented the troops by day and night. Oversized rats, bloated by the food and waste of stationary armies, helped spread disease and were a constant irritant. In 1918, doctors also identified lice as the cause of trench fever, which plagued the troops with headaches, fevers, and muscle pain.
Why was the weather so bad in the trenches?
The lice were also a major problem. They made the soldiers’ itch horribly and caused a disease called Trench Fever. The weather also contributed to rough conditions in the trenches. Rain caused the trenches to flood and get muddy. Mud could clog up weapons and make it hard to move in battle.