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Trenches. British troops on the western front. Goal of Today. Today we will be looking at what life was like in the trenches. We will be looking at the methods of fighting and the conditions of living in the trenches. Terms To Know “Going Over the Top” No Mans Land Trench Foot
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Trenches British troops on the western front.
Goal of Today • Today we will be looking at what life was like in the trenches. We will be looking at the methods of fighting and the conditions of living in the trenches. • Terms To Know • “Going Over the Top” • No Mans Land • Trench Foot • War of Attrition
The Western Front • War of Attrition- a conflict in which each side tries to win by wearing down the other. • Trenches dug from English Channel to Switzerland • 6,250 miles • 6 to 8 feet deep • Immobilized both sides for 4 years
Trench Warfare • No Man’s Land- This is the term used to describe the area between the two trenches.
The Assault • An offensive would start with a huge onslaught of artillery fire and then a gas attack on the enemy line. This was designed to break down barbed wire defenses, blow gaps in the opposing trenches and kill enemy soldiers. • On the commanding officer's whistle soldiers in the front line climbed 'over-the-top' and with bayonets at the ready they advanced into no-man's land, facing a heavy barrage of shells and machine gun fire as they went. Few made it across
‘Going Over the Top’- This was the term used in describing the men leaving their trench to attack the other trench.
"...I could hear these shells coming over I really began to know what fear was..."Quiren M. Groessl's story
First Hand Account • '...the Order comes down, 'Cigarettes Out and no noise' and then you know you have not many minutes to go before the terrible clang starts to assist you in that terrible task you have before you and behold it is hard! Every man for himself, and not one must shirk his duty, but no never a man thinks of doing such a thing as that. He knows what he has to do and leave it to him, he will do it with all his heart. And would you think for one minute that there is a smile on his face? "Yes, there is," and the words come from his mouth, "Best of luck to you old mate, let's hope you will make a good job of it."' • Pte G Ward, 1916
Military commanders were unprepared for the first major war fought with the new mechanized weapons produced by an industrialized Europe. The machine gun was most responsible for turning the new war into a defensive stalemate.
Even massive offensives found it nearly impossible to break through the defensive trenches. An infantry assault against protected machine guns usually resulted in many dead infantry and little or no gain in territory.
The three main types used were - chlorine, phosgene and mustard gas. Chlorine - a greenish, heavier than air gas which in its pure form is an oxidizing agent. This means that it will react in the presence of water to cause a chemical burning effect on organic matter. Mucus tissues of the human body are susceptible to such chemical reaction because of 1) their organic nature and , 2) they are always covered with a film of water. Symptoms of chlorine gas poisoning include vomiting, difficulty in breathing, a burning sensation in the lungs, eyes, nasal and mouth passages, watery eyes. In severe cases, cell damage in the lungs leads to fluid buildup in the lungs, loss of consciousness through suffocation, and death. Phosgene - a colorless, odorless, heavier than air gas formed by heating carbon tetrachloride. It is highly poisonous in that it will preferentially replace oxygen in the cells and quickly causes an oxygen debt within the body, unconsciousness and death. Mustard gas - a caustic gas with a distinctive mustard smell, it causes blistering and huge sores on any exposed tissue, internal or external. Probably the most used gas, with phosgene, in the war. A nasty piece of business.
Private W.A Quinton- talking about poison gas “The men came tumbling from the front line. I’ve never seen men so terror- stricken, they were tearing at their throats and their eyes were glaring out. Blood was streaming from those who were wounded and they were tumbling over one another. Those who fell couldn’t get up because of the panic of the men following them, and eventually they wee piled up two or three high in his trench”.
“Dulce et Decorum Est”Wilfred Owen • English Translation Sweet and Decorous http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qts3K3KznN4 Decorous: characterized by dignity and good taste in manners and conduct;
The Experience • ‘If I ever wanted to be about the size of an ant, it was when I crawled through that hell of shellfire and slid over onto that sunken road.” James Nelson Platt
Men might have different experiences of life on the Western Front depending on their rank and role. For example, it was the job of the Officer to lead night patrols, to organize the men and to relay orders from High Command. • Officers were treated better than ordinary soldiers as they had small 'dug-outs' in trenches where they would eat and sleep, better food and might be more readily excused from front line duty if they were wounded or ill. A typical British officer dugout,
How the uniform and equipment changed after just three weeks in the trenches…
In the winter, the ground was frozen and hard, in autumn rainfall turned the battlefields and low-lying trenches into mud baths. In some parts the water reached waist height. This could cause 'trench foot' where the feet would swell and in some cases turn gangrenous and need amputating. Belgian trenches in flooded land
Other Problems • Conditions were no better in the spring and summer months when lice, rats and flies thrived. The rats could grow to the size of cats feeding off men's rations and the plentiful supply of rotting corpses that were littered around no-man's land. Lice were not only a source of irritation and discomfort but also carried the threat of trench fever. To make matters even worse there was an ever-present stench caused by the open latrines, rotting bodies and the chloride of lime used to combat the threat of disease.
What Was it Like to Bury People? • Stuart Cloete, A Victorian Son (1972) As you lifted a body by its arms and legs, they detached themselves from the torso, and this was not the worst thing. Each body was covered inches deep with a black fur of flies, which flew up into your face, into your mouth, eyes and nostrils as you approached. The bodies crawled with maggots. The bodies had the consistency of Camembert cheese.
First Hand Account of Life In Trenches • Captain Ulick Burke MC, wrote: • 'The conditions were terrible. You can imagine the agony of a fellow standing for twenty four hours sometimes to his waist in mud, trying with a couple of bully beef tins to get the water out of a shell hole that had been converted to a trench with a few sandbags. And he had to stay there all day and all night for about six days. That was his existence.'
What do you think was the worst part of trench life? • The boredom and grind of the daily routine was endured in appalling living conditions. For example, apart from the constant threat of enemy snipers, poison gas, shells and machine-gun fire there was the difficulty of getting hot food to the front lines, so men had to rely mainly on basic food rations. These rations consisted of bully beef, tea, hard biscuits and bread, which was often stale by the time it reached them.
In your off time you pick your lice, treat your trench foot, and repair your uniform. With stuff like this:
War IsHELL !! Hell by Georges Leroux
“It's a sinTo say that Hell is hot ~ 'cause it's not:Mind you, I know very well we're in hell.” from The Mad Soldier by Edward Tennant
Heinrich Beutow- German Schoolboy “After the initial enthusiasm and patriotism came a wave of quietness, because then the first death lists were published in the papers. And my mother was suddenly surrounded by women of the regiment, the wives of the other officers of course, and most of them- because my father’s regiment was one of the first to march over the boarder into Belgium- were widows. And even as a child, I must say, it gave me a great shock to see that most of the officers were dead and killed during the first weeks. A lot of younger soldiers were dead and the whole feeling of enthusiasm faded away very quickly, in my opinion. The world became grey after that day.”
