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Imagine 1914 being 17 never sailed the seas before sailing to France, away from your family and loved ones on a ship heading for the Western Front knowing you may never see them again. Cramped and stuffed in tiny spaces and stacked on top of one another, uncomfortable, hungry and thirsty, only seeing daylight once or twice a day. This is how it was for soldiers sent to fight in World War I (WWI). Protected by American Navy convoys of twenty-five to thirty vessels, soldiers were headed to face more than what they had bargained for such as survival, hard labour, fighting in the diseased filled, muddy, barbed wire trenches of WWI. Survival was most important for these soldiers with food rationing, rats, diseases and sickness such as Trench foot, bronchitis and rheumatism to compete with. The major problems other than the warfare itself were the rats and bodies of dead soldiers.
“It was quite crowed and uncomfortable for the soldiers who were fighting as it would have been dirty with vermin poo, rubbish and also used ammunition.” (Hudson & Adam, 2012). The conditions in the Trenches of WWI were confined ditches dug into the ground. Trenches became a main feature of warfare used to consider and plan strategic moves. “Trench warfare became necessary when two armies face a stalemate, with neither side able to advance and overtake the other.” (Patricia Daniels, 2015). The Western Front was a war front with many natural conditions that effected soldiers such as weather, vermin and death. Diseases such as Trench foot, Bronchitis and Rheumatism were all medical conditions caused by living day and night in the rotten, foul, run down trenches of the Western Front. Rain flooded the trenches which made it hard to move around in battle as the dirt became mud and the soldiers would sink and slip over in battle, this prevented soldiers from being alert and aware of their surroundings, unable to perform on the battlefield due to the environment, fatigue and sickness.
Trench foot/foot rot was an infection caused by cold, wet and unhygienic conditions. In the trenches men stood for hours on end in saturated trenches without being able to change their wet socks or boots, this would lead to the soldiers feet slowly ending up numb and turning blue. If untreated, trench foot would rot the foot and need amputation. Many soldiers who fell ill were not able to perform well on the war front, they died or sent home as an amputee. Soldiers were frequently drying and changing their socks, told to wear waterproof boots or coverd their feet with grease made form whale-oil. “It has been estimated that a battalion at the front would use ten gallons of whale-oil every day.” (Brigadier-General Frank Percy Crozier, 1930). Rheumatism was another condition soldiers developed, inflammation and pain in their joints and muscles, also known as rheumatoid arthritis. Bronchitis was caused by Gas poisoning. Gas poisoning affected the eye, throat irritation, and coughing, vomiting, headaches and could lead to bronchitis and pneumonia. Many soldiers recovered from gassing but could suffer permanent lung damage. Trench warfare caused death, disease and even lice, not only from what couldn't be seen but what could be seen like the rats.
Rats and lice made life in the trenches torture as they would eat soldier’s food, bodies of dead and multiplied quickly. The survival of soldiers included food rationing and even eating the rats. “The rats were everywhere and got into the soldiers food and ate just about everything, including sleeping soldiers. The lice were also a major problem. They made the soldiers' itch horribly and caused a disease called Trench Fever.” (Ducksters,2019) Rats and lice tormented soldiers day and night. 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. Not only did soldiers have to compete with disease, weather and vermin there was the war, weapons and artillery as well.
Being armed with only a rifle, bayonet and a hand grenade soldiers had to defend their trenches. Weapons such as hand grenades, poison gas and bombs were extremely effective in the trenches; however large artillery and machine guns made it hard to move forward due to the size and moveability. The Machine Gun, which was widely used in WWI, had to be supported by a tripod and operated by four soldiers, making it not very stealth. Trenches were made up of different areas such as an Artillery line for big field guns, bunkers for protection and command centre that held a telephone line, food, weapons and artillery. Sand bags were used to protect soldiers from rifle fire and dropped in the bottom of the trenches to soak up the water. While all this is in the trenches there was No Man's Land above, a place both armies used to patrol, repair and add barbed wire to their front lines, and also land that they were fighting to gain control of. ('WW1 The Heart of Battle' History, 2000-2019).
World War I also known as the First World War lasting from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918, and described as 'the war to end all wars' (H.G. Wells,1914). For most of World War I, war on the Western Front was a deadlock with lots of unnecessary death and no gain for either side. Trench warfare was. Survival was key for these soldiers put in this hideous and life threatening war environment with food rationing, rats, diseases and sickness such as Trench foot, bronchitis and rheumatism. Today we need to think ourselves very lucky that we aren't made to go to war and endure those horrible conditions.
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