Essay Topic about Life In The Trenches

World War one was named the ‘great war’ as it was thought to be the war to end all wars, but unfortunately, this was not the case.

It started on the 28th of July 1914, and ended on the 11th of November 1918. The main countries involved were: Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Russia, but many other countries joined and disengaged as the war progressed. Around 9 million life’s were lost, and those lucky to survive were left injured. The “trigger” to start the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

There were many other factors contributing to the start of this war; Militarism (countries competing against each other for the biggest armies), Alliances (countries making “promises” to help another country in its time of need), Imperialism (countries wanting a bigger empire, and trying to take control over a country) and Nationalism (where nations wanted to be independent). How Trenches Were Designed and Made Trenches are some of the most important factors of world war one.They are used in movies, TV and books, and they usually help paint a very bleak picture of the war. When the first soldiers arrived in ‘No Man’s Land’ they hurriedly made trenches, because they didn’t expect the war to last as long as it did.

The first trenches made were just holes in the ground, and because they were so quickly and hastily made, they were of poor quality. They often flooded and collapsed, and so future trenches began to become deeper and more ostentatiously made, and these ones were of a better quality.This is a picture of a trench in world war one taken from a history textbook for year nine’s. It is not completely reliable because there is no information there stating why this photo was taken, because if the photo was taken for commercial reasons (e. g.

advertising, newspapers) then it would be made to look nicer, so it would not be a good representation of what life was actually like in the trenches. Also, this picture only shows how the British trenches were like, so it is not a good representation how all of the trenches were in World War One.I can infer from this source however, that the hygiene in the trenches must have been quite poor and also the living conditions as well, because I can see that there is only mud surrounding the soldiers. From my own knowledge I know that rainfall was dreaded by the soldiers in the trenches, because the ground surrounding them became wet and sticky and sometimes mudslides occurred. A lot of the time, the trenches flooded, and the soldiers could be waist deep in muddy water. Here is a screenshot of the video of soldiers digging trenches.

The soldiers are working hard; they have to bend down every time they toss some dirt over their shoulders. After watching the video I can infer that the trenches were not dug in straight lines, because I saw that they soldiers were all over the place digging. From my own knowledge I know that they did not have trenches in straight lines, because it made it harder for the enemy to attack if the trenches were zigzagged. After I watched this clip, I found out that the soldiers were actually in training, but it would be nearly exactly the same when they were actually out on the battlefront digging trenches, they would just have to dig quicker.I think this source is quite reliable, because even though these soldiers were just in training, they would still have to do the same thing when they were actually fighting, and I know that digging trenches was just like that, from my own knowledge. This source is quite typical of soldiers as well, because after doing some thorough research, I found that both sides of the war dug trenches, which means the source is quite typical.

The only people it does not represent are the people higher up than the soldiers (the doctors, generals, pilots etc. Here is another source from a history textbook, showing the layout of the trenches. I can infer from this picture that attacks could happen at any time because I can see dugouts next to every trench, which would be used to escape from the enemy. From my own knowledge I know that dugouts give more protection that the trenches does, but just because you are in a dugout, doesn’t mean you are fully protected and cannot be killed by anything.This source is not completely reliable, because things in a history textbook are usually watered down so that children can understand it better, and judging by the colourfulness and simple statements in the picture, I would say this textbook is for primary school aged children. This source is quite useful however, because it is clear and basically shows you exactly what the battlefield looks like.

This source is quite typical, because from my own knowledge I know that both sides of the combat zone were very similar, and the picture represents both British and German troops well, because it explains what German and British dugouts were like.From my knowledge I know that trenches were not designed, they were just dug wherever they could be, in zigzagged lines. They had to be the right size, because if they were too big, then fewer trenches would be able to fit in the allocated area. After they were dug, they were lined with sandbags and barbed wire, for protection, but that was only if there were enough supplies. It apparently took 6 hours for 450 men to construct 250 miles of trench (according to http://trenches. jynx.

ca/? page=trenches) there were three ways to construct trenches, entrenching, sapping and tunnelling.Entrenching was the easiest and “normal” method to do, you work your way from the top of the land, and go downwards, with the help of a shovel. This was the quickest way to construct a trench, and also the most effective because many men could build a trench at a time. Sapping meant you dug at the ends of the trench and worked inwards, and tunnelling is basically going underneath the ground, leaving some soil on top. Sapping and tunnelling were not as effective, because fewer men could work at the same time, and when you were tunnelling, the layer of soil on top could collapse.From my own knowledge I know that it was impossible for anyone to see out of their trench if it was the correct depth, and because of this a firestep was built, which was about two or three feet above the ground, and was just like a large ledge.

Sandbags were also put around the edges of the trenches, to soak up water and to absorb bullets and shell fragments. If the trenches had been dug in straight lines, and the enemy had managed to get into it, then the enemy would be able to shoot and kill many soldiers at a time.Duckboards (wooden planks) were sometimes put on the floor of trenches to help protect soldiers against fungal infections caused by terrible and wet conditions (e. g. trench foot) but this could have been a bad idea, because if water was in the trench, then the ground would not be able to absorb it, because of the duckborards, and so the water would be left there until it evaporated. Barbed wire protected the trenches, to help stop foreign people from entering the trench.

Trenches called ‘saps’ were dug about 30 yards (about 27. 5 metres) in front of the front line trenches, and were used as listening posts.Behind the front line trenches there were reserve and support trenches, and soldiers were moved from one trench to the other and back again, to give the soldiers some time to rest. Food and Rations Soldiers Ate When people think of the war, they often think of hungry soldiers who didn’t get enough to eat.

This source shows people queuing up to get their rations. I can infer from this source that food was not readily available at all times, because I can see many people waiting to get food. From my own knowledge I know that soldiers were often hungry, because of the lack of food that they had to survive on.The soldiers are queuing up to get their food because if they missed the time to get food, they may have to wait a couple of days before an opportunity to eat may arrive.

This source is quite typical because from my own knowledge I know that food was shared out among the soldiers on both sides of the war. It is not completely reliable though, because it only shows one second of the war, and for all we know, the next day could be a completely different scene to this sight that a picture has been taken of. This is quite a useful source because it shows how food was given out during WW1.Here is a painting of two soldiers trying to prepare hot food in the trenches. From my own knowledge I know that this source is not typical at all because most soldiers were so busy all of the time that they didn’t have enough time to start cooking in their trench.

Matches were in short supply also, and because the ground was wet and moist most of the time, the possibility of soldiers being able to start a fire was very low. It is not reliable either, because the artist (Gilbert Rogers) would have most likely not have been painting in the middle of the trench amongst all of the rubble and mud.In fact, the chance that he actually visited the battlefield during the war is very small, so this painting is almost certainly just a figure of his imagination. From my own knowledge I know that corned beef was a food product that was readily available.

It was made in Britain, and because of that, there did not need to be any connections with any other countries. This is why soldiers usually mentions corned beef or salted meat in their diaries, because it was something they survived on. Soldiers were also given bread, pieces of dark chocolate, rum and tobacco.Food in the trenches was more often that not given in cans. This was because food lasted longer if they were preserved this way, and the metal lasted longer against the gnawing teeth of the rats.

The British army tried to hide the terrible quality of the food, and the lack of it, from everyone on the home front. They attempted to spread the message that soldiers were given two hot meals every single day, but their lies proved pointless when soldiers went back home and reported the truth. A soldier called Harry Patch said "Our rations - you were lucky if you got some bully beef and a biscuit.You couldn't get your teeth into it.

Sometimes if they shelled the supply lines you didn't get anything for days on end. There were five in a machine-gun team, and everything we had was shared amongst us. I used to get a parcel from home. My mother knew the grocer pretty well.

". But it was a completely different story when men managed to get onto the enemies territory. Every man carried some emergency food, which they called ‘Iron Rations’. This was made up of; a can of bully beef, a few biscuits, some tea and some sugar.Obviously this food did not last particularly long, and if the people providing the soldiers food (kitchen staff) were not able to bring them any food, then they would have to either turn back or last as long as they could without food. Health Issues Soldiers Faced The conditions in the trenches were absolutely appalling and devastating, and because of that, health was always an issue.

Not only was the soldier’s poor diets an interjecting matter, but also the filth and the pests that surrounded the men helped bring down the level of hygiene.Trench foot was a fungal infection that you could get after your feet had been in the dirty water for too long. The water seeped into your boots, and stayed there for long periods of time, because as soon as you emptied your boot, it got full again. The feet become numb, and can go either blue or red (neither colour is better). Advanced trench foot (after having damp feet for a long period of time), can lead to having to have your foot amputated, because there is no longer a need for it.Still, trench foot can be treated, and after that, full recovery can be acquired.

I can infer from this source that the trenches often flooded, and because there were no draining systems back then, the water would be left in the trenches until it evaporated or seeped into the mud. This source is fairly reliable, because from my own knowledge I know that many men suffered from this condition, although this picture is actually showing the advanced stage of trench foot, after it has been left untreated for a couple of weeks.Still, I do not know what this picture was used for, because it could have been used to worry the soldiers into taking proper care of themselves. I do not think that that photo would have been shown in newspapers or on posters in Britain, because they wanted to keep everyone who was still in Britain calm, by not giving them unpleasant information about what was going on.

This source is rather typical also, because I found out that both crews had soldiers who were suffering with trench foot.This source is not that useful, because it does not give me any information about why this condition occurred, or how to prevent it. Rats were also a big problem in the trenches. From this picture I can infer that there were many of them around, and that the soldiers made a game out of killing them as I can see several dead rats hung by their tails on a line. This picture is reasonably reliable because from my own knowledge I know that rats were a vast obstruction on both sides of no man’s land, but I do not know why this photo was taken and for what reason it was taken, so it’s less reliable because of that.

If it was taken to be put in a magazine, to show the soldiers were enjoying themselves, then it would have been over exaggerated, to make the war look like more of a “game”. This source is quite typical also because I know that a lot of the soldiers were bored whilst there were in the trenches, and that they usually could not sleep at night because of the rats crawling over them in their sleep. This may be why they made a diversion and some entertainment for themselves, by shooting or hitting rats to pass their time.I can see a bat or a club of some sort, and I assume that that was the instrument used to killed the rats.

This source is fairly useful; because it shows you how big the rats were in WW1 and what the soldiers did as a pastime. “We slept in our clothes and cut our hair short so that it would tuck inside our caps. Dressing simply meant putting on our boots. There were times when we had to scrape the lice off with the blunt edge of a knife and our underclothes stuck to us. (Elizabeth de T’Serclaes – a nurse on the front line) Here is a diary extract by Elizabeth de T’Sercales, who was a nurse on the front line. Although she was a nurse and not a soldier, she still had to live in poorer living conditions.

I would say that this source is somewhat reliable, because it was a diary extract, so she would not need to exaggerate anything because the only person she would be lying to would be herself.Also, from my own knowledge I know that nurses lived in quite appalling living conditions as well, and because this woman was a nurse on the front line, her living conditions would have been nearly exactly the same as the soldiers. This source is not that typical though, because the majority of the nurses in WW1 were actually based in hospitals, and only a few of them were on the front line (because being so close to the battle was “too dangerous” for women).I think this source is very useful, because it shows how badly lice infected the trenches, and what people had to deal with. She was a nurse, which was better off than being a soldier, so I can’t even imagine what it was like.

Lice were a big problem in the trenches. They created a terrible smell, bred like wildfire and they made people itch like crazy. Harry Patch describes the lice in his autobiography: "The lice were the size of grains of rice, each with its own bite, each with its own itch.When we could, we would run hot wax from a candle down the seams of our trousers, our vests - whatever you had - to burn the buggers out. It was the only thing to do.

Eventually, when we got to Rouen, coming back, they took every stitch off us and gave us a suit of sterilised blue material. And the uniforms they took off, they burned them - to get rid of the lice. " Clearly, there was no time for soldiers to bathe, and there was nowhere, but if the soldiers had taken baths, even once every two months, then their health probably would have been better.