How to build a trench
Trenches were dug by hand, or, for the luckier soldiers, using shovels, WWI trenches
were usually built at night, before the enemy encroached upon the area. There
were three main types of trench construction during WWI; Entrenching, Sapping
and Sand-bagging. A WW1 trench would be about 6ft in height and there would be
mounds of dirt spread along the front ledge of the trench to provide side
protection for the infantry from enemy rifle fire.
were usually built at night, before the enemy encroached upon the area. There
were three main types of trench construction during WWI; Entrenching, Sapping
and Sand-bagging. A WW1 trench would be about 6ft in height and there would be
mounds of dirt spread along the front ledge of the trench to provide side
protection for the infantry from enemy rifle fire.
Trench Conditions
Below are a couple of YouTube videos.
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Day to day routine
Life in the trenches was never going to be easy and even in the chaos of battle the soldiers still had to follow a daily routine on top of keeping the enemy at bay.
Afternoon Routine In The Trenches
Sometimes (not very often) when a battle is not taking place, soldiers had time to write or read letters, play games or catch up on sleep they missed. Some men were unlucky and had to be on guard duty. When there is a battle, no one can mess around. Everyone has to be in full concentration. Snipers were set up in lookout posts and would fire at the enemy an the first sight of movement, you had to keep your head down in the trenches no matter what you were doing for fear of being shot. There is a photo of a sniper in the slideshow above. Sometimes the opponents would play a game with their helmets to see who could hit it with a bullet. This shows that it wasn't all about the death and killing others in WW1. Did you know that there were a few inventive soldiers and they developed an art movement called trench art. They picked up interesting objects and turned them into more interesting objects. Why were trenches designed this way? There were many, many interconnecting trenches to allow passage to and from the front line trenches. The trenches were zig zags and not a long line because if a shell landed in the trench, the blast wouldn't be as big as with a long straight trench. Also, this means that less soldiers would get injured. The trench line, then, often reached back miles from the front one. When an attack succeeding capturing the front trench, the enemy fell back to the second line, and the attacker had to do everything all over, but with weaker, fewer troops and less equipment to attack against superior numbers of fresh troops with ample supplies. They would be about 6-7 feet deep. It might have had wooden planks on the walls. Of course, the newer trenches didn't have these because it was more important to get it dug than make it comfortable. They would also have bridges (a couple planks nailed together) running across the top for easy crossing. Some even had little pockets dug in the side. These would be a couple feet deep, and were used for days when things were coming from the sky. Both rain and explosive shells. They might have some view points for the officers to look out. This would have been effective because they will know when to get ready if the enemy is planning to throw a shell at them. |
Morning Routine In the Trenches
Soldiers would usually begin their day (and be woken up with the morning "Stand too") one hour before sun up. Some are then sent with their bayonet attached to their rifle and be on guard duty. Even though it was hard, waking up early meant that the soldiers could look out if their was a raid from the enemy. Both sides were prepared for the dawn raids as they were very common. Machine guns, shells and even some hand guns would be fired toward the enemy lines. Most of these were experiments to see if the weapons were useful for morning raids. "The morning hate" was named after the first hour of daylight. It was named this because a lot of the soldiers were stressed especially because it was early in the morning. This shows how life in the trenched was very difficult and if they woke up later, maybe the soldiers would have been more alert. This part of the morning mainly consisted of inspection checks of the weapons and the trenches themselves. Soldiers would have been ordered to clean weapons and would get a tot of rum. Now the soldiers would be having breakfast. The soldiers in WW1 would be eating simple foods such as rice, beans, potatoes. stale biscuits, a lot of canned meat and sometimes they grew vegetables that were not being used! The food wasn't very appealing at all but that was needed to make them survive. Afterwards, soldiers would have to do daily chores such as refilling sandbags, repairing trenches and the duckboards on the floor. Evening Routine in the trenches
This part of the day was probably the most busiest part. As darkness approached the men were sent on their second "Stand too" of the day gain bayonets fixed in preparation for surprise attacks from enemy lines. As there were a lot of surprise attacks and the soldiers should be prepared for them. They were also asked to bring in supplies such as food, ammunition (weapons), water, medical and maintenance equipment. If there was a battle going on, the maximum time a soldier can be on the fire step was two hours. this was in case he fell asleep on duty. Falling asleep at your post was a capital offence and could be punishable by death! Patrols into no-mans land would also be carried out under cover of darkness, to repair breaks in the barbed wire and some were sent out as "Listening posts." This was effective because it helped them to over hear information from the enemy. However, sometimes enemy patrols would meet in No Man's Land. This meant that the soldiers would start fighting because they felt like it wasn't their duty to patrol and sometimes they would over hear information about them. So it was better to fight than take their separate ways because if they don't pass information to their officers they could get killed. The weapons used should be considered carefully. Should they use machine guns when they can hurt the other members in the army and not the enemy. Then, the soldiers go to sleep, taking in turns which soldier has to be on duty and who needs to sleep. On the left is an example of a typical trench. You can see the steps to where soldiers shoot their guns and the dugout hole which was a very good idea to sneak to an area where the soldiers can shoot easily. |
Why did soldiers fight in trenches during WW1?
Actually, not that much fighting occurred in the trenches. The trench works were
built as defensive features. In pre gunpowder days, they would have built walls
and ramparts. but modern artillery could pulverize any such works that could be
built on a battlefield. By building down, it made it much harder for the enemy
to inflict large casualties with bombardments.
Where the real killing came in would be when the troops were ordered "over the top". The not so
brilliant generals on both sides kept trying to take the enemy lines by sending
waves of men through the torn up ground between the trenches. Modern machine
guns, grenades, and regular rifles made this a nightmare for the attacking
troops.
built as defensive features. In pre gunpowder days, they would have built walls
and ramparts. but modern artillery could pulverize any such works that could be
built on a battlefield. By building down, it made it much harder for the enemy
to inflict large casualties with bombardments.
Where the real killing came in would be when the troops were ordered "over the top". The not so
brilliant generals on both sides kept trying to take the enemy lines by sending
waves of men through the torn up ground between the trenches. Modern machine
guns, grenades, and regular rifles made this a nightmare for the attacking
troops.