Battle Of Somme

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Mohammed Tahmid 9CO – MR KHAN

History Essay – Life in the Trenches

The First World War was fought between 1914 and 1918. More British soldiers died in this war than any other in history. Most of these who died did so during big battles like the battle of Somme and battle of Khanaqin in which over 1 million people died. In this essay, I will be describing and examining how life was like in the trenches and the conditions in the trenches. Furthermore, I will be describing a battle during World War 1 that took place in the trenches and look at the consequences of this sort of warfare.

The First World War was the first war to be fought mainly in trenches. Trenches were simply dug out of the soil and the walls were sometimes supported by wooden planks. Trenches were dug for the Soldiers to take cover from enemy fire, and be able to fire on the enemy without putting themselves in danger. The floors usually would be cold, muddy and wet.  Some of the advantages of trenches were that it gave cover (plenty of protection) and concealment. There were also many disadvantages of trenches. For example there were many illnesses and diseases like trench foot, trench fever and trench mouth. In addition the conditions were terrible and it was difficult to get proper supplies. In short life in the trenches was extremely hard considering what they had to go through. All of the things about trench warfare were bad but the worst things were the conditions of the mud, it was diseased and many soldiers died. Soldiers in the trenches had many tasks and duties including filling in of sandbags, repairing of the duckboards and pumping out the water that had gathered in the bottom of the trench. They also had to try and find food but mostly try to not get shot. There have been many discussions about why the First World War was so much longer, and cost so many more lives, than previous wars. The main reason for this was the trench system. The trench system was first used in 1914 because soldiers realized they were completely unprotected. Running across a battlefield and having nothing to hide behind would make an easy victory for the enemy. Trenches came in to help protect a place and it helped to stop incoming rounds.  Machine guns and barbed wire came around at the time. Machine guns type of weapon that was not new to the war. But this time they became more efficient, and were a main cause of casualties.

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One example of a battle fought using trench warfare was the battle of Somme. The battle of Somme was one of the largest battles in the First World War. By the end both sides involved had suffered more than 1.5 million casualties, making it one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded. It started in July 1st 1916 and was fought between the British & the French Vs the Germans. The battle of Somme took place in Northern France, near the Somme River. The battle lasted 4 Months and 18 days. In the battle of Somme Thousands and millions of ...

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