THE LIFE OF A SOILDER DURING
THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
- Trenches were built for numerous reasons the main reason being ‘Protection’. Soldiers would protect them self from the enemies, this gives them a little resting time and some time to plot their next move. Another reason that the trenches were used was to shelter away the healing soldiers. The General would not allow any solider to rest and heal here, only the strong important ones, who will probably make a difference in their eyes. Trenches also had ‘blind alleys’ to confuse the enemy in case of a successful attack. Running out at right angles from the frontline trenches were saps (narrow, shallow, trenches). These saps were about 30 yards long. Small groups of soldiers were sent to the sap-head (listening post) and were given the task of finding out about the enemy. This would help them to make the next move. Short trenches (saps) were built across ‘No Mans Land’. These were dug towards the enemy trenches and enabled soldiers to move forward without exposure to fire. Several saps would be dug along a section of frontline. These were then joined together at their far ends to create a new trench. On the western front trenches were useful for throwing shells into the enemy’s trench, even though a small section of the trench would be exposed to the shell poisonous gas would be used to kill the few soldiers standing in that area. Most of the time soldiers were prepared and had a large net over the trench to collect the bombshells before they hit a hard surface.
