With reference to the trenches/tunnels at Vimy ridge, how typical are these of conditions for soldiers in the first world war?

Some aspects of Vimy Ridge have remained exactly how they were at the time of the war but some have been changed due to safety reasons or other reasons. For example in the tunnels at Vimy ridge concrete pillars have been installed for safety reasons to prevent cave-ins.

        The height of the trenches has probably remained the same, as there is no reason to change it, it is similar in height to other trenches that I saw and from the sources, source D says “Water filled in to a depth of 1 or 2 feet leaving say 4 feet of air”. Another change due to safety reasons is the change of the sand bags and duckboards to concrete, The sandbags are usually filled with sand and the duckboards are usually made of wood although in source A no duckboards are shown. Source A is likely to be a reliable source but from my own knowledge I know that duckboards were a common feature of the trenches so although the duckboards are a different material they give the trench a more realistic look. The positioning of the trenches and the tunnels has not changed although the tunnels have been slightly enlarged. These trenches were continuous which I have found to be typical of in the others I saw and most sources that I have read but source C says, “ Connecting trenches only existed in places which offered no natural concealment” even though this source disagrees with the trenches at Vimy I still think that the connecting trenches were typical during the first world war. Also the ‘zigzag’ style of the trench is typical of the war has shown in the picture in source B.  Source A shows a firing step almost identical to the one at Vimy ridge these were typical of trenches during the world war.

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Source A was taken at the time of the war so is a first hand view; it looks too depressing to be for propaganda use. It was probably used for information at headquarters so is likely to be reliable.  Source B is also an eyewitness account this time it was by someone who fought in the war so knew what it felt like. The sketches were probably to help produce official pictures so the soldier would want the details to be realistic to please the army. But he could try to tone it down, as he was trying not to ...

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