only way to get rid of them was by applying heat to their clothes mainly from candle wax and this had to be done carefully so as not to burn their clothes. Other methods were tried, like putting their uniform through special machines designed for exterminating lice that lived in the seams of clothing, but this was almost always unsuccessful because the machines were not completely reliable. There were always a few remaining eggs that hatched when the soldier put on his uniform again (body warmth enabled this) and the whole process started again.
If you were known to have body lice then it was very likely that you would soon be afflicted with trench fever- this was like a common fever with headaches and regular muscle fatigue. It was rarely a killer but could put men out of battle for months. Other minor illnesses included trench mouth which was similar to scurvy but due to not taking care of the mouth (like brushing their teeth) and not getting the right nutrition. The most common and famous disease was trench foot. In the trenches there
was an abundant amount of rain which formed puddles and mud on the ground. Troops would spend hours moving along the cold, wet earth- this continuous exposure lead to parts of the feet rotting away. If not treated immediately it could develop into a more serious diagnosis ending with amputation. Many soldiers had to lose legs to prevent a worse disease called gangrene fatally spreading around the body. The most horrific part was that they had to endure the terrible pain as anaesthetics were not discovered at that time.
The number who had enlisted to join was always increasing and food shipment was gradually growing scarce so the rations for soldiers were being cut down gradually as time passed. It varied from tinned meat -which was bearable when famished but otherwise revolting- to pea soup. When the men wanted to launch an attack and move on, supply was very problematic so they had to carry their own mini rations like cans, biscuits and tea.
The start of the twentieth century was the dawn of a new era for technology. There were many new military inventions that enabled better warfare such as tanks and fighter planes. Excluding heavy artillery the most feared weapon especially in the front line was poisonous gas. If there was a gas attack there was no way you could survive without wearing gas masks which were unavailable in the earlier stages of the war. Instead they covered their faces with rags soaked in water which slightly reduced the effects- The chemicals in the gas would travel to your lungs and burn them internally. You would then die a cruel slow death in agony. Machine guns on the other hand usually caused instant death. They were the first automatic shooters and had the power of one hundred rifles. Because of their heavy weight they had to be set up on the ground and manned by around five men (to reload, move and shoot). Field Guns (like cannons) were another breakthrough. It was too far and impossible for a man to throw a shell as accurately as possible towards the opposite trench from the front line, so these were placed behind the reserve trench and could fire hundreds of metres ahead.
The other well known piece of heavy artillery was the tank. It didn't really help the cause of the Western Front because originally the first ones could only have a crew of 3 soldiers and they were unable to manoeuvre over trenches. Later it was more improved by the Germans- they increased the speed from 3 to 10 miles per hour and it was a lot more capable of accompanying trench soldiers but by the time it had been made the war was already ended.
Aircraft in general were insignificant to the fighting. The were initially used to transport bombs and spy on the enemy to warn soldiers if they were going be attempting an advance- only later in the second world war were planes directly involved in the fighting with their built in machine guns and bombs that would be dropped from the sky.
Other ways of obtaining information stealthily was by sending out few men to No Man's Land in the dead of night when the vision of snipers and sentry guns was most obscured. The men would army crawl towards the enemy trench and try to infiltrate them. If daring enough they would try to capture a soldier sleeping in the front-line and take him back for questioning. The only drawback was the Germans would light a bright flare at any hint of a hostile and the patrol now clear as daylight would be shot dead.
Every day of trench fighting was a massacre with thousands dying on each side. For those who had enthusiastically signed up with their friends it was a massive, unexpected blow with many being killed even on their first day. It was very difficult because the trenches were dug far down so you could hardly see over the top. Even though this was useful there was never any certainty about what was going on ahead or the enemy's position. One classic example of this was the Battle of the Somme- after a week-long shelling and fire of the German lines the British and French went over the top in unison to raid the remaining survivors only to discover that the trenches and barbed wire were still intact and the Germans had not even one casualty whilst under the safety of their secure dugouts. They were ambushed and suffered heavy losses. However some trenches were so shallow that they had to squat to be hidden. This limited movement and was very risky for soldiers that had to get around through the communication trenches as part of their job- if the marksman even caught a glimpse of your helmet, your head would be off.
Many men grew weary of the fighting or could not take any more so tried to commit suicide or grievously injure themselves enough to be relieved from war. The army called this type of offence an SIW (self-inflicted wound) and if found out or refused to enter the fray there was a punishment as grave as execution enforced by a firing squad. There was never a real way to make a distinction between an SIW and genuine wound so there were a few cases where men were mistakenly killed for cowardice.
At the time they were not aware of a condition called shell-shock which thousands of soldiers were subjected to. Common symptoms were headaches, nervous collapsing, lack of focus and paranoia. Many soldiers described having visions of the horrific killings they had committed in battle and regular loss of appetite. Soon they were too mentally unstable to remain in the front-lines and many asked to be excused because of their state but the army was relativly unfair to common soldiers and sent them back after being examined by a doctor, while high ranking officials had the privilege of returning home till their minds settled.
Tactics were important in the victory for the allies at the Western Front because if no-one had a strategy and everyone stayed in the trenches bombarding each other with relentless fire all the while awaiting support, no-one would have got anywhere- the trenches would have just been an death-trap attraction for men signing up in Britain and France. The whole aim was to push the other back as far as possible- Both sides repeatedly launched attacks that both failed and succeeded. When an offensive was won the defeated regiments would retreat and build more trenches in their stead.
"Creeping Barrage" was when British Soldiers sneaked around all the firing and made their way to the German trenches who had taken cover and were unaware of their coming. This was hardly used by generals because it endangered the lives of their own men and if they were killed it defeated the whole purpose.
Another uncommon tactic was digging even deeper into the trench in an attempt to tunnel across No man's land to the enemy trench. As a secret operation it failed miserably because the Germans could hear the clanging of shovels on hard ground and would wait for them or dig down themselves to meet them. The most famous (Bombardment), used by General Douglas Haig as mentioned before was at the Battle of Somme and many others.
Many people agree that General Haig was foolish to lead his men into a bloodbath at the Somme and is criticized because of the hundreds of thousands of men that died 'unnecessarily'. I personally believe that he was a noble man who just made a mistake as everybody does.
Firstly, near the Swiss side of the trenches the French were outnumbered greatly in Verdun. They were fighting a losing battle and if the Germans had broke through, it could have been catastrophic for the British too- Haig along with the French leader Joseph Joffre decided to attack the Somme in order to distract the Germans. He did not want to do it willingly but was under a lot of pressure from the French.
Secondly, everybody was desperate for the war to end. He knew the ordeals of his men and how much they were suffering so perhaps he just wanted to try the quick route out. It was the first time his men climbed out into No Man's Land to take over, so no-one knew about how well the German trenches were made. Later on he used the information to benefit him in future battles.
Although it was blind to go in without any knowledge but hope that luck was on their side, Germany paid with many men too and the Battle of the Somme was the first real progress into putting pressure against them. If all those men had not bravely died the war could have dragged out for years more after it had ended.
This concludes the fairly boring lives of British Soldiers in the Western Front which mainly comprised of the repeated process- Attack, you die or you move on. Every year it was the same, if you survived an offensive you had nothing to look forward to, except more hardship and the wallowing fear of death. Life in the trench was not pleasant but it was nothing compared to what would face them outside.
