LIFE IN THE TRENCHES

So, what is a trench?

Well, according to thefreedictionary.com, a trench is a deep furrow, or ditch.

In other words, it was a hole...literally. Trenches were thin holes in the ground that would go on for miles on end. What makes the trenches of World War One so interesting was that, the trenches, for lack of a better word, were a living hell to all. 

Trench warfare began when the Schlieffen Plan failed. Both sides reached a stalemate and they both decided to start making trenches. The idea of the trenches was not unique, for they were used during the US Civil War and the Russian-Japanese war. The Germans had three lines of trenches, used for retreating when things got difficult. The trenches were the frontlines of the war, the most dangerous places. They were made during late 1914 and the allies made a breakthrough in 1918.

Trenches were a horrific place to be living in. Not only were they confined spaces, trenches would accumulate much muddy water when it rained heavily, leaving men to stand inside it. Random deaths were common due to the unexpected shell-firing by the enemy or even a sniper. And the smell? Disgusting. We might take off our socks and grimace, but in trenches, the smell was absolutely putrid, emanating from the months-worth of dried sweat. This was not to mention the many deceased beings laying in the trenches, the odour of poisonous gas, rotting sandbags, mud and smoke that added to this smell.

When it comes to anything normal in a trench, only two things could be picked at. Breakfast was a time of an unofficial truce between both sides so one could literally eat their breakfast in peace. Yet, when a senior officer was to discover this truce, it was stamped upon at once. Also in order to try and keep some sense of normality in them, men attempted to write letters to their families.

Trenches were a place of death. Life in a trench was a miserable life.

 Here's some additional information on trenches :)