What was the weather like in the trenches in ww1?
Winter in the trench combined the worst of the fall with cold weather. There was still rain but also below freezing weather and snow. Frostbite was rampant sometimes leading to amputation. Trenches did not provide any warmth.
What was life like in a ww1 trench BBC?
Trenches were long, narrow ditches dug into the ground where soldiers lived. They were very muddy, uncomfortable and the toilets overflowed. These conditions caused some soldiers to develop medical problems such as trench foot.
What was daily life like in the trenches ww1?
Individuals spent only a few days a month in a front-line trench. Daily life here was a mixture of routine and boredom – sentry duty, kit and rifle inspections, and work assignments filling sandbags, repairing trenches, pumping out flooded sections, and digging latrines.
How did WW1 soldiers stay warm?
Have a bath. At regular intervals, soldiers not on front line duties were given an opportunity to have a warm bath and change their clothes. Baths were usually large, communal spaces and often in makeshift locations, such as breweries.
How bad was life in the trenches?
Life in the trenches was very difficult because they were dirty and flooded in bad weather. Many of the trenches also had pests living in them, including rats, lice, and frogs. Cold weather was dangerous too, and soldiers often lost fingers or toes to frostbite. Some soldiers also died from exposure in the cold.
What did trenches smell like?
Some men disappeared into the mud because it was so thick. The trenches had a horrible smell. This was because of the lack of bathing, the dead bodies, and the overflowing toilets. They could smell cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke, and cooking food.
What was food like in the trenches ww1?
The bulk of their diet in the trenches was bully beef (caned corned beef), bread and biscuits. By the winter of 1916 flour was in such short supply that bread was being made with dried ground turnips. The main food was now a pea-soup with a few lumps of horsemeat.
Where did ww1 soldiers go to the toilet?
These latrines were trench toilets. They were usually pits dug into the ground between 1.2 metres and 1.5 metres deep. Two people who were called sanitary personnel had the job of keeping the latrines in good condition for each company.
Were there toilets in the trenches?
How would you describe life in trenches?
Life in the trenches. Life in the trenches was difficult for the soldiers. They were infested with rats year-round, and in the winter, the trenches filled with mud and ice. The soldiers were often cold and wet, hungry and exhausted. To make matters worse, they knew they could be attacked at any moment.
What were the trenches like in WWI?
In WWI the trenches were home to some fierce battles. More than 6,000 miles of trenches were dug, with the average trench being 10 feet deep and six feet wide. Trenches were usually dug out, with wood or metal holding up the sides. Sometimes more expensive material, like stone, was used.
Which countries used trench warfare in WW1?
Trenches were common throughout the Western Front . Trench warfare in World War I was employed primarily on the Western Front, an area of northern France and Belgium that saw combat between German troops and Allied forces from France, Great Britain and, later, the United States.
What were the problems with trench warfare?
One of the major problems associated with trench warfare during the WWI was that of hygiene. Unhygienic conditions in these trenches resulted in diseases like cholera, typhus, trench foot, and trench mouth.