How did soldiers feel about life in the trench?
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. In the middle was no man’s land, which soldiers crossed to attack the other side.
What did soldiers have to do in the trenches?
Day-to-Day Work Following morning stand-to, inspection, and breakfast, soldiers undertook any number of chores, ranging from cleaning latrines to filling sandbags or repairing duckboards. During daylight hours, they conducted all work below ground and away from the snipers’ searching rifles.
What did the expression over the top mean to soldiers in the trenches?
Today we use the expression ‘over the top’ to mean something that is extreme, outrageous or inappropriate. Most soldiers in the Great War must have felt the same way about orders to go ‘over the top’. For them it meant leaving the safety of their trenches and attacking the enemy.
What did soldiers do with dead bodies in the trenches?
In areas of active combat, troops would bury their fallen comrades where they fell, often in a shallow grave marked only with a large rock, a stick, or a rifle with its bayonet thrust into the ground. In a pinch, a shallow trench or shell crater would do; these bodies would be exhumed later and reburied.
What does the phrase over the top mean?
Definition of over-the-top : extremely or excessively flamboyant or outrageous an over-the-top performance.
Why were trench rats so big?
George Coppard gave another reason why the rats were so large: “There was no proper system of waste disposal in trench life. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn’t defend himself.” These rats became very bold and would attempt to take food from the pockets of sleeping men.