What is a frontline trench?
Frontline trenches were usually about seven feet deep and six feet wide. The front of the trench was known as the parapet. The front-line trenches were also protected by barbed-wire entanglements and machine-gun posts. Short trenches called saps were dug from the front-trench into No-Man’s Land.
What did soldiers dig behind the front-line trenches?
The stink of war The main latrines were located behind the lines, but front-line soldiers had to dig small waste pits in their own trenches.
How were front-line trenches dug?
Each trench was dug in a type of zigzag so that no enemy, standing at one end, could fire for more than a few yards down its length. Each of the main lines of trenches was connected to each other and to the rear by a series of communications trenches that were dug roughly perpendicular to them.
What were the three ways to dig trenches?
They resisted both artillery bombardment and mass infantry assault. Shell-proof dugouts became a high priority. A well-developed trench had to be at least 2.5 m (8 ft) deep to allow men to walk upright and still be protected. There were three standard ways to dig a trench: entrenching, sapping, and tunnelling.
Why were trenches built in zig zags?
The trench system had a main fire trench or front line. All the trenches were dug in a zig-zag pattern so the enemy couldn’t shoot straight down the line and kill many soldiers. If a mortar, grenade or artillery shell would land in the trench, it would only get the soldiers in that section, not further down the line.
How long did it take to dig out the trenches?
Trenches needed to be repaired constantly to prevent erosion from the weather and from enemy bombs and gunfire. It took 450 men six hours to build around 250 metres of British trenches.
What was life like in the trenches 5 facts including conditions?
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.
How many layers lines did a trench have?
As historian Paul Fussell describes it, there were usually three lines of trenches: a front-line trench located 50 yards to a mile from its enemy counterpart, guarded by tangled lines of barbed wire; a support trench line several hundred yards back; and a reserve line several hundred yards behind that.
What was the result of digging trenches in World War 1?
Trenches were quick to fill with water during bad weather leading to conditions such as trench foot. Standing in water for days on end with limited time or provisions to change socks and shoes resulted in gangrenous conditions that could lead to amputation.
How many soldiers were buried alive in the trenches of WWI?
Bombed by the allies, the trench collapsed and 21 soldiers were buried alive. Along with the bodies, archaeologists have recovered personal effects, beds, newspapers, drinking cups, construction tools, heating devices, water pumps and lots more that reveals the reality of trench life.
What did the rats do in the trenches?
As if being a soldier fighting in the trenches was not stressful enough, trenches were often inundated with rats, bringing with them a range of bacteria and fleas, rats also nibbled holes into supplies and even wormed their way into food banks. One soldier recalled: ‘A battalion of Jerrys would have terrified me less than the rats did sometimes’.
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