Who were in the trenches in ww1?

European armies found themselves in a frustrating stalemate in the muddy trenches of France, Belgium, and Eastern Europe. On the Western Front, Germany, Austria, and Hungary faced down the Allies, France and Britain over barbed-wired No-Man’s Land running north to south over nearly the entire continent.

Did soldiers live in trenches in ww1?

Trenches were common throughout the Western Front. Long, narrow trenches dug into the ground at the front, usually by the infantry soldiers who would occupy them for weeks at a time, were designed to protect World War I troops from machine-gun fire and artillery attack from the air.

Did people live in trenches?

On the Western Front, the war was fought by soldiers in trenches. 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 was it living in the trenches?

Trench life involved long periods of boredom mixed with brief periods of terror. The threat of death kept soldiers constantly on edge, while poor living conditions and a lack of sleep wore away at their health and stamina.

How many soldiers survived the trenches?

In Britain around 6 million men were mobilised, and of those just over 700,000 were killed. That’s around 11.5%. Or to put it another way 88.5% survived, that is nearly 9 out of 10 British ‘Tommies’ survived the trenches.

Did soldiers sleep in the trenches?

Daily life. Most activity in front line trenches took place at night under cover of darkness. During daytime soldiers would try to get some rest, but were usually only able to sleep for a few hours at a time.

What did soldiers do in trenches?

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.

When did people start living in trenches?

Trenches came into widespread use in 1914 as a way for soldiers to protect themselves against the firepower of modern weaponry. Over time, they developed into huge networks. As shown here, trenches were given names to help identify them.

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. Rats in particular were a problem and ate soldier’s food as well as the actual soldiers while they slept.

Did anyone survive all of ww1?

The last combat veteran was Claude Choules, who served in the British Royal Navy (and later the Royal Australian Navy) and died 5 May 2011, aged 110. The last veteran who served in the trenches was Harry Patch (British Army), who died on 25 July 2009, aged 111.