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World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from the summer of 1914 until the late fall of 1918. The war was fought between the Allies, which consisted mainly of the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire, and the Central Powers, which consisted mainly of the German Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Alliances - Entente and Central Powers). In total, it is estimated that twelve million civilians and nine million combatants died during this horrific and devastating war (DeGroot 1). When the war first began in 1914, many people thought that it would be a war of movement that would quickly be over. However, that changed when the Germans, who were trying to reach and capture the city of Paris in France, were forced to retreat during the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 (Ellis 10). German General von Falkenhayn, who felt that his troops must at all cost hold onto the parts of France and Belgium that they had overtaken, ordered his men to dig in and form defensive trench lines (Ellis 10). The Allies could not break through the enemies lines and were forced to create trenches of their own (Ellis 10). This was only the beginning of trench warfare. A war of movement had quickly come to a standstill on the Western Front. A massive trench line, 475 miles long, quickly spread and extended from the North Sea to the Swiss Frontier (Ellis 10). With neither side budging, soldiers were forced to live in the most miserable of conditions. Simply put, life in the trenches was a living hell. A lieutenant of the 2nd Scottish rifles wrote, “No one who was not there can fully appreciate the excruciating agonies and misery through which the men had to go [through] in those da...
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...oot, Gerard J. The First World War. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001. Print.
Ellis, John. Eye-Deep in Hell: Trench Warfare in World War I. New York: Pantheon, 1976. Print.
"Feature Articles - Life in the Trenches." Firstworldwar.com. First World War, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2011.
“Fire Step.” Firstworldwar.com. First World War, n.d. Wed. 06 Apr. 2011.
“In the Trenches.” 1914-1918.net. The Long, Long Trail, n.d. Wed. 05 Apr. 2011.
“Lice.” Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2011.
“Trench Food.” Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2011.
“Trench Foot.” Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2011.
“Trench Rats.” Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2011.
“Waterlogged Trenches.” Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2011.
"First World War.com - Feature Articles - Life in the Trenches." First World War.com - A Multimedia History of World War One. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. .
The film “Slaughter in the Trenches” shows us a big part of how terrible the World War 1 was. Men, who signed up to serve in the war, were signing up for their death. Thousands of men fought in the war, but only few hundred survived. Many of these men who did survive, became pieces of evidence of the warfare to show the world what a war does to people. The film introduces us to the trench warfare and does a great job of portraying the war, the lives of the men, and the countries that participated in it.
The First World War, also known as the Great War, began in about 1914 and went on until 1918. This brutal war was an extremely bloody time for Europe and the soldiers that fought in it. These men spent their days in trenches holding down bases and taking in attacks from all sides. The soldier's only free time was consumed with writing letters to those on the home front. The letters they wrote contain heart breaking stories of how their days were spent and the terrible signs of war. The War consumed them and many of them let out all their true feelings of war in their letters to loved ones. In The First World War: A brief History With Documents we can find some of these letters that help us understand what the First World War might have been like for these young and desperate soldiers.
The afternoon sun shined down Ernest's back as he stood on his toes to get a look over the trench wall. All of the men had been warned not to look over, despite the natural inclination to do so. Even when there was no attack at the moment, a random sniper shot could bring death to a soldier on his first day of service. “Johnson!” Ernest quickly lowered back down into the trench. He turned to the sergeant behind him. “Do you want to get killed Private?” The sergeant barked. “No sir!” Ernest hastily replied. He crouched back down into the trench as the sergeant left him. He looked down the trench. To his left were several more soldiers, some sleeping, waiting to be awoken by the sounds of gunfire, others crouched down uncomfortably, waiting for orders. To his right, the soldiers currently on pumping duty worked hard to keep the trench water free. It was hardly working though, as the floor of the trench was almost completely mud, with a few solid patches. He dozed off for a second staring down the trench, then looked away. If he hadn't become used to the smell of the trench, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything. The distant odor of poisonous gas from the night before, the smell of rotting sandbags and stagnant mud, the smell of dirty clothes that hadn't been cleaned in months, and a scent of food reminiscing from breakfast all combined to make the worst odor possible. Soldiers new to the trenches were traumatized by it. He turned to the soldier next to him. “I wish something would happen just to get this over with,” Ernest said. “Did you see anything when you looked up?” The soldier queried. “The fog was too thick, it might of cleared up by now though.” he replied. “I will check,” the soldier whispered as he looked around ...
O'Neill, William L. World War II: A Student Companion. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print.
taken a shower so once again they had to put up with it. When it
World War 1 was unlike anything that was expected from the previous wars fought. Besides the sheer amount of combatants, the advent of technology resulted in a “trench warfare”; a battle fought with powerful weapons, destructive environments, and deadly surprises. Expecting beautiful lands and a promising new experience, thousands of soldiers were instead met with unimaginable amounts of grief and sorrow. As a result of this, experienced tacticians who could navigate the battlefield and direct their soldiers became an absolute necessity.
Trench warfare, for example, was a new strategic technique of fighting that transformed the concept of war altogether. Instead of traditional war on the terrain, trench warfare assisted soldiers by providing greater shelter from attack than previous forms of warfare. Subsequently, the First World War lasted exceedingly longer than previously predicted, and as a result was far more repugnant. Waiting in trenches for the enemy to attack resulted in soldiers remaining inside of trenches for weeks, or even months. The harsh weather during the war contributed to the discontent and ailments of the soldiers. Moreover, the letters served as informative news to those who had no knowledge of trench
First World War, bending under soggy packs, on many a weary march from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle-deep through the mire of shell-shocked roads, to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God.
When World War 1 broke out in 1914, a lot of people joined up for the
Dear mom and dad, life in the trenches has become harder and harder. Its horrid. The smell of bodies burns through the cloth I hold over my nose and the rats, the rats are the size of cats from the amount of corpses they eat and they do not fear humans. My feet are never dry and I fear I’ll contract Trench Foot.
Trench warfare was introduced in order to bring a barrier between forces. They were dug by soldiers and were very lengthy, but very cramped. Soldiers crouched down for extended periods of time to keep their heads blocked from being a target for the other side. They sat their watching their friends die from disease and from being shot, bombed, or poison gassed while they waited to fire their weapons at the enemy.
In Paul Fussell’s book, The Great War and Modern Memory, he discusses some of the ways in which World War I affected the men who fought in it, specifically those in the trenches. One of Fussell’s main points in his book as he tries to characterize World War I was the widespread irony that spread in its wake. Even though the focus of his book is based upon the British perspective of World War I, Fussell also briefly mentions the effects of the war upon other countries involved in the war.
“.Usually Dawn to Dusk was the times where the enemy would likely to strike. After that we would do some checks on equipment or dig in the trenches. I don’t want to worry you but life in the trenches is very poor. Whenever it rained, the water would pool up down towards the bottom of the trenches. All soldiers had to step in all that water every day until it dried which took very long, many would end up having trench foot. Most people said the rats were big as cats. Rats and lice the trenches with a huge stench. Also the only way we were able to take a shower was after 4 days after trench duty. When we had to sleep we were provided bunk beds because it saved allot of space. The food that was given to us was often repetitive and tasteless. The rations we ate were often small, at the start it was different but later on it got boring. And the drinks they gave us were tea. I didn’t have the guts to use the washroom, I was guessing there was also many diseases spreading I guessed it was mostly through bathroom use. I didn’t make that much friends mostly because it was war I keep them close so we can keep watch while one sleeps. 3 people including me: Alfred& Edmond. Are method is 1
It was a rainy day in the trenches, and there I saw my best friend laying on the ground in a pool of blood.