Life in the Trenches - Nathaniel Stone by Nathaniel Stone

Work at Night

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 19:53:10 UTC

Soldiers did most of their work at night so that the enemy had a harder time seeing them.

Dusk/Dawn Fireoffs

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 19:57:35 UTC

At dawn and dusk, opposing trenches would shoot at each other for 10-15 minutes.

Digging Trenches

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 19:57:58 UTC

Soldiers spent most of their time digging out and repairing their trench.

Pumping Water

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 20:01:18 UTC

Soldiers often had to pump water from their trenches to stop flooding.

Communication Trenches

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 20:02:55 UTC

Some soldiers carried supplies through communication trenches for soldiers in trenches.

Sentries

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 20:05:23 UTC

Sentries worked two hours shifts to watch over no-man's land.

Officers

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 20:09:17 UTC

Officers ensured that soldiers were doing their duties and looked out for soldiers with diseases.

Rats

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 20:15:03 UTC

Rats were numerous in the trenches and would often scurry over sleeping soldier's faces.

Unpalatable Food

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 20:20:01 UTC

Food in the trenches was made only to give calories and was extremely unpalatable.

Newspapers

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 20:22:26 UTC

Newspapers were brought to the trenches to raise soldier morale.

Mail

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 21:49:31 UTC

Soldiers could receive and send mail, but the mail they sent had to follow a specific template.

Boredom

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 21:52:45 UTC

Life in the trenches was very boring, adding to the daily suffering of soldiers.

Rifle Cleaning

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 21:56:23 UTC

Soldiers had to clean their rifles while in the trenches.

Men on Stretchers

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 21:57:20 UTC

In the communication trenches, dead soldiers would be carried on stretchers away from the trenches.

Lice

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 21:59:57 UTC

Lice were widespread in the trenches, so soldiers had to go to delousing stations.

Flies

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 22:03:46 UTC

Flies existed in clouds in the trenches, especially in the summers.

Shell Shock

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 22:06:01 UTC

Due to the intense artillery bombardment in trenches, many soldiers developed shell shock and PTSD.

Trench Foot

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 22:08:21 UTC

Barefoot soldiers were exposed to the muddy trenches for weeks, so trench foot developed in many soldiers.

Trench Fever

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 22:10:38 UTC

Lice in the trenches spread trench fever, for which their was no cure for most of the war.

Pneumonia

2000759_3 — 2025-03-17 22:12:03 UTC

The cold and wet conditions in the trenches made pneumonia common in soldiers.