Life In The Trenches Flashcards
What did inexperienced soldiers often do that got them selves killed
Peer over the parapet into no man’s land where a precisely aimed snipe’s bullet would kill them instantly
How many of allied casualties were sustained in the trenches
One third of
What were rats in the trenches like
Million of rats infested the trenches
There were two types;the brown rat and black rat
Both despised but the brown particularly feared
Gorging themselves on human remains(they liked eyes and livers) they could grow to the size of cats
A single rat couple could produce up to 900 offspring in a year, spreading infection and contaminating food
What were lice like in the trenches
Lice were never ending problem that caused man to itch unceasingly
Even when clothing was periodically washed a deloused. Lice eggs remained hidden in the seems. Some men took there clothes and would run a candle down the seems and listen to the sound of all the lice eggs popping
What disease did lice cause
■ Lice caused Trench Fever, a particularly painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever. Recovery - away from the trenches - took up to twelve weeks.
Where were frogs often found at the trenches
Frogs by the score were found in shell holes covered in water; they were also found in the base of trenches.
What did many men do to avoid nits
Shaved their heads
How did the trench cycle work
A battalion would be expected to serve a spell in the front line(usually a week). This was them followed by a stint spent in supports and then in reserve lines.
A period of rest would follow but was often short in duration and then the cycle repeated itself
What was trench foot
A fungal infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary trench conditions. it could turn gangrenous and result in ambition
What was stand to
The daily routine began with morning stand to
A hour before dawn everyone was ordered to climb up on the fire step to guard against a dawn raid by the enemy, bayonets fixed
The policy was adopted by both side and despite the Knowledge that both sides prepared itself for attacks at dawn many were actually carried out.
Both sides liked to relieve the tension of the early hours with machine gun fire, shelling and small arm fire just directed into the mist of their front, just to doubly sure of their safety at dawn
The stand to was repeated again at dusk
What happened after stand to
In some areas rum was issued and then men attended to cleaning their rifle equipment . Breakfast was then served
What was adopted by both sides surrounding breakfast
In essentially every area of the line at some time or other both sides had an unofficial truce while breakfasts was being served and eaten
Why did unofficial truces rarely last long
a senior officer would hear of its existence and quickly stamp it out.
What happened after breakfast
Man will be inspected by either the company or platoon commander after this daily chores (NCOs)were assigned to each man
What were some daily chores
Daily chores included the refilling of sandbags, the repair of the duckboards on the floor of the
trench and the draining of trenches.
What would happen in the trench after heavy rain fall
Particularly following heavy rainfall, trenches could quickly accumulate muddy water, making life ever more miserable for its occupants as the walls of the trench rapidly became misshapen and were prone to collapse
Why was movement logistically restricted until nightfall and what did this mean
Given that each side’s front line was constantly under watch by snipers and look-outs during daylight, movement was logically restricted until night fell. Thus, once men had concluded their assigned tasks they were free to attend to more personal matters, such as the reading and writing of letters home.
■ Meals were also prepared. Sleep was snatched wherever possible - although it was seldom that men were allowed sufficient time to grab more than a few minutes rest before they were detailed to another task.
What happened after the stand to was repeated at dusk
the trenches became a hive of activity. Supply and maintenance activities could be undertaken. Men would be sent to the rear lines to fetch rations and water.
■ Other men would be assigned sentry duty on the fire step.
Patrols were sent out to no man’s land
How long was sentry duty and why
Generally men would be expected to provide sentry duty for up to two hours. Any longer and there was a real risk of men falling asleep on duty - for which the penalty was death by firing squad.
Why were patrols sent out to no man’s landing
Some were tasked with the repairing or adding of barbed wire to the front line
Others were sent out to listening posts in hope of picking up valuable information from the enemy lines
What happens if enemy patrols met in no man’s land
They were faced with the option of hurrying on their separate ways or else engaging in hand to hand fighting
Why could men no use their handguns when they met enemy in bo man’s land while out oatrolling
For fear the machine gun fire the noise of the shot would inevitably attract. Which would be deadly to all member of the patrol. Enemy and themselves
When else were men relieved of from line duty
Men were relieved front-line duty at night-time too. Relieving units would wind their weary way through numerous lines of communications trenches, weighed down with equipment and trench stores (such as shovels, picks, corrugated iron, duckboards, etc.).
Why was their such a bad smell at the trenches that instantly struck visitors
The following sources gave the most horrendous stench to the trench;
Rotting carcasses lay in their thousands
Overflowing latrines
Men who had not been bathed in weeks or months would odour of dried sweat.
Men’s feet
What was zero hour
Zero hour was the time that the battle started when soldiers were ordered over the top
What did over the top mean
This meant they had to climb out of their trench and cross no man’s land information to attack the enemy trenches casualties were in their millions
Why were casualties in their million when it came to going over the top
As men remained in formation, they were all in straight lines meaning they could all be shot down in rows easily by the enemy
What was chatting
Man would gather in groups to de-louse themselves.
A favoured method of eradicating lice was to quickly run a candle along the seams of clothing where lice would typically live
When was the battle of the Somme
The big push was on the 1st of July 1916 and was fought to help out Britain’s ally France who was under heavy attack from the Germans at Verdun
Who took part that earned great respect for their bravery
The 36th ulster division
What did general Haig believe was the secret of a successful attack and what was his plan for the big push.
A heavy bombardment by the artillery would destroy the German barbed wire trenches machine guns and soldiers. The bombardment would lift at Dawn. On the 1 July 1916 The British troops would cross no man’s land and occupy German trenches. zero or is the time when the battle began. heavy casualties were not expected soldiers were assured by their officers that it would be a simple matter of a stroll across no man’s land on a sunny day.
What went wrong with general Haig’s plan
Despite the German trenches being bombarded for a week, the soldiers were secured in concrete bunkers 10 meters underground. As well, the shells bounced off the concrete. they also did not destroy the barbed wire but blew up in the air and it fell down again more entangled than before.
What happened at the appointed hour
British infantry lifted artillery and left the trenches and headed into no man’s land as they did so German troops raced up from their bunkers and maned the machine gun to fire at the advancing troops
What was the result of the first part of the battle of the Somme
Very few British troops reach the barbed wire and those that did were too weak to capture the German trenches. Britain’s suffered 60,000 casualties (20,000 dead )on the first day of the attack.
How long did the battle of the some last
140 days and can be divided into eight smaller campaigns
What were the 8 campaigns like
Most were British victories, but they did not lead to breakthrough. in places 10 km had been taken but it was less than 3 km in other areas. Where trenches were take the German simply moved back to much stronger trench system. The British called these trenches the Hindenburg line.
When did the battle end and how many total casualties
Five months later in November 1916 the battle of the Somme ended by which time over 1 million casualties had occurred
