Trenches were of course very dirty especially after heavy rainfall, when the trenches could quickly be filled with muddy water. This could sometimes lead to the trench wall collapsing.
They could often become crowded, so any kind of wound sustained in the trenches was likely to become infected. Shell fragments often carried dirt or other debris into the wounds they created. Infection claimed a much higher percentage of fighting men’s lives than did actual deaths directly from fighting. Antibiotics had not been invented in World War I, so palliative care was about the only treatment that could be given.
Some trenches were dug quite deep, and then fortified with lumber to make things a little homelike. In general, these were developed to cover short distances and be a temporary defensive position for troops before moving on to a new battlefield, so there was little in the way of creature comforts.
The weather affected the WW1 soldiers by the continuous dampness that was created by a mixture of defoliation and precipitation. The damp conditions caused the injuries to become more infected as they didn’t have a dry environment to heal in. During winter most of the soldiers surfed due to frost bite and lack of warmth. However in contrast to that, summer was completely different, many soldiers became dehydrated.
After the grass and trees had been killed by constant artillery bombardment, rain turned the earth into mud and slush, and the dampness caused a dreadful condition known as trench foot.
This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. In the trenches, men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war.
This is a quote from a man in WW1;
“Col. Joseph Hyde Pratt described in his diary trying to sleep
with a German plane flying over his camp: "July 24, [1918] Wednesday. Last night
was a beautiful moonlight night, a few clouds but clear. Just the kind that the
aeroplanes want in making the raids. We knew the German planes would be over
and we were not (agreeably) disappointed. They came over and it seemed as
though one of them just persisted in circling our camp looking for a good place
upon which to drop a bomb. Each one of us feels that our hut or tent is the
particular one that the aeroplane is hunting for, and as one lies there,
listening to the enemy plane, he begins to swell up and grow in size until he
knows that it is impossible for the observer to miss seeing him or the bomb to
miss hitting him. That was the way I felt last night. I just knew that
particular machine was flying continuously back and forth over my hut looking
for a good place to drop a bomb. Nothing happened and I got a pretty good
night's sleep. I can sleep through the artillery fire even if the guns are
somewhat close by."
They could often become crowded, so any kind of wound sustained in the trenches was likely to become infected. Shell fragments often carried dirt or other debris into the wounds they created. Infection claimed a much higher percentage of fighting men’s lives than did actual deaths directly from fighting. Antibiotics had not been invented in World War I, so palliative care was about the only treatment that could be given.
Some trenches were dug quite deep, and then fortified with lumber to make things a little homelike. In general, these were developed to cover short distances and be a temporary defensive position for troops before moving on to a new battlefield, so there was little in the way of creature comforts.
The weather affected the WW1 soldiers by the continuous dampness that was created by a mixture of defoliation and precipitation. The damp conditions caused the injuries to become more infected as they didn’t have a dry environment to heal in. During winter most of the soldiers surfed due to frost bite and lack of warmth. However in contrast to that, summer was completely different, many soldiers became dehydrated.
After the grass and trees had been killed by constant artillery bombardment, rain turned the earth into mud and slush, and the dampness caused a dreadful condition known as trench foot.
This was an infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and insanitary conditions. In the trenches, men stood for hours on end in waterlogged trenches without being able to remove wet socks or boots. The feet would gradually go numb and the skin would turn red or blue. If untreated, trench foot could turn gangrenous and result in amputation. Trench foot was a particular problem in the early stages of the war.
This is a quote from a man in WW1;
“Col. Joseph Hyde Pratt described in his diary trying to sleep
with a German plane flying over his camp: "July 24, [1918] Wednesday. Last night
was a beautiful moonlight night, a few clouds but clear. Just the kind that the
aeroplanes want in making the raids. We knew the German planes would be over
and we were not (agreeably) disappointed. They came over and it seemed as
though one of them just persisted in circling our camp looking for a good place
upon which to drop a bomb. Each one of us feels that our hut or tent is the
particular one that the aeroplane is hunting for, and as one lies there,
listening to the enemy plane, he begins to swell up and grow in size until he
knows that it is impossible for the observer to miss seeing him or the bomb to
miss hitting him. That was the way I felt last night. I just knew that
particular machine was flying continuously back and forth over my hut looking
for a good place to drop a bomb. Nothing happened and I got a pretty good
night's sleep. I can sleep through the artillery fire even if the guns are
somewhat close by."