Ask anyone to tell you something about the First World War and you can be pretty sure that it won't be long before trenches get mentioned. But what exactly was life like in the trenches for the ordinary soldier? Stay with us as in this video we'll look at a typical day for a soldier in the front lines and what it was really like.
First off, what was a trench? In short, it was an excavated stretch of ground, usually dug down into the earth, originally created as a simple way to offer protection from machine guns, rifle fire and artillery. From late 1914, when trenches spread to cover more than 400 miles from the Belgian coast to the border of Switzerland, they were constantly improved and developed, and by 1917 they were hugely complex systems.
By mid-1915, trenches had expanded not only lengthwise along the front, but also backwards. A trench system was made up of at least three lines, a front line, a support line, and a reserve. The idea was that if the enemy captured a front line trench, they would then be attacked from a support, and so on. Some German systems in the First World War were up to seven lines and several miles deep. Not only did systems exist for fighting, they also housed rest areas, cooking facilities, medical posts, ammunition stores and unit headquarters.
They were linked by communication trenches, lines running at 90 degrees to the front to allow men to move between the various positions in some kind of safety. German trenches were typically more robust than Allied ones and that came down to a battlefield philosophy. Remember it was the Germans who had invaded in 1914 capturing 90% of Belgium and a big chunk of northern and eastern France.
When stalemate finally took over the German philosophy changed to one of defense. In short, we are staying here if you want us to leave you have to make us. As a result German defenses were built to last with deep well riveted trenches and often much deeper dugouts.
The Allied mentality, particularly true of the British, was that a trench system was a temporary position. to be redug in a new location after the next advance. So let's take a look at a section of trench in a little detail.
In this case a British trench on the Somme as it looked in early 1916. No man's land here was about 250 meters which was about average for the Western Front. You can clearly see the main lines and communication trenches running between them. This section measures about 25 yards between these two points and would be manned on a normal day by as few as 10 men. Immediately obvious is the shape of a trench. It doesn't run in a straight line and for good reason.
A trench without any turns in it would allow the blast of a shell or mortars to travel down it and wreak havoc on a much wider area. It would also mean that an enemy soldier could fire directly along it with predictably horrific results. So trenches were built with traverses of around 90 degrees every few meters. A section of 10 men would occupy a stretch of trench like this.
They would be led by a corporal with a lance corporal assisting and might expect to occupy by an area like this for 3-4 days before being rotated out of the front lines. For this example we'll take winter when it starts to get light about 6.30am. Let's stay with this section and follow their trench routine for a period of 24 hours beginning with stand 2. So stand 2, the order for every man in the section to man the parapet will be called each morning before first light. The idea was that each man would fix his bayonet and be on the alert for enemy attacks which traditionally occurred around 10am. dawn and dusk.
Stantu lasted from just pre-dawn to full daylight, at which point nine of the ten men would be stood down, with the tenth remaining on sentry-goat, acting as the eyes and ears of his comrades. For the rest of the section, it was time for the daily rum ration, a favourite amongst troops. Dolled out in jars marked SRD or Supply Reserve Depot, the jars and the substance in them earned the nickname Selden Reaches Destination.
This was followed by a key daily ritual. Breakfast. Rations did vary in the First World War, but on the whole were quite plentiful.
The most common things to find were bacon, cheese, bread, corned beef, stews, biscuits and jam. Food was plentiful because living and particularly working in the trenches was tiring and lots of calories were required. Usually cooked over a small open fire or brazier, breakfast was a welcome meal for those on both sides of the wire, who rather sportingly rarely interrupted each other's morning meal. With breakfast finished and tidied away, it was time for the men to look after themselves.
This meant a wash and a shave. These were compulsory, not only to minimize the chance of illness, but shaving was particularly important as a soldier with stubble may not be able to use his gas respirator effectively, a very dangerous situation. Often the last few mouthfuls of warm tea would serve as shaving water. By 10am, half of the section are to engage in the crucial role of weapon cleaning. Keeping rifles and other weapons in prime condition was essential and special care was taken to remove any accumulated dirt.
It was important that only half the men clean their weapons at any one time, as an enemy attack when the entire section had their weapon in pieces would have not ended well. With weapons cleaned, it was time for a visit from the platoon sergeant, who made a tour of all four sections under his command to check the state of the men, weapons and trenches. Any infraction would be punished depending on severity, but could include extra duties, being confined to barracks when out of the trenches, or being deprived of pay for a period of time. With the morning's major activities out of the way, most of the men in the section had a little time to themselves.
This might be taken up by writing, chatting with comrades or resting before they're too ousted into sentry duty. Assuming no shell or sniper fire was seen or heard around the section, which was surprisingly rare, the rest of the morning would pass quietly. Midday was when lunch arrived, brought up the line by men of the battalion who were in reserve positions. With any luck, it would have been still hot by the time it arrived in its Dixies. Often this was stew, usually meat and vegetable, with of course a cup of tea.
About the same time the welcome mail would arrive. It was much overlooked just how impressive the postal system was in the First World War. In just a few days, mail could reach a soldier at the front and caring family members would often send luxuries to their loved ones, which was shared by all the section.
This was followed by a welcome period of free time for those not detailed for sentry duty. It might be taken up. by writing letters, chatting, sleeping or visits of the regimental medical officer who would make his rounds each day. It would take the men up to about 4.30pm in the coming of darkness. Dusk brought another order to stand to, where men would fix bayonets, mount the parapet, careful not to expose their heads to the enemy and wait.
This might be an hour in winter. It was a deeply unpopular time with the entire section prohibited from moving, smoking or talking in all wetlands. By around 5.30pm, Stand Down was ordered.
One man in every three remaining on sentry, rotating at one hour intervals throughout the night. For those not on duty, it was time for supper, often a hot soup, perhaps spiced up with one of the favourite additions sent from home, such as HP sauce. But night is really when the trenches come to life. Not only is there plenty of work to do, but the ever-present risk of enemy attack, mining or trench raids, the latter were particularly hated, where an enemy patrol might cross no man's land and attack a section of trench, throwing grenades and wielding trench clubs or fighting knives.
Even if nothing happened, as was usually the case, the ever-present risk did not make for a restful night. Other tasks were important at night, such as improving positions and repairing trenches. Those movements, which had been far too risky at daytime, were all conducted under the cover of darkness.
Some jobs like repairing a trench parapet were not too bad, but filling sandbags certainly monotonous and tiring. Though far less popular were those tasks requiring men to venture into no-man's land, repairing the barbed wire in front of a trench was particularly hated as any noise would inevitably attract enemy fire, and often casualties. Sleep from was hard to come by, certainly in any quantity. Three hours is the most a man could expect before being called for his turn on sentry duty.
And so like this, the rest of the night would pass for the section, until around 4am when, once again, stand 2 was called, and the next day of life in the front lines would begin. Looking at 24 hours in the trenches for a soldier shows us just why trench rotation was so important. Living for four years in front line conditions was simply not possible.
Without even taking into into account the thankfully uncommon enemy fire or the incredibly rare over-the-top attacks which might take place just once or twice a year. For that reason, trench rotation was vital, with most men spending four days at the front, four days in support and then eight days in reserve, nominally at rest. It was an exhausting life, and for me, the real courage of the Tommy in the Trenches was not necessarily bravery in action, but endurance. The ability to survive and carry on.
regardless of the difficulties. A veteran of the Great War, when asked to describe his life in the trenches once said, For me the war was 90% bored stiff, 9% frozen stiff and 1% sick.