CHAPTED PEACE BREAKS OUT World War I 1914 1918 known to those who fought it as the Great War began in Europe during a spell of fine midsummer weather Armies numbering in the millions marched to the front lines while civilians on all sides cheered them on and prayed for a swift victory French and English troops faced German infantry in Belgium and northern France Germany invaded Russian occupied Poland Heavy guns behind the lines provided cover for daytime assaults As the war dragged on into the fall the battles on the western front turned into a stalemate It was the assassination of an Austrian prince in the early summer of 1914 that started the diplomatic crisis that led to war After six weeks of threats the Central powers Germany Austria Hungary and the Ottoman Empire went to war with
the Allies of the United Kingdom France and Russia the western front On neither side could gain any ground but neither side would agree to a peace On the eastern front Germany and Russia took heavy casualties in a series of fierce battles soldiers began digging trenches as the German advance came to a halt These across northern France and Belgium In addition to the frontline trenches seven foot 2 m deep ditches ran in zigzag lines stretching hundreds of miles communication trenches were used by messengers and to resupply the frontline troops Other trenches sheltered the wounded A century later in northern France and Belgium visitors can still see long depressions in the land marking the place where men lived fought and died for four years Along the front gunfire usually stopped when dusk fell over the lines Artillery spotters who located targets for the heavy guns couldn't work in the dark Airplanes and balloons were grounded Snipers stayed on the firing steps which allowed them to see over the front edge of their trenches They peered over the parapets for any flash of light from the enemy positions Their best targets were scavengers looking to strip the dead of their clothing and weapons or rescue parties working between the lines in the dark In some places the trenches were no more than 100 yards 90 m apart With their specialized binoculars that could be extended above the edge of a trench the men could easily follow lights that appeared on the other side Noises
traveled well when the air was still One could easily hear an enemy's clattering cooking pot or the thump of an ammunition box set down heavily on the ground Yet even if a head did appear above the parapet there was a tendency at night among most soldiers to live and let live Everyone needed sleep and officers rarely ordered suicidal night assaults Daily life in the trenches was often cold wet and thoroughly miserable for COLD WET FEET all ranks Rains flooded the makeshift Although they were designed to protect infantry barracks and small dugouts built into from heavy artillery snipers and machine gun the trench sides Even in dry weather fire the trenches of the western front could be miserable and unhealthy places Rainy days these dark holes were unpleasantly cold were common in northern France and Belgium humid and dark Floors were of dirt or and winters could be long cold and damp The water that collected in the trench bottoms sometimes planked over with thin wooden soaked into the leather boots worn by soldiers walkways known as duckboards It was Many of them came down with trench foot difficult to keep food out of the dirt and away from the ravenous rats Fleas and lio Foot tissue breaks down when feet remain wet for a long time Blisters form while the skin turns red and becomes itchy and swollen Without treatment or better conditions t and underlying muscles lose circulation and die In the worst cases trench foot means the loss of toes and sometimes the entire foot tormented soldiers In the first months of the war an informal truce often took hold at daybreak and during mealtimes Men would occasionally come out of their trenches
