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
Soldiers hunted rats for sport and sell
under a white flag signifying a truce to barter cigarettes rations and other valued items with the enemy Newspapers once finished were flung across no man's land It was common at these times for opposing sides to trade banter and taunts Occasionally patriotic songs could be heard from the enemy's trench But the veneer of civilization was thin in wartime especially under the conditions of trench warfare Cold weather boredom and the constant threat of horrible injury or sudden death forced soldiers to leave behind the common courtesies of politeness and respect Men on both sides were hungry and often sick Ernst Jünger a German officer recalled BRITISH RATIONS Over the long course of World War I the biscuits and bread When the flour ran short British army had to feed more than 2 million the bread was made from turnips Another men serving on the front lines in Belgium and common dish was maconochie a thin stew France Officially the rations were supposed of vegetables cooked in a beef broth Bacon to provide British soldiers with 4 000 calories cheese and jam were provided occasionally a day but the food was often so poor the and British soldiers also held to the tradition men could barely eat it As the war dragged of daily tea Along with the cold and damp on the rations for the frontline soldiers grew conditions and the danger from enemy smaller by 1916 only six ounces of bully snipers the poor food and unhealthy water beef were provided a day English soldiers were among the worst aspects of a soldier's changed the French word bouilli or boiled ife in the trenches to bully to describe this canned meat Along with the beef a soldier in the trenches could expect a daily ration of hard
