Mell What did soldiers use to protect themselves from enemy fire during WWI?
On the Western Front in 1914–1918, both sides constructed elaborate trench, underground, and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire.
How did soldiers survive in the trenches?
Individuals spent only a few days a month in a front-line trench. Daily life here was a mixture of routine and boredom – sentry duty, kit and rifle inspections, and work assignments filling sandbags, repairing trenches, pumping out flooded sections, and digging latrines.
What did soldiers do to pass the time in the trenches in ww1?
Card games and gambling were very popular ways to pass the time, as well as sports like cricket and football. During the Christmas truce in 1914 some of the most memorable scenes were of soldiers from German and Allied sides playing football together. Music was a great lifter of spirits.
What did ww1 soldiers need?
On it were hung ammunition pouches, a sidearm/bayonet, a spade, often a small canvas sack, and sometimes also a holster for a pistol or revolver. Shoulder straps or loops and hooks on the uniform jacket helped to carry the weight of the heavily stocked body strap.
Do ww1 trenches still exist?
Trench Remains There are a small number of places where sections of trench lines can still be visited. Nevertheless, there are still remains of trenches to be found in remote parts of the battlefields such as the woods of the Argonne, Verdun and the mountains of the Vosges.
Why did they build trenches in ww1?
After the early war of movement in the late summer of 1914, artillery and machine guns forced the armies on the Western Front to dig trenches to protect themselves. Fighting ground to a stalemate.
Did soldiers sleep in the trenches?
Most activity in front line trenches took place at night under cover of darkness. During daytime soldiers would try to get some rest, but were usually only able to sleep for a few hours at a time.
Did they eat rats in the trenches?
Millions of tins were thus available for all the rats in France and Belgium in hundreds of miles of trenches. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn’t defend himself.” These rats became very bold and would attempt to take food from the pockets of sleeping men.
Why did the trenches smell so bad?
Some men disappeared into the mud because it was so thick. The trenches had a horrible smell. This was because of the lack of bathing, the dead bodies, and the overflowing toilets. They could smell cordite, the lingering odour of poison gas, rotting sandbags, stagnant mud, cigarette smoke, and cooking food.
Is 1917 a true story?
Is it a true story? 1917 is something of a true story, loosely based on a tale the director’s grandfather – Alfred H. Mendes, who served with the British Army during the First World War – told him as a child.
Who has the best trenches in ww1?
Indeed the Germans had the best trenches. In the Somme offensive the Brits fired millions of shells on the trenches. Then the artillery stopped and the infantry advanced.
What did troops do to protect themselves from artillery fire?
In 1914 warfare had changed with the use of powerful artillery guns. What did troops do to protect themselves from artillery fire? To protect themselves from artillery fire, the troops dug trenches.
What did Germans use to break through enemy lines in World War 1?
To protect themselves from artillery fire, the troops dug trenches. What did Germans and British use to break through enemy lines during World War 1? To break through enemy lines the Germans used poison gas and the British used armored tanks.
What did weapon change the use of warfare in 1914?
What weapon changed the use of warfare in 1914? In 1914 warfare had changed with the use of powerful artillery guns. What did troops do to protect themselves from artillery fire?
Where did the British fight in World War 1?
British soldiers with bayonets fight in the trenches on the Western Front of Cambrai in 1917. A wounded soldier is photographed with and without a facial prosthesis in 1914. A fort in Przemysl, Poland, is shown in complete ruins after an enemy bombardment, circa 1915. A British tank advances on the Western Front in 1917.