Hell in the trenches
Last updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 PrintToday it's exactly 91 years since it ended. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. It was called the Great War and happened on several continents, on the ground, at sea and in the air.
It involved guns, machine guns, tanks, ships, submarines, bayonets, planes and shells. And trenches.
Everyone thought it would be over in four months – a victory of patriotic glory and the troops home by Christmas 1914. It ground on for four relentless and bloody years killing over 20 million people (mostly soldiers, but also civilians), and severely wounding 21 million.
It killed a generation of men in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Austria, and Russia. Several other countries such as Australia, New Zealand , the United States, Turkey and South Africa suffered heavy losses. More than 7 000 South African soldiers were killed, mostly in the Battle of Delville Wood and the Battle of the Somme (both in 1916).
No proper burials
In many battles, the dead were so numerous they could not be buried properly, and shallow graves are still being found today in and around the famous battlefields.
This deadly war, although shorter than World War II and fought on fewer fronts, had a higher military death ratio than the Second World War (of every two men who enlisted, one was either killed or severely injured). In the latter 72 million people died, but almost two-thirds of them were civilians.
World War 1 was a war of trenches, of mustard gas, of shell shock, of trench foot, rats, lice, stench, cholera, Trench Fever and snipers.
Prolonged exposure to the kind of stress endured in the trenches brought a new kind of condition: shell shock. It was mostly characterised by uncontrollable shaking, nightmares, flashbacks, severe mental problems and an inability to function in any normal way. We now know this as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but doctors then thought the soldiers had some sort of physical nerve damage caused by being on the battlefields.
The military had other ideas, especially in the first part of the war. In fact, they executed 306 of their own soldiers (mostly PTSD sufferers), for what they considered to be cowardice. These soldiers only received an official pardon in the year 2006, and then only after a relentless campaign by their families.
The hell in the trenches
Trench warfare was by no means a new thing – it is a strategy that has been around for many centuries. Both sides dug trenches, and in between was a section referred to as no man's land. Often, it was as wide as 500m, but in some cases it was as narrow as 7m. The goal was to overrun the enemy’s trenches, and vanquish them. Going "over the top" of the trench – necessary if you were going to charge the enemy’s position – basically meant death.
But old war methods and new weapons were not a winning combination: the use of machine guns and shelling meant casualties were extremely high. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, for instance, the British lost 20 000 soldiers – and “gained” almost no land.
Disease and death
But many other conditions characterised life in the trenches.
- Chemical warfare in the form of gas – mustard, phosgene and chlorine – caused burns and severe lung damage, often resulting in death. Gas masks provided a limited protection.
- Head wounds were common, a consequence of exploding shells and artillery attacks. Snipers picked off soldiers on both sides – very often youngsters on their first day in the trenches, who could not resist the temptation to look over the side of the trench.
- Rats and lice caused endless problems for the soldiers. Rats were attracted by food, but also by decaying flesh. They spread infection and contaminated the food. Lice infestations caused endless itching and, it was only discovered by the end of the war, a condition called "Trench Fever". This was initially thought to be a heart disease. Symptoms included severe pain and fever, and soldiers could take up to three months to recover.
- Conditions were unsanitary, with open latrines dug into the backs of the support trenches. Cholera did the rounds among the soldiers. The stench in the trenches was caused by a mixture of rotting flesh, faeces, dead rats, mustard gas and lime, which was spread around the latrine areas.
- The trenches were open to the sky, so they filled up with water when it rained. In certain places the water table was also high, causing trenches to flood – often up to a metre or more deep. In fact it was not unusual for soldiers to drown in the trenches. More common, though, was trench foot, a nasty fungal infection, caused by long-term immersion in cold and unsanitary water. These were the days before antibiotics and when trench foot turned into gangrene, which happened frequently, death often followed.
- Viral and bacterial infections were common. Food was poor, sleep was intermittent, exposure to the elements was common, and constant stress depleted the soldiers' ability to fight disease.
- Eight million soldiers became prisoners of war between 1914 and 1918. In general, conditions in the camps were much better than during World War II, and the chances of survival were higher than at the frontlines. But starvation was a real problem. In Russia 20% of the POWs died.
- The 1918 flu (a type of bird flu, it was recently discovered) was spread across the world by returning soldiers at the end of the war. It ended up killing a further 22 million people worldwide.
(Susan Erasmus, Health24, updated November 2009)
Sources: bbc.co.uk; Durham County Record Offices; Wikipedia.com; firstworldwar.com
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Your Comments
Interesting
Very intersting article, can' t imagine what it must have been like then. Life was so cheap...
who made these decisions?
Heavens - 20 million men dead. It' s astonishing that people didn' t object to whis wholesale slaughter. By comparison: 4000 US soldiers have died in the Iraq war.
War is a blight on humanity
Even one death is too much. Funny how the people who make the decision to go to war always keep themselves very far from the battlefield.
Not worth it
Nothing can be worth so many deaths.
why does this happen?
Why do people kill each other? Only ants and chimpanzees go on organised killing sprees on their own kind. And us. One would think we were a bit more sophisticated than ants.
WAR - DEATH
War is horrendous, full stop. Life in contrast is so precious. Mankind still will not pay heed. How many more lives will be lost in the name of peace? Look at Zim. Listen to Malema and Zuma. Such frivolous talk. Yet whether in a war zone or not, human kind is slowly destroying one another. The only species bent on wiping itself out. Crazy.
world war 1
What a waste of young lives,they never had a chance, and for what..........
How safe are we?
Ironically it was the presence of powerful nuclear weapons which spared us a round 3 (so far)... My father was born in 1938 in The Hague (Netherlands). The violence of WW2 destroyed him psychologically (he was 6 when the war ended).
not again
Few people who have experienced the horror of war will ever think it is a solution to anything. It' s usually about some politician' s ego. Look at George Bush.
WW2
The civilians really took the brunt of it in WW2 in cities such as Stalingrad, Berlin, Leipzig, London and Rotterdam, just to name a few.
One more
Dresden was probably the worst. 100 000 people were killed in one night.
MANKIND,,,,,,,
The ONLY species on the planet that will eventually wipe itself out (after wiping everything else out first) Maybe Earth needs another " culling" sickness for the human race, Already numbering over 6 billion. UGLY but TRUE !!!
WAR
I see many comments about how war is about ego' s and politics. This assumption is wrong!
Throughout history, every single war had its root cause in either religion or ethnicity (Justified by religion). Every single religion out there believe that they are right and all others are the enemy. As long as the human race cling to their falacious religions there will be war.
Only once the human race let go of their imaginary gods will there ever be peace.. iow... NEVER!
Ernst - war is about money and power
religion was only used as a cloak. I also assume you have ALL knowledge and you know without a shado of a doubt that gods are only imaginary, or what do you say, life has no purpose?
Bekkie - Money & power?
Do radicals strap bombs to themselves and blow up innocent people for money and power? No, they do it because they believe in an afterlife with 13 virgins. Even in the christian religion, all is in preperation for fterlife and thus life on earth means nothing! not true?
Hitler killed jews for money and power?
Apartheid was about money and power?
If afrikaner christians did not believe that God gave them the right to rule and oppress others, would apartheid have existed?
Rel
Ernst - causes of the latest wars
Gulf wars - oil, politics
Vietnam - politics (capitalism vs. Communism)
Korean - politics (capitalism vs. Communism)
Soviet wars - politics (capitalism vs. Communism)
WW2 - Japan expansion + German humiliation
WW1 - Balkan power struggle + secret alliances
In fact non of the big wars the past 100 years had anything to do with religion (only ones are the middle east conflcits and the India, Pakistan conflicts, Ireland conflicts).
Calm down
Take a deep breath, everyone. Religion is a good excuse for a war, but seldom the actual reason. The crusades were about valuable silk and trade routes - the religious angle was just a way to SELL the war. And in history there are many empires that were openly about power and money/territory/resources - the British Empire, Ghengis Khan, the Greek and Roman Empires. The First World War was about the adjustment of colonial power - the second was about the insane need for ' lebensraum' .
Fanatics
Fanatics (of all kinds) make it very easy for cunning power-mongers to start and wage wars. Would you be prepared to wage a war to get rid of all religion, Ernst? Then you would be a prime target for them - a fuse just waiting to be lit. Don' t be fanatically against fanatics.
Ernst
Hitler killed Jews because he believed them to be an inferior race, not about religion, as would follow from evolutionary reasoning. The same can be said about apartheid, though I would agree the South African church could have done more to stop it.
Ernst, If you believe Chritianity is only about afterlife, you are sadly mistaken, or have been given the wrong impression. It is all about relationship, and here and now. Also, Jesus spoke directly against racism(good samaritan).
Fanatic Wars
Religion is not the cause, but in most cases it is the justification. As such, it is a tool used by those in power to soothe the objections of the populace. " No no, you see these people are infidels and need to die" . It is a way to control people which was very useful to get us out of the dark ages so that we can be educated and not live like barbarians but as a rational species we have now evolved beyond the need for it. Many soldiers throw their lives away in the belief that god will provide.
Wow !
Just listen to yourselves dears. You are already at war with each other over non essential differences. Sies man !
I say it again
What religion did Ghengis Khan use to justify his wars, what religion did Hitler use, or Alexanda the Great, or Hannibal - the Vikings, the Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Barbarians? They were quite honest - they just wanted everyone' s stuff - and they said so. This religion allergy is making you all a bit narrow minded - human beings can find a thousand ways to justify their greed - and it' s not always religion.
By Thor!
Hitler believed in the Bibles God " Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." Alexander thought he was god! Vikings = Thor, Oden and that rabble. Did the -goths not create sacred places of their battle fields? No, I say again - Religion justifies human selfish endeavors.
Morkel
Read a little more - " The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" , for starters - Hitler did NOT believe at all, that' s what you say to unemployed cattle at rallies. Vikings did not raid settlements to impress Thor, Odin or the Valkyries - they did it for plunder, slaves and cattle. I think I can hear the ghostly laughter of Vikings right now at your post. Do away with religion and humans will find another justification - health, politics, whatever. The human condition, Morkel, it is what it is.
Richard
people in those days had a different mindset to us, and were also generally not so well educated - this includes the so called upper classes if you think about it! Also, not so many people had the right to vote as they do now - this includes the UK, USA, and all the European countries! Check out when women got the vote in these countries, as well as blacks in the USA!
jo - would I go to war?
You asked if I would wage war to eradicate religion.
No, I would much rather live in peace and enjoy heaven on earth. Sadly, it has always been the religious who create hell on earth through their crusades, jihads and inquisitions.
I can only hope that continued evolution and aquisition of knowledge will lead the human race to eventualy abandon mystical beliefs in ghosts and goblins.
Now I ask you, would you wage war to defend your religion?
Justified death
I believe the laughter you hear is that of the Warriors feasting in Valhalla because they died honorable deaths in battle! I agree that some other justification will be used but at present its usually religion. Its a powerful way to persuade people of your cause and to die for it. (which brings us back to the point of this wall) Its easier to lose your live in battle if you have promises of a rosy after life. Peace be with you aNNa
conscription
Conscription first reared its head in WW1, when people realised it was not just another ' sporty' war in the colonies. People went to jail or were shot if they did not fight.
Richard & Carel
The mind set was not so much different, only they did not have the media we have today to understand all that war meant, it was always viewed as an adventure over the sea. But, if you read up on it, you will notice they stopped signing up to fight when they realised that no one came home.
Not ALL Religions
Hinduism does not think that they are right and all others are the enemy.Belief in 1 God but with different paths to get there.
Ernst
According to my faith I would have to lay down my own life for you, Ernst, not take someone else' s... war is only justified if it' s the only way to stop someone like Hitler.
NO NO NO
HAHA War these days (modern war) is all about power! Wot ever that may be money, terrotory,freedom,oil! Very very seldom Religion! (we are not talking holy wars as they are caled). America persuaded their troops to fight for someone elses freedom and democracy, Not for their believes in religion! That was the " mask" to get economic groath thru oil, military production and job creation!
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