World War IThe Trenches and Weapons

Mrs. Cavell

Honors US History

Trench Life

• Trench Life was marked by death and stalemate

• Defined as: Two opposing armies attacking one another from small fortifications dug with entrenching tools

• For more than three years hundreds of thousands of men died for mere yards of land

Problems of the Trenches

• RATS: Millions of rats infested the trenches. They would feats of the remains of the soldiers and gorge themselves until they were the size of a large cat.

• LICE: Body lice was absolutely impossible to get rid of. Filthy clothes and no way to wash them brought on bouts of Lice Fever which produced high fevers and horrific pain.

Problems continued:

• THE ELEMENTS: There was no protection from wind, rain, and snow. Trenches were filled with water causing TRENCH FOOT and TRENCH MOUTH.

• BOREDOM: It seems odd to say that you would be bored during war, but movement was restricted during the day for fear of a snipers bullet. Waiting became the daily routine.

TRENCH PICTURES

• TRENCH FOOT

Trench Pictures

• Trench Foot

Trench Pictures

• Trench Foot

Trench Pictures

• Trench Mouth

Trench Pictures

• Trench Rats

No Man’s Land

• No man’s land was the area between the trenches

• It was a place of destruction that was littered with shell fragments, craters, dead bodies and barbed wire.

• All plant and animal life was completely destroyed.

No Man’s Land Picture

• No MAN belonged here!

Machine Guns

• World War I machine guns

Big Bertha• A German howitzer created on the eve of WWI

U-Boats

• Used strategically to sink supply ships headed for Britain and France

Poison Gas

• Mustard Gas Burns

Gas Masks

• Equipment designed to help protect you from a poison gas attack

Poison Gas Burns 2

• Gas burns any exposed moist flesh

Flame Throwers

• Clearing the Trenches

Flame Throwers

• The actual design

Do you understand the meaning of the “War to end all wars”?

1. Yes…The machinery of this war makes it clear

2. Sort-of, this war sets the stage for future wars.

3. Not really…Need more explanation.

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