Life in the trenches was not good and there were rats, slugs and lice burrowing in the soldiers skin. There was never much food and soldiers often got ' trench foot' which is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary and cold conditions, like the boggy water in the bottom of the trenches.

Diseases

Life in the trenches

An hour before dawn every morning the soldiers would get up onto the fire stand with rifles ready, in case of an early attack. At dawn all the ordinary soldiers had to find some breakfast while the sentries continued watch.

When the weather got worse the two armies were bogged down and unable to move, and the war came to a standstill. The soldiers could no longer push the other army back and often shots from reserve trenches killed their own men in the Front. Every time some soldiers ventured across No Mans Land many soldiers were killed and little was achieved.

This picture shows soldiers in the boggy water of the trenches

This picture shows soldiers entering No Man's Land and leaving the barbed wire border of their trenches

Other diseases that were present during the war were, influenza, typhoid, cholera, trench fever, malaria and diabetes. Diseases were a big problem in WW1 due to the fact that there was little medicine and medical knowledge'.