Land Rights, Miners, Offences and Closing Curtains

The land between opposing sides was known as ‘No Man’s Land’. This divider was destroyed by shell fire, and thus, rain and muddy conditions made it extremely difficult to walk in. Behind No Man’s Land was a barbed wire fence, used to defend the front line. Life was tough for men in the front line. Not only did they have to avoid shell fire, but they also had to worry about being hit by their own artillery behind them. Behind the front lines were the reserve trenches, support trenches and long ranged artillery.

Miners in WWI often dug tunnels and placed mines in them in an attempt to destroy the enemy’s trenches, and, within the confusion, attack. At times, soldiers would even dig into the enemy’s tunnels and start an underground fight. Soldiers eventually found several ways to find enemy trenches.

One method was to put one end of a stick through the ground and bite the other to feel the vibrations. Another, was to fill an oil drum with water and listen for any miners.

Although it was easy to enlist for war, things such as desertion, disobedience and casting away arms were not looked well upon. Men were sentenced for things such as cowardice and sleeping on post.

Offence	Number of Sentences	Number of Executions
Desertion	2,004	272
Sleeping at Post	449	2
Cowardice	213	14
Disobedience	120	4
Mutiny	55	15
Casting Away Arms	6	2

It was a distinctly hard life for the men at war, and there were most likely times where they wished they were not in it. They were fed hard rations, and it was considered a luxury to even fill their bellies. Men watched their own countrymen die next to them, even watched bodies being eaten by vermin, and were often helpless against the tide of war – unable to lift a hand, lest they themselves fall prey to the enemy, too.

Sources:

http://techcenter.davidson.k12.nc.us/group9/trenchwar.html

Video Analysis: The Horrors of WW1

“The combination of slaughter, human despair, and mud became the pivotal experience of the war.”
Edward Smout, a man apart of the Australian Medial Corps in 1917, speaks of the devastation that wrecked the trenches. He speaks of watching his own men sink in mud, unable to break free, only to finally die – drowned.

“Just a waste land, as far you could see, and that would be the worst, there was nothing, it was empty land as far as the eye could see.” While Edward Smout talks of the scenery of the war, we are shown images of the vast and barren landscape where trenches are filled with water, rubble is scattered and horses are on the ground.

Ain't like the Movies

Rain pours down from the sky, the rough fabric of my clothing scratching heavily against my back.

It’s cold, wind whipping down along the trenches with irrepressible rage.

I crawl along at a fruitless pace; mud and grime slowing my every movement. I slip often, my nails caked with wet soil as I try to stabilise myself. It’s not working very well, as I find myself grappling with a piece of shrapnel to stop from sliding in the mud.

My pace halts for a second, as I find myself staring at another body.

It’s slumped over, facing away from me. I shake the shoulder that is closest to me. No response. I shake the body harder until my own arms are quivering from exhaustion.

The body topples over. The whites of his eyes are rolled upwards, his mouth open. The skin of his face is blistered and split open.

Todd.

I remember him.

He had proudly shown us a photograph of his wife and two sons. I remember their faces. They were all smiles. All pride and joy.

All dead.

Like Todd.

The sound of gunfire rings out overhead, and for a split second, my only thoughts are that I don't want to die in my own waste. I don't want to die without a fight.

I don't want to die.

My eyes fall shut tightly as I hear the cry of the opposing army.

“We’ve got ‘em!”

I can hear the cries of my own men. Shrieks of terror and agony splitting the air as they go down.

They hadn’t had time to fire their guns.

I couldn’t help them. All I could do was huddle up cowardly next to a dead body, praying that they wouldn’t find me next.

Introducing Trenches



Snipers in the trenches.



Trenches were an unexpected part of war for thousands of soldiers. With both sides digging themselves underground, a long war with lack of movement was inevitable. Over 200 000 men died in the trenches during WW1. Most died during battle, however, many of them also died from diseases and infections from the unsanitary conditions in the trenches.

The mud filled trenches brought with them death, disease, mutilated limbs, lice, rats, maggots, frogs, slugs, and insects. Rats crawled about the trenches in millions. They gorged on human remains and could grow to the size of a cat. Lice were also a major problem for the men. They bred in dirty clothing and the nits would stay attached to the clothes even after they’d been washed. Lice could then cause ‘Trench Fever’, a disease that started with severe pain followed by a fever that could take up to 12 weeks to recover from away from the trenches. These insanitary conditions also brought with them what was known as ‘trench foot’. Trench foot was a fungal infection which eventually led to the amputation of the foot. The number of people with trench foot gradually decreased.

Some men spent their spare time in the trenches making
ornaments and trinkets. These are now quite popular
and are known as 'trench art'.

Although soldiers in the trenches were allowed to send letters home, any information of their location was censored by the ministry of defence. This resulted in the soldiers writing in ‘codes’. For example, if a soldier wrote reminiscing of a trip to Blackpool, the family would know that he was in Blackpool, France.

The trench cycle involved
- being in the front line for a short period of time
- some time in the support lines
- a period as a reserve soldier
-rest

A typical trench cycle was approximately 2 weeks in the front lines, a week in the support, 2 weeks in reserve and 1 week at rest.

A diagram of the trenches.

http://jimmythejock.hubpages.com/hub/World_war_1_A_Day_in_the_Trenches

http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/trenchlife.htm

http://jimmythejock.hubpages.com/hub/World-War-1-Trench-Living

http://jimmythejock.hubpages.com/hub/World_War_1_Trench_Warfare

http://www.historyonthenet.com/WW1/trenches.htm

http://inthefootsteps.org.uk/Articles/1914-18GreatWar/LifeInTheTrenches.htm

The Beginning

War began due to many reasons.

It could be said that it was because Germany stole Alsace Lorraine from France, leaving France with a grudge that was yet to be extracted, or because the Triple Entente made up of France, Russia and Britain surrounded Germany, making Germany feel vulnerable. Germany’s feelings led her to form the Triple Alliance made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Or maybe it was the growth of Germany in both political and economic powers that lead to distrust among the other nations.

‘Darwinism’ made weaker countries uncomfortable, as the thought that only the powerful, bigger nations would flourish, and they would be destroyed did not sit well.

The battle for colonial and military power began, and Germany was one of the many countries that wanted military power and had the biggest army of troops, standing at 2.2 million men at the ready. It was just under the amount of Russia and Frances’ troops combined.

When the First World War broke out, Australia was still very much a part of the British nation; meaning that since Britain had entered the war, Australia would too. Australia had pledged that should war break out, 20 000 men would participate on Britain’s side of the war.

But regardless of all the other sparks that could have led to war the main trigger of World War One was the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on the 28^th of June, 1914. The Archduke was the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and the country was not pleased, and blamed the deaths on Serbia.