Life in the Trenches
Life in the trenches during the First World War took many forms, and varied widely from sector to sector and from front to front. Undoubtedly, it was entirely unexpected for those eager thousands who signed up for war in August 1914. A War of Movement?
Causes of World War I
Germany, France, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Britain attempting to keep the lid on the simmering cauldron of imperialist and nationalist tensions in the Balkans to prevent a general European war. They were successful in 1912 and 1913, but did not succeed in 1914. The crisis came after a long and difficult series of diplomatic clashes between the Great Powers (Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Austria-Hungary and Russia) over European and colonial issues in the decade before 1914 that had left tensions high. In turn these diplomatic clashes can be traced to changes in the balance of power in Europe since 1867.[2] The more immediate cause for the war was tensions over territory in the Balkans.
BBC Schools - Trench food
18 February 2014Last updated at 17:06 British soldiers eating hot rations in the Ancre Valley during the Battle of the Somme, October 1916 Maconochie's meat stew advertisement
Life In The Trenches
There was nothing glamorous about trench life. World War 1 trenches were dirty, smelly and riddled with disease. For soldiers life in the trenches meant living in fear. In fear of diseases (like cholera and trench foot) and of course, the constant fear of enemy attack. Trench warfare WW1 style is something all participating countries vowed never to repeat and the facts make it easy to see why.
People's Century
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Front Line: Life in the Trenches of WWI
If you were a soldier fighting in the First World War, what would you see? What would you hear? With only 20 WWI veterans left in the world, fewer and fewer people are able to answer these questions with certainty. For everyone else, there's Front Line. Front Line is a website devoted to the trench experience of the First World War.
Life in the Trenches - History Learning Site
Trenches and life within those trenches have become an enduring topic from World War One. Throughout the war millions of soldiers experienced and endured the horrors of trench warfare. Some wrote down for posterity what these experiences were and as time has moved on from World War One more and more of these written documents – frequently in the form of a diary – have come to light. Others wrote about their experiences in book-form.
People's Century
The following lesson focuses on a program segment about the evacuation of children from war zones, the drafting of British women to produce military equipment, and the bombings of London and Plymouth. European citizens recall their experiences. Discussion Before Watching 1. As a class, brainstorm definitions of the term total war. Discuss examples of total war and who is affected by it. As students watch the program segment, have them consider if and how they might change their definitions. 2.
In the trenches of 1914-1918
What were the trenches? Although most of us think primarily of the Great War in terms of life and death in the trenches, only a relatively small proportion of the army actually served there. The trenches were the front lines, the most dangerous places. But behind them was a mass of supply lines, training establishments, stores, workshops, headquarters and all the other elements of the 1914-1918 system of war, in which the majority of troops were employed.
