Trench warfare Essay Example

Trench warfare Essay Example Trench warfare Essay Trench warfare Essay Warfare World War I was one of the most historic wars in United States history. The war was mostly fought In France or Germany. What sparked the start of the war was the assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand. There were 65 million men from 30 countries flatting In the war and there were over 35 million casualties. Trench Warfare was one of the many ways used to fight In World War I. The method of fighting was to have trenches, and other enemys would also have trenches across the plains. They would each try, and do little raids on their enemys. The ranches were a tough place to live, sleep, eat, and battle in. Trench life was brutal, you would have to sleep underground on the rock solid ground. The soldiers would put their coat over them as that was the only thing they had to keep them warm. If it rained outside they would have to deal with sleeping in puddles with rats, frogs, and beetles. The dugout was a small room where the commander or soldiers slept in. They would even sometimes have to take turns on who gets to sleep because one person had to keep guard for enemy attacks. Overall sleeping in trenches was not a UN time for any soldiers during the war. There was always a dally routine that the soldiers had to do even If there wasnt an attack. The routine would start with a stand to. At this time all the sleeping soldiers were woken up. They would grab a gun or a weapon and get ready for morning raids. After the stand to the soldiers would have breakfast and clean the weapons. After breakfast, there would be an inspection to make sure the guns are clean and their clothes are too. They would also check their feet for trench foot. All the men that werent fighting had chores to do like fill sandbags and repair the ranches. After they were done with their chores for the day they were free until next task. It was very boring and they would have a lot of free time. They would write a note back to their loved ones and tell them they are alive. Another thing is clean their weapons and clothing. Also they would play games Like cards. This Is also the time to start and cook their own meals. They would have one more stand to at night time with the same routine. Some weapons they used were flame throwers and mustard gas. The Germans started to use flame throwers in the asses. They had a huge range of 40 meters so hat made them a great trench warfare weapon. Mustard gas was also a deadly type of weapon in WWW as enemies used them to raid. They would throw in a gas bomb. The soldiers that threw it, were equipped with gas masks so they were able to walk right in and fire. Sadly, the soldiers inside were not and there were many casualties from gas and flame throwers. Deaths were also very normal in the Great War. Soldiers would always be losing friends. There were many ways a soldier could die in the trenches. When the soldiers looked over the parapet they would have a high risk of getting sniped by the enemy. The last thing was death from all types of disease Like trench foot. The soldiers not only had to deal with enemies that were human, but also with rats and other manias and insects. Rats in packs of millions infested the trenches. I nerve were two types AT rats, Dalai Ana Drown. I en rats love t trenches. They would eat the dead soldiers eyes and livers. After they would feast on human flesh they would go and scavenge food from the soldiers. This would cause many deaths as the rats would put diseases into the food they ate. Some rats loud grow to be the size of a cat on how much they ate. The soldiers in the trenches were scared of the rats. They would use any method to kill the beasts. A couple things they used was the bayonet on their gun, shooting or smacking them with their guns. One rat in the trench can produce up to 900 offspring in a year. Rats werent the only scare in the trenches. Lice was a normal thing in the trenches. Up to 95% of the soldiers living in the trench had some case of lice. There was body lice, which would have lice on them from being so dirty, and those lice would plant eggs. There was also head lice. Men chose shaving their heads to not have to deal with lice. Lice not only itched but caused Trench Fever, it was a deadly disease, it was pain that was followed by a very high fever. Other ensconces are frogs, slugs, and beetles. Another terrible thing that the soldiers had to deal with was the horrible smell. There were many things that caused the trenches to smell as bad as they did. The rotting flesh of dead soldiers would make the trenches reek. Sometimes the men would die, and their dead bodies werent found quickly so they would sink into the du and rot. Also, Just the stench of common humans that did not have the luxury of taking a bath. Also, the smell of dried up sweat and cigarette smoke added to the stench. There was a constant smell of strong cleaning supplies as the men would try to rid themselves of diseases. Last, but not least the smell of battle, the odor of gases and gun smoke were everywhere. The United States started to Join the war in 1917. It took them about another year to get all their supplies and troops over there. Therefore, the Americans were not really involved in trench warfare. Trench warfare really didnt affect the Americans battle style or their battle involvement. It was not a big thing that happened that got them all roused up and wanting to strike. The warfare did have a little bit of an affect on the homestead. Woman would take over the menus Jobs to pay for expenses. People from all over the country would pitch in and send food to Americans fighting in the war and in trenches. African Americans would move up to get new Job opportunities as all the soldiers and men in the country were at war. In 1917 they were not only using volunteer soldiers anymore. They needed more men to fight over in Europe and they would get them from back at the home-front. Thats why they did a military draft. During one year of the draft nearly 24 million men entered the army and 3 million went into the war. The United States food administration went under a huge change. They wanted everyone to farm so they could send food to the soldiers. They wanted regular families to grow victory gardens in their backyard. Women were taking all menus Jobs for the first time ever in American history. They would be working on the assembly lines, producing weapons, and munitions. For the iris time ever stores were hiring African Americans in their stores. The women really favored the draft because that gave them opportunities to be all they can be. For once they could do all the Jobs the men could and not Just be waitresses and caterer cents. Some women Colane In to Nell Walt meal problems. Back on the battlefield, some soldiers would even kill themselves so they would not have to endure the terrible living conditions of the trenches. Others would run out on the battlefield on purpose to get sniped by enemy. A soldiers trench life would consist of a week in the front trench. Then they would get moved to a week in the support trench, which followed by a third week in a reserve trench. In the reserve trench the soldiers could rest and do what they want. They could play sports and card games. If they wanted to they could write letters to their family back in America and cook dinner for themselves. The trenches had many main causes of how they came to be. One is the Germans in 1914, planned to invade France with the Schlemiels Plan. When the Germans came close they were tired and retreated. They dug trenches to protect themselves. When the enemy forces tried to pass and invade they would be killed instantly by machine guns and all types of gases. The trenches were so well hidden and underground so the human eye could barely see them. Because of the trench warfare, the war slowed down a lot. Trench warfare affected many lives of countries nationwide. It was a good war tactic and helped countries military a lot. Although there was many casualties in the war and the trenches brought many diseases, World War I will always go down in history to be a very important war, fought worldwide.