trench warfare- a type of combat in which opposing troops fight from trenches facing each other
no man's land-disputed ground, as between the front lines or trenches of two opposing armies
diseases in the trenches
- Death was a constant companion to those serving in the line, even when no raid or attack was launched or defended against
- In busy sectors the constant shellfire directed by the enemy brought random death, whether their victims were lounging in a trench or lying in a dugout
- Rats in their millions infested trenches
- There were two main types, the brown and the black rat
- Both were despised but the brown rat was especially feared
- Gorging themselves on human remains, they could grow to the size of a cat
- Lice were a never-ending problem, breeding in the seams of filthy clothing and causing men to itch unceasingly
- Lice caused Trench Fever, a particularly painful disease that began suddenly with severe pain followed by high fever
- Recovery - away from the trenches - took up to twelve weeks
- Lice were not actually identified as the culprit of Trench Fever until 1918
- Frogs were found in shell holes covered in water; they were also found in the base of trenches
- Slugs and horned beetles crowded the sides of the trench
- Trench Foot was another medical condition peculiar to trench life
- It was a fungal infection of the feet caused by cold, wet and unsanitary trench conditions
- It could turn gangrenous and result in amputation