The trenches
Entrenching tools in a British trench c1916. NAM 2002-02-902-157 © Not NAM
Digging in
The flat open lands of France and Belgium gave little real protection from the firepower of modern weapons. Machine guns and artillery forced whole armies to dig-in for protection. To be visible on the battlefield was to invite death, so five years of digging began.
By the end of 1914 the German Army had captured large parts of northern France. They rapidly built defences in order to hold this ground, hoping to bargain with it when peace came. As a result their trenches were substantial and permanent from the very start.The British and French always viewed trenches as a temporary measure. Digging in deep risked sapping morale. Trenches would only be needed until the next ‘Big Push’, the attack that would bring the return of mobile warfare and the liberation of France.
The trench system
Part of trench system viewed from the air. NAM 2001-01-277-29
Trenches were not dug randomly, but were part of a complex design. Each of the front line trenches was backed-up by second and third lines: ‘support’ and ‘reserve’ trenches. Communication trenches linked them all together.
The support and reserve trenches were lined with underground shelters or dug-outs which were used as protection from enemy fire and the weather. To help with navigation, trenches were named after well-known streets in the soldiers’ home towns. Signposts were put up and trench maps made.
As the War progressed trench systems became ever more complex. Few of the comforts, but many of the facilities of home were taken into the trenches in one form or another. Telephones, running water, drainage, and even electric light were all attempted in some part of the line.
Soldiers did not spend their whole time in the front line. Whilst one unit was at the front others would be in support in case of attack, or out of the line entirely, resting and training in the rear areas.
Trench life
Major B. Magrath, 8th East Lancashires, struggling through a flooded trench, Fonquevilliers, c1917 NAM 2002-02-902-93
In a typical month an infantryman might expect to be ‘in the line’ for a week or ten days, during which he would spend several 48 hour shifts in the front line itself. This might be followed by a week in support, and then as much as two weeks ‘resting’ out of the trenches. Of course in the Army ‘rest’ did not mean a chance to relax.
War and weather
In some sectors of the front line the struggle with the weather could be harder than that with the enemy. Artillery bombardment could rapidly destroy even the most elaborate trench.
At the same time bad weather and the destruction of the pre-war drainage ditches led to widespread flooding. Troops had no choice but to carry on no matter how muddy it became.
British Tommies in their trench awaiting orders to attack, April 1917.
NAM 2002-02-902-144
Towards the end of the Third Battle of Ypres (or Passchendaele) in 1917 both sides gave up digging formal trenches and simply occupied shell holes, linking them together into short defensive lines. The trench system of the Western Front was not static. Soldiers were constantly digging to repair or improve their own position, and after each attack changes were made by both sides to account for ground gained or lost. A German support trench one week might be the British front line the next.
Archaeology of trench life
Excavation at the various sites in France and Belgium produced a range of objects that revealed the everyday life of the soldiers in the trenches. Much of this material is simply rubbish, thrown away after use. Other objects are more valuable and must have been dropped or lost in the mud, but all these objects represent the everyday life of the troops who spent time in these trenches.
Personal items
British troops enjoying a well-earned brew, c1914-1918. NAM 2004-09-3-16
Some of the most poignant objects found were private non-issue items that soldiers took into the trenches with them. Watches, harmonicas, small change and food from home have all been excavated. When examining these objects it takes only a little imagination to be transported back 90 years, as a group of mates share out some sweets or cigarettes from home, or enjoy a cup of tea.
