The first source that I chose was Gallipoli 1915 Bloody Ridge (Lone Pine) Diary of Lt. Mehmed Fasih of the 5th Imperial Ottoman Army, 1915. The diary broadened my knowledge of trench warfare in WWII. It presented the horrors of trench warfare such as constant artillery, machine gun, and grenade fire. Lt. Fasih joined his company at 1300 on 16 October 1915. He was not there for more than an hour before “one mans heel is smashed” from the enemy shelling their trenches. After being in the trenches for less than one day Lt. Fasih has almost been hit by enemy grenades twice. One grenade that landed in front of his dug-out injured three privates, he states “if he had not stood in the way, I could have been hit, even mortally wounded…” Through …show more content…
This lead me to believe that he was a very to the books soldier and did not show any interest in spreading rumors no matter the case. Historians could use this diary from Lt. Fasih to compare and contrast the differences between the opposing sides of WWI, the enlisted personnel to officers, and the horrors that trench warfare had to offer in the years of the Great War. Lt. Fasih’s experience of war represents the typical officer in charge of a series of trenchs during WWI, however not so much the enlisted personnel. An enlisted persons diary would be much different given that they are not given the same privileges as officers. The second source I chose was General Jack’s Diary war on the Western Front 1914-1918 the diary written by Brigadier General James Lochhead Jack. Brigadier General Jack starts his diary in July of 1914 while he is training at an exercise camp in the Grampian Mountains. He was told by telegram at about 2 a.m. on August 5th that Britain has declared war on Germany causing the speedy mobilization of his brigade to get British forces in the fight as quickly as possible. Jack’s men are disappointed to find out that their destination was changed from Presieu to Jenlain as Jack states “the men are tired, foot-sore from the cobbled
Intro: The life for the average soldier in the WW1 trenches was pretty horrible. They had to live in mud, fellow dead soldiers and lots of rats, some the size of your hand. Life of a soldier was very tough, having to see your best mate get shot and he left to rot. Any soldiers that made it out of the war would have suffered either shell shock or post-traumatic stress disorder and living with either of these would have been terrible.
One of the reasons the fighting was so horrible is that the British trenches were not as developed as the Germans. The British trench was more constructed to maintain readiness, rather than being prepared for different elements. Also, many toes were amputated because of being exposed to cold water. This is more commonly known as “trench foot”.
The grim reality of living in muddy, rat-infested trenches epitomizes the brutal and prolonged nature of this new form of combat. Soldiers endured constant peril from enemy fire, disease, malnutrition, and psychological trauma, locked in a deadly stalemate that exacted a heavy toll on both sides. In the document packet, document 4 talks about how trench warfare got very severe and how the introduction of new machinery changed warfare too when gasses were made and added into the fight. Its effect on the French was a violent nausea and faintness, followed by an utter collapse. It is believed that the Germans, who charged in behind the vapor, met no resistance at all, the French at their front being virtually paralyzed” This shows how trench warfare got extreme and soldiers were left injured in many ways if not
World War I was known for its very slow-paced battle and the stage of stalemate. After advancing from Germany on France, battle turned into trench warfare. Trench Warfare is a defensive strategy in a field where the army stays in rows of trenches that were placed along the Western Front during the war. The use of trenches during the Great War was a very significant tactic during battle, by making soldiers hidden but exposed just enough to be able to attack the enemy. On a daily basis, life in the trenches was very scary and filled with horror. Death was upon the soldiers even if there was nobody attacking them. There was a continuous shell fire that would randomly take the lives of many. Some men died on their first day in the trenches, and very few were lucky to make it out unharmed. Shell fire was not the only issue in the trenches. There were plenty of diseases and infections spreading around like a wildfire. Many soldiers got infections and diseases that could not be treated such as Trench Foot or Trench Fever. Although trench warfare acts as a great defensive and offensive measure, it became very dangerous because of the many different causes of death including shell fire, diseases, and infections.
Description of Life in the Trenches You might be thinking that life in trenches was non-stop death, violence, and pain. But have you ever thought about why? Or what do soldiers do in their trenches when they're not fighting or dying? Do you always trust sources when you read them? Do you always believe what they say on television documentaries?
* Discussion of the soldier’s experience, including but not limited to fighting in the trenches, the smell, boredom, lice, rats, food, common injuries, and battlefield engagement
In the opening remarks of the first chapter, Ernst Junger describes the idealistic origins of many of the soldiers called to action. Most of the soldiers drafted into the war were students and factory workers, all of whom lived a fairly sheltered life beforehand. Being drafted was seen as the adventure of a lifetime. They “shared a yearning for danger, for the experience of the extraordinary.” Much like his comrades, Junger had the same sense of adventure, seeing the war as merely a new challenge to conquer. After his first real experience with war however, his enthusiasm is quickly dashed. The harsh reality set in that this war was not, in fact, an adventure. Junger and the former schoolboys and craftsmen quickly learned that life in the trenches was a challenge of endurance. As the war persists, reality slowly sets in and Junger learns the true violent nature of the war and the constant threat of imminent danger through which he must persevere. Ernst Junger’s accounts in the memoir Storm of Steel show the reality of a soldier in World War I and the taxation of enduring such great trauma.
To explain the main features of trench warfare we must look at all the points the trench design, the modern technology etc. Trenches were designed in a specific way. They were built in a zigzag fashion to accommodate for bombs destroying them. If a bomb did hit them then only a corner of the
World War one, or ‘The Great war’ first started in late June 1914, when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated causing threats to start the war by mid August. This was a chance to introduce the world to modernised weaponry such as gas bombs, machine guns and tanks. Australia has always been known as the country where anything goes. Where we enjoy gathering together to enjoy all of Australia’s achievements. That was no different in 1914. Australia was thrilled with the idea of going to war, we wanted the chance to show the world what we could give. Even though Australia had no choice in matter of going to war as it was already arranged. Gallipoli is known as a successful failure
In All Quiet on the Western Front author and World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque tells the story of a young soldier named Paul Bäumer who enlists in the German army with a group of his classmates. In the novel the reader comes discover the many horrors that Paul has to endure during his service before his untimely death in October 1918, only weeks before the war ended. The events that happen in the novel to Paul and his friends in his company during the war are very similar, if not identical, to what the German soldiers had to endure while World War I raged on in the real world. The way that the novel portrays the soldiers’ rations and reliance on food, their life on the front and in camp, how the young soldiers’ lives were destroyed before they even began, how the older generations pushed the younger ones to enlist, the death of soldiers in battle, and the refusal to surrender matches almost perfectly to how things were during World War I, particularly for the German soldiers.
World War I was in its concluding stages when President Woodrow Wilson sent American troops in 1918 to assist the Allied powers against the Central powers in France. The Allied powers consisted of France, Britain and Russia (124). The Central powers included Austria, Germany and Turkey (124). There are many sources with information about the war, but primary sources like personal diaries can aid us in understanding historical events such as this one. Wartime diaries in particular reveal personal, first-hand accounts of everyday life at war (129). The following diaries analyzed were written by American soldiers that had distinct occupations during the war. Captain Eugene Kennedy was an engineer,
Memoirs of war often reflect the positive or negative experiences endured throughout battle. Considered by many to be one of the best memoirs of World War I, Hervey Allen’s “Toward the Flame”, recalls his own experiences of battle. His recollection of events shows that he had a negative image of war and that there was nothing glorious about it. What started out looking like a man’s greatest adventure turned into a shell-shocking reality that war is actually horrible and trying. Allen’s experiences with consistent hunger, mustard gas, and artillery shellings led to his disillusionment with war, and left him with a permanent hatred of battle.
Since the majority of the Great War accounts for a vast network of resources on what the trenches ultimately provided this research will explore within and above trench lines. The failed plans of leaders halted what is known to be the most strategic play in physical versus intellectual attributes of warfare altogether. If it weren’t for the salient of trench warfare throughout the years of 1914-1918, indulged the importance of communication and its
The text, The Things They Carried', is an excellent example which reveals how individuals are changed for the worse through their first hand experience of war. Following the lives of the men both during and after the war in a series of short stories, the impact of the war is accurately portrayed, and provides a rare insight into the guilt stricken minds of soldiers. The Things They Carried' shows the impact of the war in its many forms: the suicide of an ex-soldier upon his return home; the lessening sanity of a medic as the constant death surrounds him; the trauma and guilt of all the soldiers after seeing their friends die, and feeling as if they could have saved them; and the deaths of the soldiers, the most negative impact a war
During World War I, trench warfare was very common. It was a newer technique in battles as in wars prior to the Great World War, fighting was less invasive and men merely marched at each other from opposite ends of fields and fought until only one side remained standing or a white flag was hung high in surrender. In fact in older wars, the fighting was far less dangerous to the point where battles were often times viewed by locals who watched from side lines with really no threat of getting hurt. In World War I however, the fighting had upscaled to the most sadistic type the world had ever experienced. With the industrialist wave that had overcome us in the late 1800s into