What were the conditions

like for the soldiers during

WW1?
By Kavitha, Sana & Nicholas
 The Trenches
● Throughout a large portion of WW1 both sides
were in stalemate and were forced to stay in their
trenches

● Mix of rain and constant artillery fire turned the

trenches into cesspools.

- This caused many soldiers to flounder and even

drown in the deep slime due to their heavy gear

- The cesspools also resulted in diseases spreading

throughout the trenches easily
 Diseases
Some of the common diseases in the WW1
trenches:
● Trench foot
● Typhus
● Malaria
● Typhoid
● Dysentery
● Yellow fever
● Pneumonia
● Influenza

The unsanitary conditions of the trenches led to the

death of around 15% of the ally soldiers.
 Mental Conditions
● Trench Life Challenges
- Unprotected from crossfire, leading to stress and exhaustion

● Soldiers Mental Health

- Worse mental than physical conditions
- Shell shock (PTSD): nightmares, hallucinations, distress,
memory loss, trembling, sleep disorders

● Impact on Army
- Rising shell shock cases weakened the army
- British doctors struggled to diagnose and treat their men
- Soldiers faced depression, anxiety, hopelessness
- Officers saw this as cowardice so many men were shot

Soldiers turned to writing as a means of emotional outlet

 The inhumane actions of the superior officers
● Soldiers were repeatedly ordered to charge
enemy trenches by superiors. Often forced to
charge directly into machine gun fire

● Refusal to charge meant execution by their own

officers

● After failed charges and heavy casualties, new

soldiers are brought in only for the same
pattern to be repeated days later, leading to
further loss of life

● This cycle persisted throughout the war's

duration
 Overall
● The conditions for a soldier in WWI were horrific and
those to survive them would have been very lucky
● The average life expectancy of a soldier in WWI was
only a few weeks.
● Diseases were extremely common, and led to the
deaths of about 15% of the ally soldiers
● The front line trenches were considered “Hell on
Earth”.

Everything visible or audible or tangible to the sense – to touch, smell and perception – is
ugly beyond imagination’
Wrote W. Beach Thomas after spending five months on the Somme in 1916.
Thank you for listening