Trench Conditions
The conditions in the trenches were very unsanitary. There was no fresh water and the food was stale...but probably worst of all was the smell.
FOOD
In the front line, food was scarce: you only got it 9 out of every 30 days. And when you did get food, it was stale and cold.
WATER
In the trenches, there was no running water so you didn't have toilets or sinks. Plus, water was in short supply and the water you did have was not fresh...and drinking contaminated water can cause dysentery. Plus, you were waist deep in muddy water...which could cause trench foot. So, you had little water to drink, even though you were surrounded by water...well dirty water anyway. Probably drove some people crazy!
SMELL
The smell in the trenches was terrible. It was a mixture of decaying bodies (you see, there was nowhere to bury dead soldiers where a living soldier wouldn't be shot, so usually they dug a shallow hole at the bottom of the trench and threw the bodies in there...but half the body was sticking out of the hole so the ground was practically a rug of bodies! So, of course that was something soldiers smelled...decaying bodies.), rotting sandbags and men that haven't bathed in weeks. Yuck!!
So, as you can see, trenches were unsanitary and disgusting...which was why so many soldiers had a disease of some sort, and sadly, usually died from it.
Fast Fact: 1/3 of deaths in WW1 were because of unsanitary conditions in the trenches
FOOD
In the front line, food was scarce: you only got it 9 out of every 30 days. And when you did get food, it was stale and cold.
WATER
In the trenches, there was no running water so you didn't have toilets or sinks. Plus, water was in short supply and the water you did have was not fresh...and drinking contaminated water can cause dysentery. Plus, you were waist deep in muddy water...which could cause trench foot. So, you had little water to drink, even though you were surrounded by water...well dirty water anyway. Probably drove some people crazy!
SMELL
The smell in the trenches was terrible. It was a mixture of decaying bodies (you see, there was nowhere to bury dead soldiers where a living soldier wouldn't be shot, so usually they dug a shallow hole at the bottom of the trench and threw the bodies in there...but half the body was sticking out of the hole so the ground was practically a rug of bodies! So, of course that was something soldiers smelled...decaying bodies.), rotting sandbags and men that haven't bathed in weeks. Yuck!!
So, as you can see, trenches were unsanitary and disgusting...which was why so many soldiers had a disease of some sort, and sadly, usually died from it.
Fast Fact: 1/3 of deaths in WW1 were because of unsanitary conditions in the trenches