Brief History of WWI and life in the trenches

Canadian Involvement

The First World War marked a pivotal turning point in our nation’s history. For the first time, Canada played an important role on the world stage and in doing so, began to develop a national identity. The war changed how others viewed Canada and how we viewed ourselves. Sadly, many Canadians have forgotten the Great War.

Canada was a small country in 1914 with a population of just over 7,200,000. Most people lived in rural communities and even our largest city, Montreal, had less than 500,000 people. Vancouver had just over 100,000 people. Our regular army only had a few thousand trained soldiers, 600 horses, and a scattering of militia units across the country.

Yet within three years, the small Dominion fielded the four strong Canadian Corps. divisions and were hailed as one of the best on the Western Front. Their first major action was at the Second Battle of Ypres in April 22 to May 25, 1915. Eighteen thousand men of the 1st Canadian Division prevented an enemy rout by holding the line against liquid chlorine gas attacks and an overwhelming number of enemies at a cost of more than 6000 Canadian casualties including 2000 killed in just three days. This was just the beginning. By the time the Canadians entered the Somme Campaign in late August, 1916, more than 11,000 Canadians had already been killed in the war. By the end of the ten week Somme campaign in the Fall of 1916, there were 24,000 Canadian casualties.

The Canadians were learning the business and cost of war. Stunning victories the following year at Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, and Passchendaele marked them as an elite formation. They were earning a reputation – they were good and they knew it!

However, it was in 1918 that the Canadians played a decisive role in a series of major battles known as the “Hundred Days” between August and November, 1918. The Canadian contribution was decisive, taking on one- quarter of the entire German Army on the Western Front. They smashed the hinge of the German defense system and made it possible for the overall Allied advance that ended the war. These last three months accounted for 20% of all Canadian casualties in the Great War – almost 46,000 killed, wounded, or missing.

Four years of war transformed a citizen army of volunteers into a highly effective fighting force – they were the finest army Canada has ever put into the field. More than 600,000 Canadians enlisted with just over 400,000 going overseas. More then 68,000 Canadians were killed, and 176,000 wounded.

Canadian troops 1916 preparing to go “over the top” during training course at a trench-mortar school. Photo Credit: W.I. Castle/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-000683 ID 3206097

Photographer: Castle,William Ivor, 1877-1947

Trenches were not new to the First World War. They were used in the US Civil War, the Boer War and Russia’s war with Japan in 1905, but today the trench is most associated with the First World War. Infantry attacking over open ground against modern machine guns made digging in a necessity.

TRENCHES

Trenches evolved over the course of the war. They began as built up ditches in the beginning but became much more elaborate in the latter half of the war. By 1915 trench lines extended from the North Sea to Switzerland – 450 miles!

Trenches were designed to protect the soldiers but were not overly comfortable.

The building of the trenches also depended on where the trench was built. Natural features such as hills and waterways dictated design. Germans usually occupied the high ground.

In Belgium, where Canadians spent the most time in the war, the water table was high and digging down in the clay based soil meant that they would hit water. Trenches were built using “breastworks” or above the ground.

In areas further south, like the Somme or near Vimy, the earth is chalk based, with better drainage and trenches tend to be dug into the ground.

Even sandbags differed. Sandbags filled with clay based soil had less “stopping ability” than those filled with limestone/chalk based earth. Thus a typical trench in clay soil based in Belgium would be more likely built above ground with thicker sandbagging than those found on the Somme.

Repairing trenches, 22nd Infantry , 1916

Photo Credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-000263. ID #3520958

The Front Line –was closest to the enemy, and lightly manned (unless in preparation for an assault). The soldiers that were on the front line were constantly on alert for enemy patrols and attacks.

The front of the trench was called the parapet, from the French “protect the head.” The back of the trench was called parados, from the French “protect the back”. 

A front line feature was a fire bay. Each fire bay was protected at the side by a barrier of earth and sandbags. 

Traverses were built about every ten meters so that there would be a place where soldiers could shelter and regroup if the enemy entered the trench. Fifty to one hundred feet behind the front line is the support line. 

Support Line - this trench line housed soldiers that were backup forces for the front line. This line had first aid and cooking facilities. Up to 200m behind this line was the Reserve line.

Reserve Line- this trench line was used to give soldiers a break from the front line. They were more comfortable, had dugouts, cooking facilities and medical supplies, but were still close enough to the front that they could quickly go into combat. 

Communication trenches- these trenches connected the three lines and allowed soldiers and supplies to move from trench to trench without exposing them to the enemy.

Fire Step- the fire step was built into each trench, cut into its walls about two or three feet from the trench floor. The fire step, ran the length of the entire trench, and enabled soldiers to peer over the side of the trench through the parapet into No Man’s Land.

Canadians carrying rations and materials up to the front line. December 1917. Photo credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/Item ID #3395515

Canadians digging reserve trench between Berlin and Fosse 10. May, 1918. Photo credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/Item ID #:3395606

ROUTINE

DAYTIME IN THE TRENCH

A typical day in the trench involved a day to day routine. With the knowledge that most attacks would come at dawn, soldiers would wake up one hour before sunrise to “STAND TO” or in other words guard the font line of their trenches. Soldiers called this “the morning hate”.

If all was quiet, soldiers would come off the fire step and go through inspection before breakfast.

Meals

The daily requirement for each soldier was to eat 4300 calories a day. Food was fairly plentiful but incredibly boring and lacking much variety or flavour. Soldiers would often get tea, coffee, jam, bread, cheese, Bully Beef (tinned corned beef), tinned stew, and a rum ration.

Chores

Soldiers had various chores that needed to be completed. During daylight hours they conducted all their work in the trenches, away from any sniper’s view. They were expected to clean latrines, fix parts of the trench, move supplies, pump out water from the trench, and fill sandbags.

Despite lack of washing facilities soldiers were expected to look smart, shave, and keep their uniform and equipment clean. When it was time for a break soldiers could write letters, keep journals, or rest.

NIGHTTIME IN THE TRENCH

At dusk or “ STAND DOWN”, soldiers went back up on the fire step until dark. Nighttime in the trenches was the most dangerous. It was the period of real activity. New trenches were dug, supplies were moved, and work parties repaired barbed wire fences in No Man’s Land. Some nights trench raids were conducted, where they would gather intelligence, take prisoners, and generally create havoc, keeping Germans on edge.

Photo Credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence /Library and Archives Canada/PA-000262. Item ID # 3520957

Fatalities in the Trenches

Canadian Military Demonstration, shorncliff, Sept 1917- ready for gas attack

Credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/Item ID # 3404540

Many of the fatalities in the trenches were due to enemy snipers, drownings, and exposure. The trenches were also marked by frigid conditions, squalor, and a high prevalence of diseases.

Exposure:

Troops were exposed to trauma that effected them both physically and psychologically. They were exposed to several diseases due to unsanitary conditions. Some of the common ones were trench foot, dysentery, and pneumonia.

Canadian soldiers laying trench matsover mud. Battle of Passchendaele 1917

Photo credit: William Rider-Rider/Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-002156 Item ID number: 3522043

Drowning:

In the horrendous conditions at Passchendaele, numerous soldiers and horses tragically drowned. Shell craters filled with water and relentless rain transformed the mud into a treacherous thick substance, often compared to quicksand.

10th Canadian Field Ambulance putting on their gas masks. Battle of Amiens, August 1918.

Photo credit: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/Item ID #:3522224

Gas Exposure:

Liquid chlorine gas:

In early 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, lethal gas was employed on the battlefield for the first time. The Germans transported liquid chlorine gas, releasing it into the air. The gas emitted a bleach like odor and caused a green-yellow cloud, inducing panic due to its deadly effects. Nonetheless, the Canadians managed to hold their ground.

Phosgene gas:

Introduced in late 1915 by the French, it was nearly invisible, more lethal than chlorine, and smelled like moldy hay.

Mustard gas:

Introduced in summer of 1917, and was first used by the German army. It was almost odourless, attacked the skin and blinded victims essentially defeating gas masks and respirators. It caused severe edema of the lungs and many died from asphyxiation within hours.

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