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Daily life in a WWI trench -

Eating in the trenches followed a strict routine. In the mornings, assuming there'd been no assault, breakfast, usually bacon and tea, would follow an inspection of the troops.

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Food and rations -

Daily rations were meant to include fresh or frozen meat, cooked using mobile stoves. More likely it was bully beef (canned corned beef) with vegetables. Also handed out was bread and biscuits. Generally speaking, food was bland and monotonous, but no one ever starved.

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Dining first class -

Privilege of rank meant that the officer class dined in considerable style and comfort, even on the front line. Note the bottle of wine accompanying this lunch. There's even a bouquet of flowers illuminating the occasion.

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Rum ration -

In the Allied ranks, a rum ration was issued daily. A much looked forward to treat, the dash of alcohol served to lift spirits and further bolster morale.

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Morning ablutions -

As much as was safe and practical, the morning routine included a wash and shave. The ranks often had a designated barber. It was his job to make sure his fellow infantrymen were clean shaven, though, for some, sporting a mustache was de rigueur.

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Day-to-day work -

Troops carried out all sorts of daily chores while entrenched. A singular priority was to repair duckboards and fill sandbags.

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Handling high explosives -

If lack of munitions became an issue, it wasn't uncommon for soldiers to assemble makeshift mines and grenades using tin boxes as casings. This was a highly specialized skill usually undertaken by sappers.

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Out of the line of fire -

During daylight hours, work was undertaken for the most part underground to avoid a sniper's bullet. Enlarging and maintaining dugouts was a typical task.

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Keeping an eye on the enemy -

Above, however, lookouts were constantly on alert for enemy troop movements. In this image, a soldier from the British Expeditionary Force is using a trench periscope to observe German positions from the front line trenches of the Western Front.

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The threat of a gas attack -

The threat of a gas attack was a fear everybody held. Here, an Australian front line soldier is using a wind direction indicator as an anti-gas precaution.

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Mail delivery -

Maintaining morale in the trenches was vital. Regular deliveries of mail helped forge important links with loved ones back home.

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Letters and care packages -

Along with letters, soldiers would also receive care packages of food, magazines, and clothes.

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Writing home -

Troops were also allowed to communicate with home about their life in the trenches. However, before being sent out, soldiers' letters were censored by their officers.

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Rest and relaxation -

Weary soldiers spent a good part of their downtime resting in dugouts. In fact, trench life often involved long periods of boredom. To alleviate the monotony, soldiers of all nations and militaries turned to a wide variety of entertainment.

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Reading -

Reading was a popular way of passing the time. Novels were devoured with passion. Completing a crossword, a relatively new game invented in 1913, was another method of taking the mind off the circumstances combatants found themselves in.

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Keeping up with the news -

In this 1915 photograph, a German officer is reading a copy of the British newspaper Daily Mail with a headline that reads: "Lord Kitchener calls for more men."

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Music and song -

Music and song provided a welcome distraction. Sentimental ballads, folk songs, and irreverent ditties were often sung in the trenches, sometimes to the accompaniment of ad hoc musical instruments.

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Card games and gambling -

A game of cards always attracted a willing retinue of off-duty troops. By way of trying to earn a bit of extra money or tobacco, some indulged in a spot of gambling. In this image, a card game in a French trench is interrupted, presumably by a flypast by Allied aircraft.

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Trench camaraderie -

The sense of camaraderie among the ranks was tangible, heightened by rounds of storytelling and merrymaking. Jokes and friendly put-downs elicited smiles and laughter—rare moments of amusement in the most desperate of times.

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Insanitary conditions -

The long, narrow trenches collected rainwater, which soon turned into a quagmire of mud. These conditions induced a medical condition known as trench foot where feet, immersed for long periods in the filthy concoction, would swell up and begin to decay. In the cold winter months, frostbite worsened symptoms. In extreme conditions, trench foot could lead to gangrene and amputation.

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Dealing with vermin -

The unsanitary conditions of trench life was further exacerbated by rats. They helped spread disease and were a constant irritant. Teams of rat catchers were deployed to exterminate the vermin.

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Tormented by lice -

Lice tormented troops day and night. These tiny blood-sucking insects infested clothing, irritated skin, and caused 'trench fever' and typhus. Pictured are soldiers picking cooties (an American slang term for the wingless parasites) from their uniforms.

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Holding on to faith -

Religious faith helped many soldiers cope with the horrors of war. Indeed, religion played a key role in the lives of most combatants. Military chaplains of several denominations provided spiritual comfort and solace throughout the conflict. Here, infantrymen are seen praying during a service before entering the trenches.

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Festive celebrations -

The military forces of the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente made a special effort to celebrate Christmas, like these German troops singing around a Christmas tree in their trench on the Eastern Front.

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Christmas truce -

Famously in 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce was held around a series of ceasefires along the Western Front. British and German troops met in the middle of "No Man's Land" to exchange banter and cigarettes (pictured).

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Documenting life in the trenches -

While personal photography was banned by all sides in order to control the "official view of war," sanctioned photographic units were established to capture a favorable perspective of the conflict. While this approach often presented a distorted view of the war, it did enable photographers to freely document daily activities in the trenches that otherwise might never have been recorded.

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Caring for the wounded -

As the conflict progressed, casualty numbers rose exponentially. Teams of female nurses were drafted in amongst the carnage to care for the wounded. The horrors faced by both soldiers and their caregivers were indescribable.

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Lives lost caring for others -

Nurses, in fact, faced the same risks as conscripts. Vulnerable to artillery barrage as well as gas attack, an estimated 1,500 nurses from a number of countries lost their lives serving on the front line.

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Living and dying on the front line -

The reality was that life in the trenches was also about dying in them. The regular death toll ensured the need for constant reinforcements, new recruits who had no idea what surviving on the front line meant.

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The futility of war -

Yet there was still time for black humor. In this photograph taken in 1914, French troops wearing enemy helmets stage a mock German surrender. That capitulation would only take place four years and 40 million casualties later.

Sources: (Canadian War Museum) (BBC) (History) (National WWI Museum and Memorial) 

See also: What life was like in communist East Germany

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