Soldiers in the front lines were rarely provided with fresh food and they frequently suffered from acute constipation. Drinking water was often in short supply, as it had to be carried to the lines in cans. The chemicals which were added to purify it left a horrible taste, though British troops always had plenty of tea which helped to make it a more palatable drink. A lot of alcohol was consumed in the trenches.
Some men found that only by drinking could they cope with the horrors around them. British officers drank whisky; other ranks were almost always given a tot of rum to boost their courage before an attack. Men soon became infested with lice, and louse hunting became an inevitable part of the daily routine. Soldiers spoke of using matches to roast them out of clothing and of the satisfactory crunch as the insects were crushed between the fingernails. Rats were also a problem and there was the constant worry that they would spread disease. Sickness was as great a problem as enemy gunfire.
Troops exposed to damp, cold weather soon fell victim to bronchitis and pneumonia. Trench lavatories were disgusting, and dysentery and similar complaints were common. In the summer of 1915, it was estimated that more than three-quarters of the Allied troops at Gallipoli were suffering from some form of intestinal illness.’ Troops who were obliged to wear wet boots for long periods of time often suffered from the particularly unpleasant disease of trench foot. The victim’s feet began to rot.
The Essay on Trench Warfare World War
... trenches were the support and reserve trenches, respectively. These trenches were constructed to easily move supplies and troops to the front trenches. All of the trenches ... hayn ordered his troops to dig trenched that would provide protection from the allied troops. When the allies reached the trench, they soon realized ...
and often they had to be amputated. There was a daily medical parade, when a doctor or medical orderly checked up on the complaints common to trench life, such as swollen feet, stomach upsets, lice, boils, and flu. The terrible mental strain of life at the front, known as ‘shell-shock’, was not properly understood at first. Some of the 346 British soldiers shot for cowardice were really suffering from mental exhaustion or depression.
