trench warfare: Quick Facts

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Gigantic rats were common in the trenches of WWI and WWII.
During WWI, trenches were used to try to protect soldiers from poison gas, giving them more time to put on gas masks.
Dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever, and trench foot were all common diseases in the trenches, especially during WWI.

Photos and Videos

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban

American Civil War: Union soldiers in trenches

Fort Mahone, Petersburg, Virginia

British soldiers in World War I uniforms sit in a trench along a dirt road; one officer uses a field telephone while another writes on a clipboard, issuing orders.

World War I soldiers stand and sit in a trench at a machine gun station, surrounded by sandbags and rough shelter, appearing to be on alert but not in combat.

Two World War I soldiers wearing helmets crouch in a sandbag-lined trench, each holding a rifle, with supplies and wooden planks visible around them.

Brutal truths of the Battle of Verdun

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Topics

fire step Life in the Trenches: A World War I Photo Gallery Does Trench Warfare Still Exist?war guerrilla warfare Ethnic conflict special operations warfare cyberwar civil war Just war asymmetrical warfare proxy war Feud electronic warfare

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