trench systems

• • trenches dug quickly in 1914
  • developed into advanced system afterwards
• • trenches stretched from French and Belgian coasts of English Channel
• • trenches dug in zigzags to prevent enemy from being able to attack trench directly
• • trenches were narrow and blocked
  • led to problems moving and treating wounded
• • frontline trench - closest to enemy so used to fire across No Man's Land
• • communication trench - used to move between other trenches
• • support trench - dug behind frontline and place to retreat during attack and clean wounds
• • reserve trench - behind support trench, used for storing artillery and supplies
• • sand bags - absorb bullets
  • firestep - step into shooting position
  • ammunition shelf - store ammunition
  • parados - protection from artillery
  • dugout - where to eat and sleep
  • duckboard - stand on to keep from water
• problems for treatment:

  • collecting men from no man's land was dangerous
  • trenches difficult to move through
  • ground around trenches uneven
  • ground was muddy due to poor weather