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Life in the trenches - Part 2

60 second histories

This video covers:

A description of a trench; the traversing, loop holes and the use of trench periscopes to view the enemy

To keep watch on the enemy you can’t put your head over the top of the parapet cos an enemy sniper will blow it off, so you watch through a loop hole which is a small hole dug through the parapet at the front of your trench. Some of these are actually made out of iron and fitted into the parapet with a shield that closes over the loop hole when not in use. The best way to look over the top is to use a periscope, a simple device using two mirrors angled in a rectangular box which you can poke up over the parapet and observe no mans land. One of the problems for soldiers in the trench is boredom; they can only see a short distance along the trench because of the traversing so sky watching is kind of a past time. Sleeping is also a problem in the front line trench as you have to be ready to stand to and fight at a moments notice so a nap on the fire step may be all you can get.
Eras: 
20th Century
WW1
Topics: 
Trench Life
Character: 
WW1 British infantry soldier
Key words: 
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