Visual Activity for Chapter 22
Printed Page 599 Chapter Chronology
Visual Activity for Chapter 22
LIFE IN THE TRENCHES
One U.S. soldier in a rat-infested trench watches for danger, while three others sit or lie in exhausted sleep. This trench is dry for the moment, but with the rains came mud so deep that wounded men drowned in it. Barbed wire, machine-gun nests, and mortars backed by heavy artillery protected the trenches. Trenches with millions of combatants stretched from French ports on the English Channel all the way to Switzerland. Such holes were miserable, but a decent shave with a Gillette safety razor and a friendly game of checkers offered doughboys temporary relief. Inevitably, however, the whistles would blow, sending the young men rushing toward enemy lines. Photo: Imperial War Museum; Shaving kit and checkers set: Collection of Colonel Stuart S. Corning Jr./Picture Research Consultants, Inc.