One U.S. soldier in a rat-infested trench watches for danger, while 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 temporary relief to doughboys (as the American soldiers were called). 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.

READING THE IMAGE: What do these images suggest about the reality of life for American soldiers during World War I?

CONNECTIONS: How do you suppose the photograph of the trench compares with the doughboys’ expectations of military service in France?