lied dressings, and gave injections. The injured man was then taken to the Advanced Dressing Station. Wounds were again treated and sometimes emergency amputations took place. The wounded soldier was now moved to the Casualty Clearing Station where surgery if needed was carried out. Trenches varied from eight to six feet in height. In these waterlogged trenches, there was a need for extra support wood boards were placed on the side and on the floor for a safe area for walking. The Soldiers stood no chance against the diseases. Body lice were among one of the diseases that traveled among the trenches the most. Body lice caused scratching and led to trench fever. Fifteen percent of sickness was from body lice (Simkin).Trench foot was another disease found in the trenches. After hours of standing in waterlogged trenches, the feet would begin to numb, change color, and swell, and this would soon result in amputation. In the first two weeks of a battle, the British with other allies managed to shoot 4,283,550 shells at the German defenses and 800,000 of them got shell shock (Simkin). The trenches never protected soldiers from shell shock. Soldiers who exposed themselves to continuous amount of shellfire produced a number of symptoms. These symptoms included tiredness, irritability, and lack of concentration, headaches, and eventually mental breakdowns. Dugouts were protective holes dug out of the sides of trenches. The size of dugouts varied a lot and sometimes could hold over ten men. A manual recommended dugouts that were between 2 ft. and 4 ft. 6 in. wide, roofed with corrugated iron or brushwood and then covered with a minimum of 9 inches of earth. (British Army Service Manual). As the war went on dugouts grew in size. By 1917 dugouts could hold two battalions of soldiers at a time. Large dugouts were also built into the side of communication trenches so that they were not directly in line of fire from enemy guns. These often served a...
