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HomeExploreHistoryWorld War I Trench Life in Photos
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The trenches demanded work even when the guns went quiet. Soldiers laid boards over mud, waited for hot food, wrote home, and carried the wounded back to aid posts. These archive photographs show what it took to live in and around the front lines between 1914 and 1918.

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Images21

1
Duckboards Through Château Wood
Duckboards Through Château Wood: Five Australian field artillerymen cross a duckboard track at Château Wood near Ypres…
2
Clearing Liquid Mud on the Somme
Clearing Liquid Mud on the Somme: Two soldiers stand in liquid mud as they work to clear a trench on the Somme. The…
3
A Meeting During the Christmas Truce
A Meeting During the Christmas Truce: British and German soldiers pose together on the Western Front during the 1914…
4
A Cookhouse in the Trenches
A Cookhouse in the Trenches: Australian soldiers work around cooking pots at a cookhouse in their trench system. The…
5
Stretcher Bearers in the Mud
Stretcher Bearers in the Mud: Stretcher bearers struggle through deep mud near Boesinghe, Belgium, on August 1, 1917…
6
Treatment in a Larch Wood Dugout
Treatment in a Larch Wood Dugout: Wounded soldiers receive treatment at an advanced dressing station in the Larch Wood…
7
Indian Troops Digging Trenches
Indian Troops Digging Trenches: Indian soldiers work with shovels in and around a trench in France. The photograph records…
8
Italian Alpini in the Snow
Italian Alpini in the Snow: Italian Alpini make their way through deep snow in the Alps. In this 1917 photograph, men carry…
9
The 369th Infantry in a French Trench
The 369th Infantry in a French Trench: Men of the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment appear in a trench at Maffrecourt, France…
10
Writing Home From Gallipoli
Writing Home From Gallipoli: Men sit in small shelters along a trench at Gallipoli with papers in their laps. James P…
11
A Group in the Trenches at Gallipoli
A Group in the Trenches at Gallipoli: Australian infantrymen gather close in a Gallipoli trench in Henry Charles Marshall’s…
12
A Haircut and Shave in a German Trench
A Haircut and Shave in a German Trench: Some of the men read while others get a haircut or shave. The Library of Congress…
13
Sleeping in an Overcoat at Bois Grenier
Sleeping in an Overcoat at Bois Grenier: An Australian soldier sleeps wrapped in his overcoat in a trench at Bois Grenier…
14
A French Soldier’s Winter Kit
A French Soldier’s Winter Kit: This soldier on the Verdun front wears and carries the layers of his winter equipment. The…
15
A French Infantry Trench Near Verdun
A French Infantry Trench Near Verdun: Men of the French 164th Infantry Regiment sit in a trench near Verdun in 1916. A man…
16
Portuguese Soldiers at Gas Mask Drill
Portuguese Soldiers at Gas Mask Drill: Portuguese soldiers wearing respirators approach a trench during training. The…
17
A Belgian Soldier Sheltering From Rain
A Belgian Soldier Sheltering From Rain: A Belgian soldier pauses inside a trench fitted out against rain. The Agence Rol…
18
Eating in a Frontline Trench
Eating in a Frontline Trench: British soldiers have a meal in a frontline trench. Several men crouch close to the earth…
19
Telephone Operators Near Langemarck
Telephone Operators Near Langemarck: British artillery telephonists work in a dugout near Langemarck, Belgium, in August…
20
Ottoman Soldiers at Gallipoli
Ottoman Soldiers at Gallipoli: Ottoman soldiers wait inside a trench at Gallipoli. The men stand close together between…
21
Preparing a Carrier Pigeon
Preparing a Carrier Pigeon: A soldier holds a carrier pigeon close as he attaches a message. Taken in France around 1918…

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