Trench Warfare
There are many horrible experiences that people have to undergo in life, however, there are
few cases that compare to what the Canadian soldiers in World War 1 had to endure in the trenches.
Those lucky enough to have even survived the extensive bloodfest were no better off, as the eternal
scar of the war marred the soldiers’ ability to resurrect their happiness. “Shellshock”, experienced by
many post-war, the overall trench conditions, consisting of disease-carrying pests and trench foot,
combined with the effects on the morality all amalgamated to provide a living perdition for the
soldiers. Firstly, “shellshock”, known now as PTSD (Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder), was a severe,
psychological reaction to the intense bombardment that resulted in soldiers becoming mentally
insane, which frequently produced an inability to use their cognitive senses, sleep, walk, or even
talk. This was not an unusual occurrence either, as a closely estimated 10,000 service-men were
subjected to this condition . Those unfortunate to have suffered this disorder were deemed by the 1
public as weak and ‘unmanly’, and it was of no help either that electrocution and drinking were of
the only methods of treating this condition . Not only was the experience of shellshock horrific, but 2
the trench conditions were completely appalling; the dark and wet and muddy underground hole,
fraught with disease-carrying pests and an environment that encouraged trench foot, proved to be a
torturous environment for the soldiers. Oversized and bloated rats were constant irritants and they,
along with lice, rapidly spread illnesses and viruses . In addition, trench foot, a painful condition 3
effectuated by the long immersion in damp water and mud, was catastrophic as it sometimes led to
gangrene and amputation . The trenches a...
