What was the food like in the trenches ww1?

The bulk of their diet in the trenches was bully beef (caned corned beef), bread and biscuits. By the winter of 1916 flour was in such short supply that bread was being made with dried ground turnips. The main food was now a pea-soup with a few lumps of horsemeat.

What did WWI soldiers eat?

The first Army field rations, authorized in 1775 by the Continental Congress, consisted of a pound of beef, pork, or fish; bread, beer, and milk, and were expected to feed a man for one day.

Why was food a problem in the trenches?

Food in the trenches of the First World War was scarce. Rations were measly, meals repetitive, and hunger often the companion of fear and fatigue.

Did they eat rats in ww1?

With no proper disposal system the rats would feast off food scraps. The rats grew bigger and bolder and would even steal food from a soldier’s hand. But for some soldiers the rats became their friends. They captured them and kept them as pets, bringing a brief reprisal from the horror which lay all around.

Where did they sleep in the trenches ww1?

6. Getting to sleep. When able to rest, soldiers in front line trenches would try and shelter from the elements in dugouts. These varied from deep underground shelters to small hollows in the side of trenches – as shown here.

What did they drink in ww1?

Soldiers were sometimes issued beer, cider, or brandy in lieu of Pinard, but it remained the most common alcoholic drink consumed at the front. Better quality wine, Cognac, and other brandies were also widely available behind the lines, particularly in cafés and brothels catering to soldiers.

Did soldiers eat rats in ww1?

Why were rats so big in the trenches?

George Coppard gave another reason why the rats were so large: “There was no proper system of waste disposal in trench life. They were so big they would eat a wounded man if he couldn’t defend himself.” These rats became very bold and would attempt to take food from the pockets of sleeping men.

What did they drink in the trenches?

Drinking water was transported to front line trenches in petrol cans. It was then purified with chemicals. To help disguise the taste, most water was drunk in the form of tea, often carried cold in soldier’s individual water bottles.

Did they have toilets in the trenches?

Soldiers lived in the trenches when fighting during WW1, it was muddy, noisy and pretty basic. They didn’t have toilets so it was probably a bit stinky too.

Did soldiers sleep in dugouts?

Did ww1 soldiers drink in the trenches?

The Rum Ration and the British Trenches With an anti-alcohol drive picking up pace back home, British policy concerning alcohol in the trenches was more conservative than that of their French allies, who issued wine as a matter of routine to their frontline soldiers.

What was food like in the trenches in WW1?

Far from being a given, food was often considered a luxury to soldiers in the trenches during World War One. It was almost impossible at times to deliver hot food from the field kitchens to the trenches on the front lines, particularly when battle was in full swing.

What did the soldiers say in the trenches?

Ww1 quotes from soldiers trenches. Quotes tagged as ww1 showing 1 30 of 62 i am young i am twenty years old. War diaries project where the connecting trench joined in an unfortunate fellow was stretched out decapitated by a shell just as if he had been guillotined. Ww1 sayings and quotes.

How much food was sent to France during World War 1?

A total of 3,240,948 tons of food was sent from Britain to the soldiers fighting in France and Belgium during the First World War.

What was the smell of the trenches in WWI?

“The trench was a horrible sight. The dead were stretched out on one side, one on top of each other six feet high. I thought at the time I should never get the peculiar disgusting smell of the vapour of warm human blood heated by the sun out of my nostrils. I would rather have smelt gas a hundred times.