The trenches

The trenches were holes or caves, depending on where the battle line was located (in the plains or in the mountains) in which the soldiers lived the days of waiting and those of the battle.

Imagine the horror of the place, in which forced coexistence meant fleas, excrement, (little) food, deaths, weapons, etc., for as long as necessary.

The machine guns were hidden in the trenches; the trenches were at their turn protected by barbed wire to make it more difficult for the assault by the enemy infantry which in the First World War was hand-to-hand and has also known the use of daggers and even iron-hammered clubs, as if it were of a medieval war.

In this assault, the Arditi, of whom we have already spoken, distinguished themselves on the Italian front.

The barbed wire was generally placed by the engineers - that is, by the departments that prepared what was necessary - but, if necessary, each department could and should fix it.

In modern conflicts the function of barbed wire is carried out by mines.

In the case of the western front (see the page dedicated to this) the trench was a real underground city, in which the various positions were connected.

In the movie an excerpt from a documentary.