The Trenches

As from the end of 1914, soldiers went underground. Machine guns had mowed down the infantrymen who went over the top in open countryside. 1914 was the deadliest year of the war. Jumping in a shell hole or digging a ditch were the only ways to seek protection from enemy fire. Slowly but surely, a network of trenches came about. The war of movement was being succeeded by a war of position.
Life there became organised. Between Ypres and the Artois, the trench line crossing the Nord department was a relatively quiet area. Post cards depicting the front aimed to reassure families and troops to the rear as to the soldiers’ comfort and protection. Eye witness accounts by soldiers told a very different story.