Wild Life on the Western Front - Rats in the Trenches
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Wild Life on the Western Front - Rats in the Trenches
Rats grown to aldermanic size pictured scuttling around the trenches on the Western Front. The vermin were a perennial problem during the conflict. Date: 1917
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Media ID 14186491
© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans
Barbed Conditions Dirty Fear Grim Nasty Phobia Problem Rats Trench Trenches Vermin Wild Wire Phobias
EDITORS COMMENTS
Wild Life on the Western Front: A Nasty Reality - Rats in the Trenches (1917) The image before you presents a chilling snapshot of life in the trenches during the First World War. The year was 1917, and the Western Front was a grim and dirty battlefield, a far cry from the pristine and orderly lines depicted in military textbooks. The conditions were harsh, and the soldiers endured unimaginable hardships. Among the many challenges they faced, rats were a particularly pervasive and unwelcome presence. Rats, once a common sight in urban environments, had grown to aldermanic sizes in the trenches due to the abundance of food and the lack of predators. These vermin were a constant source of fear and anxiety for the soldiers, who suffered from a collective rat phobia. The rats, with their sharp teeth and agile bodies, could easily navigate the intricate network of trenches and tunnels, making them a constant threat to the soldiers' health and morale. The barbed wire entanglements that crisscrossed the battlefield were no barrier to these determined pests. They scuttled around the trenches, often in broad daylight, brazenly foraging for food and shelter. The soldiers' only respite came in the form of occasional bombardments, which would drive the rats into their burrows, only to resurface once the firing had ceased. This photograph, taken in 1917, is a stark reminder of the harsh realities of life on the Western Front. The rats, once a common sight, now symbolize the unrelenting and often unseen challenges that the soldiers faced during the conflict. Their presence adds another layer to the already grim and dirty conditions that the soldiers endured, making the image a poignant and haunting testament to the history of the First World War.
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