Ivy Gibson
2/10/2014 03:50:37 am
The trenches sounded awful, especially the British trenches - wet and full of death. I thought it was interesting, almost amusing, how much better the German trenches were than the British. Also that the Germans would try and find British corned beef on raids.
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Josie Oren
2/10/2014 03:52:47 am
It's insane how something like corned beef was worth raiding (I've only had it once and it was nasty). I guess it just goes to show how desperate war really makes the two opposing sides, because looting was normally frowned upon during war time from what I understand.
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Ivy Gibson
2/10/2014 03:54:20 am
My mom likes corned beef from DeBoer's a lot, so I think there is such thing as good corned beef. Possibly the Germans were used to bad corned beef.
Adam Kimball
2/10/2014 03:55:47 am
Corned beef hash is a pretty dang delicious breakfast, so if raiding corned beef could lead to that dish being made, it was well worth the compromise on moral integrity.
Mr. Polet
2/10/2014 04:44:17 am
Corned beef is delicious. There are plenty of stories like this thought in the both world wars. Soldiers get completely sick of the same food given to them everyday, so when they are able to steal supplies from the enemy, they enjoy partaking in it. There are also stories of them stealing food from civilians for the same reason, which starts to really push the moral gray area.
Emily Claeboe
2/10/2014 03:56:19 am
it really did sound awful to be in the allies trenches during the war with all the rats, lice and corpses lying around.
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Rachel Sutherland
2/10/2014 04:25:48 am
The British had a good idea of nice trenches by Kensington, however, it never really worked out in the heat of battle, huh? Especially with the lot of them digging on their backs and not being able to imagine luxuries as bullet shells fell on them...
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Emily Claeboe
2/10/2014 03:50:51 am
The national trenches idea was really interesting how the trenches represent the nations with how they looked and how the soldiers lived. For example the english trenches were amatuer and nasty to live in and when Great Britain entered the war they were sloppy and arrogant, unlike the germans.
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Taylor Slais
2/10/2014 03:55:58 am
I also thought this as hilarious, mainly because it's true. This was such a random, yet accurate comparison that it struck me as strange. Overall, despite the fact that I'm glad the Allies won, it sounds much nicer to live in the German trenches.
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Josie Oren
2/10/2014 03:51:11 am
I found it really interesting that the Germans had such better trench conditions than either the French or the British. The fact that they had tap water and bunk beds as opposed to cots and lice was astounding. I also found the concept of no-man's land intriguing. Trying to take that area was next to impossible, and I wonder why people didn't think of a way to end the stalemate that came with the failed runs across no-man's land earlier.
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Emily Claeboe
2/10/2014 03:54:28 am
Its obvisous that the germans were better than everyone else with how they lived while at war with France and Great Britain.
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Adam Kimball
2/10/2014 03:57:11 am
It's funny how a connection can be made by people of the times between quality of the trench and pride in your nation. This is just another example of how nationalism and militarism dominated WW1 mindsets.
Sophia Maicki
2/10/2014 03:51:25 am
I found it interesting how sophisticated the German trenches were. They had wallpaper! They even had mirrors and furniture. In the German's minds, the British trenches showed how careless they were. Their trenches wee cold, wet, and fowl smelling.
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Ivy Gibson
2/10/2014 03:52:53 am
The British trenches are generally what I think of first, so it's really difficult to imagine wallpaper in trenches.
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Kishan Patel
2/10/2014 03:53:45 am
It crazy how prepared the Germans were, even having their own tap water and light fixtures!
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Adam Kimball
2/10/2014 03:58:34 am
Had it not been for Oates, I would always think of the slummy, corpse infested trenches, and never a nice, tidy German trench. Thanks, Oates.
Kishan Patel
2/10/2014 03:52:04 am
I think it's interesting how much better the conditions in the trenches were for the Germans compared to the English and French.
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Josie Oren
2/10/2014 03:54:57 am
It's absolutely amazing the difference in quality between the national trenches. I wonder what they would have used the doorbells for... I'll bet that it also made the German trenches prime space to make war plans. With the British and French trenches, they probably would have pulled back to the cities like the Somme in order to plan.
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Mr. Polet
2/10/2014 04:49:18 am
While both sides did pull back generals and other military leaders for planning the military strategy, they both had to make decisions on the fly, and they didn't have the luxury of getting out of the trench. So both sides needed to have their meetings in the trench. (It wouldn't be a front line though)
Emily Claeboe
2/10/2014 03:53:05 am
If I were in WWI I would have wanted to be on the side of the germans living in their trenches that were nicer than the others, even through they ended up losing after the Americans joined in on the war. Its also interesting that some of the soldiers ate better in the army than they did while at home.
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Sophia
2/10/2014 03:55:03 am
I agree with you Emily. I would rather live in a furnished area, than in a muddy hole. I'm sure there was less disease in the German trenches.
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Kishan Patel
2/10/2014 03:55:38 am
You'd think that with how prepared the Germans were they actually could've won!
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Taylor Slais
2/10/2014 03:54:08 am
I thought it was interesting (and more than a little funny), that some of the people were in essence saying that the trenches were so long they weren't able to play Telephone from one end to the other. Really though, twenty-five thousand miles of trenches as a cumulative number seems a tad excessive. Maybe it's just me.
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Ivy Gibson
2/10/2014 03:55:26 am
I completely agree that 25000 miles of trench seems a bit excessive.
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Thomas Timmerman
2/10/2014 04:06:36 am
The trenches were excessive, but it was war. I think either side would do whatever they needed to to win.
Adam Kimball
2/10/2014 03:54:22 am
The sheer filth and negligence toward any field of health or sanitation that was prevalent in trenches is astounding. Additionally, the hand that the rats played in spreading disease and plague made the rats as formidable a foe as the opposing countries for most, save for Germany, who had the Trench Warfare equivalent of Slim Shady's mansion.
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Taylor Slais
2/10/2014 03:58:31 am
Lovely comparison! And quite accurate, I would say. Furthermore, was anyone really surprised that the flu broke out and people started dropping, when they were living in conditions that make the Union Stockyards look near sanitary?
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Adam Kimball
2/10/2014 04:04:46 am
As they were stewing in their own filth and holding their passing comrades, somebody had to have raised an eyebrow, hahaha. If I could like your comment as if it were a Facebook status, I would.
Rachel Sutherland
2/10/2014 04:05:37 am
It is really strange to think that in a man-made war, a rat could have been the most deadliest killer on the battlefield, rather than the new machine guns or grenades.
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Rachel Sutherland
2/10/2014 03:54:28 am
I think it was rather funny how nice the German trenches were compared to the nasty British ones. The German trenches were said to be clean and deep and much safer with built in shelters, which even had doors! There were bunks and such, and rather much more comfy than what the British had.
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Sophia Maicki
2/10/2014 03:57:42 am
I know! It is amazing how much effort they put into building the trenches on the German side. They must have been very skilled to be able to build like that during the war.
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Thomas Timmerman
2/10/2014 04:05:07 am
I agree! I think that the trenches also provide a parallel for the mindsets of the countries. The British wanted to powerhouse through it and win quickly, but the Germans were willing to hunker down and wait it out.
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Mr. Polet
2/10/2014 04:53:22 am
Do you think that may have been a reason Germany never advanced? They had such a luxurious trench that maybe the soldiers were less inclined to try to push forward. (hypothetical question)
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Thomas Timmerman
2/10/2014 04:02:42 am
It is incredible how the little things can really make a difference in the most desperate of times. I thought it was interesting how some went as far as to say that without the small rations of rum, the allies would have never won the war. The morale of the soldiers really meant everything.
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Adam Kimball
2/10/2014 04:06:11 am
The rum made the pain of infection dwindle...
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