How to survive~World War 1

World War 1 was the World's first major conflict that was fought on all corners of the world, from North America, to Europe, to Africa, and Asia. This was definitely one of the worst times to be alive.

So, how would you survive in this terrible time? This is what this page will try to cover.

## Soldier's Kit

It's 1915 and WW1 is upon Europe. You enlist into the army, what kind of weapons and supplies would you have? That'll depend on what faction you're fighting for.

By WW1, the Bolt-Action rifle has become standard for early every modern army in the world, and each of those factions had their own variant of the famous Bolt-Action rifle; the Mauser (which was used by German soldiers). The British had the Lee Enfield SMLE as did the French, and the Russians had the Mosin-Nagant. Later on when the USA joined the war, they used the 1903 Springfield, some of these rifles were also outfitted with a bayonet for close quarter fights. You would also had a sidearm, though the automatic pistol became standard by the time the war began, some nations still used revolvers, The Brits used the "Trocaola OP n2 MK. 1" and the Italians used the "Bodeo M 1889."

Other weapons were also used during the war, and in their own right was quite new to warfare. Hand thrown Grenades would be widely used in the war, though WW1 wasn't the first time soldiers used Grenades, but it was in WW1 when they became reliable enough to use on a wide scale. The Allies would use the Mills Grenade (made by Golfer William Mills) and used metal shrapnel to kill and was used mostly on the defensive. The Germans would use a concussive grenade that had a stick which allowed to be thrown farther and more accurately, and relied on the force of the blast to kill. Flamethrowers would also be used in WW1, as German weapon designer Richard Feidler would make the weapon more reliable and light enough to be used by one soldier, again WW1 wasn't the first time fire weapons were used in Warfare. Machine Guns also saw time in WW1, unlike the Gatling Gun which relied on a crank to shoot, the 2 machine guns used in WW1 (the Maxim and the Vickers) used automatic moving parts to shoot. The French would come up with a small, compact version which is easy to carry, it was called the "Chouchat", but because it shot a big caliber bullet, the gun frequently jammed.

An average soldier would also have his own supply of food rations as they would carry salted meat, cheese, bread, Jam and even Gill Rum. World War 1 also saw the large scale usage of helmets, but they would be of simple and generic design, the Brits would use a helmet which would be called "Brodie" and it was brimmed like a hat, and it protected the user from metal shrapnel from exploding shells, but not from Bullets. As the war dragged on, the Germans would develop a revolutionary helmet which was big and innovative in design, and provided better protection, it would be called the "Schtalhelm" (Steel Helmet).

## Trench Warfare

At some time during the war, and to defend their holdings as well as their cities and towns. Soldiers on both sides decide to dig deep, long hole called "Trenches" so they can stop the advance of the enemy. Eventually, both dies would dig up to around 1,700 miles of trenches.

These trenches weren't perfectly straight across, this would make it easy for the enemy to run, and shoot their way into the trench if they can get passed the front defenses, instead it was made to either zig-zag or resemble the walls of an old castle from a top view. These trenches were made from 3 segments.

1. This was the front of the Trenches, and saw most of the action. This segment would have mounted Machine Guns (or soldiers using their rifles) as they would fire on enemy soldiers who would \*dare\* charge through "No Man's Land" (the open field between trenches) and even Barbed Wire to slow down those enemy soldiers.
2. This segment is where soldiers would either store ammunition, food, and other supplies as they need to have areas to store them. Some trenches even had to make other rooms for communications so they can coordinate with the high command far from the battlefield.
3. The back segment, and it usually had the heavy artillery. The soldiers who were in the back were responsible for loading and firing the artillery at the enemy.

But, life in the trenches was far from being a pleasant stay. You wouldn't just put up with the constant noise of gunfire and canons (which can sometimes cause "shell shock" where the deafening noise of canon shells would cause tinnitus and blank stares). But also disease (more on that later) and pests (even cat-size rodents). Even if you were at the front segment of the trenches, you can find yourself bored for a while. Sometimes, the trench can flood after it rains

## Chemical Warfare

World War 1 also saw the use of chemical warfare on a large scale. Toxic gases like Mustard gas and Chlorine gas were used on the battlefield. These gases destroy the human respiratory system, killing anybody unlucky to be exposed. You will have to use a gas mask in order to survive, but these didn't come until later on in the war, for Chlorine gas, you can take a piece of cloth and "pee" on it and put it over your nose and mouth as human urine contains ammonia which neutralizes the Chlorine. With Mustard gas, even if you survive, it can cause painful blisters to erupt on your skin.

## Disease

With all of the man-made weapons mentioned, the guns, the chemical weapons, it's so easy to forget that there was a good amount of diseases during the war. In fact, around ⅓ of all of the deaths in the war came from disease. A lot of bacterial infections came and since Antibiotics wouldn't be introduced until a decade after the war, they were rampant. Diseases like Trench fever, and even fungal infections like Trench Foot where your foot/feet would have a terrible and extremely painful fungal infection caused by the cold and wet conditions common in trenches, leading to numerous amputations.

Even with some of the latest in medicine, soldiers wounded in battle can still die of a bacterial or viral infection. One of the causes was the use of a antiseptic called "Phenol" or "Carbolic Acid" as it damages the human immune system as well as bacteria and germs, leaving the soldier dangerously vulnerable to a secondary infection. If you find yourself wounded in battle and have to be taken to a field hospital, you'll have to roll the dice so to say that you don't get any kind of illness as Carbolic Acid will damage your immune system.

## Back Home

It may not have been "big box office" like in World War 2, but many cities and towns in Britain and France were under constant threat from German bombing raids (either from Tri-Planes or Airships). Countries on both sides sped up production of war technology to make more ammunition, just like what will happen in the next World War, women would help and work in the war industry to make new weapons and more ammunition. Food rationing was also introduce, especially by the end of the war where almost every army was suffering from food shortages. Conscription and the draft was also introduced in the warring countries where even boys were drafted (either were told to or sometimes on their own volition). But, in some countries this was a major problem.

But there was no other country where shortages of food, ammunition and men were hit the hardest than in Russia. During WW1, Russia was going through social change (which started before the war) as they got rid of the Tsar and formed a "Provisional Government" that didn't exactly live up to everybody's reputation. The Russians were starving and they wanted out of the war. So, if you were a factory worker in Russia during WW1, you would be lucky if you made enough money to get food, and food was on short supply, and if you were to protest against the Tsar over any of this, you could find yourself shot by the Imperial military, though you could get lucky since even the imperial military could join you as they too were starving.

If you were to survive all of this, you could come home a hero (depending on which faction you fought for). Though, you would have only little time to rest until the second World War would begin in 1939, but you wouldn't know that until it happens. Though, the downside is that if you were on the losing side, you could come home to a wrecked nation (such as Germany) where unrest will continue, or you may have no time to rest if you fought for Russia because a Civil War would rage.

That'll do it for this page. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis as well. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.