In the picture above, you can see that there are lots of different parts of the trench. We are going to look at the important parts as there are lots of them.
Duckboard & Sump
In areas that were very wet, the trenches got very waterlogged. To solve this problem, they made very trench have a sump and duckboard. The sump was a narrow, drainage channel that was built at the bottom of the trench. It was then covered up by wooden trench boards which are known as duckboards.
Sandbags
They were used to prevent enemy rifle fire from entering the trench and protect the soldiers but they were useless against shell fire. They were sometimes used to soak up the water at the bottom of the trench.
Trench Step
This was called the firing step. It was 2 or 3 feet of the bottom of the trench and it allowed the soldiers to see of the wall of the trench and fire at the enemy if they were advancing.
Dugout
The dugout or bolt hole was built into the sides of the trench and it was used for protection, eating and sleeping. The earth was held up by wood and the roof was lines with corrugated iron.
Barbed Wire
Barbed wire was used a lot in trenches. It was laid row upon row by both sides to protect their front line of trenches. Breaks in the wire were placed at night-time to allow the soldiers to enter no-mans land. On the other hand, the attackers had to find the wire breaks and many men lost their lives getting tangled up in the wire then getting shot.
parapet
This was the name given to the front wall of the trench- it was the nearest wall tot the enemy. It was strengthened with wood then covered with sandbags. The sandbags were there to protect the heads of the soldiers on the firing step from rifle fire.
Duckboard
Sandbags in a trench.
A soldier firing over the trench.
An officer dugout
A soldier trying to cut through the bared wire
A soldier with more sandbags and another on the firing step.