4. Living with war A war economy The countries at war implemented wartime economies that were run by the state. The aim was to ensure supplies reached the general population and the troops: Free trade and production were suspended . Industr y in ever y countr y focused on producing weapons for the army. Mil lions of men became soldiers. As a result, mil lions of women began doing the jobs the men left, in order to fil l the gap in the workforce. 12. Female workers in an arms factory in the UK, 1917 What were the trenches like? Trenches were long tunnels and ditches dug into the earth . They were protected with barbed wire to prevent the enemy from advancing. Trenches had sandbags to defend against heavy artiller y. Soldiers spent months at a time in the trenches in terrible conditions. The cold was intense and rain flooded the trenches. Food was often scarce and the lack of hygiene and plagues (of rats, fleas, etc.) brought disease. On quiet days, some soldiers wrote diaries and letters that provide us with valuable information about the war. In the darkness of night, soldiers could leave the trenches to repair them or attack the enemy. (13 and 15) E X P L O R E 13. British trench in 1916 The trenches are narrow and muddy and full of yellow rainwater. You slip as you walk. Mice run along the embankments. There are rats in the muddy bottom of the trenches. Gusts of wind bring cold stench . There are deep spaces dug into the slopes of the trenches where squads of soldiers protect themselves. Lookouts are concealed among boulders and twigs so they can listen and watch for the enemy. In front of the two enemy trenches are fields of thorny barbed wire. There is also a space where the dead of recent days rot on the bones of those who fell before them. The surrounding land looks like it has been ploughed . Shrapnel has chopped down the trees and burnt the grass. From the bottom of the trenches, rockets emerge, green and white, opening up in the dark night. Ramón María del Valle Incl án, Un día de guerra, in El Imparcial, 11th October 1916 (Adapted) Women mainly worked in weapons factories, building propel lers, mortar shell s and rif les, or packing ammunition . (12) Thi s was hard and dangerous work. Many women were kil led in accidents. Mil lions of women began working in the countr yside and al so as nurses, tram and bus drivers, mechanics, police of ficers, etc. Some women , such as Natalie Tychmini and Dorothy Lawrence, fought on the front line. Others, such as Mata Hari , became spies. 32
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy