Activity 6

a soldiers diary

Activity 6

contemporary world

Diary entry #1

December/18/1914

Dear diary,Tonight something extraordinary happened, we heard a faint singing coming from the German lines, they sounded like carols in some language I didn't understand. At first, we thought maybe it was a trick, but then one of our men started singing back, and soon, voices from both sided were all you could hear throught the cold air.Then, a German shouted "You no shoot, we no shoot!" and, though we hesitaded at first, a few of us climbed out of our trench with our hands raised and we met them half way in the dead zone between us. They gave us cigarettes and we shared chocolate, there was even a football game!It was then we I realized that it was the first time that, instead of monsters, I saw men, just human beings having a good time with each other. For a few hours, we laughed, shared some stories and buried the bodies that had been lying there for weeks.Even though when dawn comes we will be fighting and at war again... tonight, there was peace.

Diary entry #2

April/12/1915

Dear diary, Today when I woke up, I found the trench had waterlogged overnight after the colossal rain, it hasn't stopped for days.When I got out of the trench, the floor was soaked through so greatly that my boots oozed through and my feet ached. The sergeant tells us to keep changing our socks but we only have a few dry pairs left, I've seen men's toes turn black, they call it a trench foot, if they don't get treated they could lose their whole feet, I'm scared it's going to happen to me. There are rats everywhere, they are enormous and crawl over the other soldiers. They leave a terrible smell behind. Everyday we have to follow the same rutine, we wake up at dawn, get the rifles ready, in case of any attacks. After, we just clean the weapons, repair the trench walls and wait... we always wait. We hear constant sounds from afar but today, those sound felt closer, we have to get ready to face anyone that's behind that sound... so, for now, this is the end of todays entry.

Diary entry #3

July/1/1916

Dear diary, The battle of the Somme began at dawn today. We had been preparing for weeks, the constant nerves and the ground shaking beneath our feet, although we were told this bombardment would destroy our enemy's defenses and that it would make it easier for us to cross, I was really anxious for what to expect. Once the whistle blew, we fought with all we had, as we climbed the ladders, we found the German's guns wating for us. When I looked around me later on, all I could see were men falling and crying out that they had been shot, what tore me apart was that, when I was running, I tripped over the body of one of the soldiers that I then recognized as a friend whom I had shared tea with this morning. When the night fell, we had gained almost no ground. I heard they said that there were around 57,000 British casualties only on the first day. I really don't know how much longer this can go on... or if I'm gonna be able to survive this.

Diary entry #4

September/15/1916

Dear diary, Today we saw something entirely new, there were machines that I've never even imagined could be like that. They call them tanks, they have big iron beasts rolling slowly across the entire battlefield. At first, I was a tad bit skeptical about them, thinking they wouldn't work, some broke down before they even reached the line, but the ones that did, they caused absolute chaos in the enemy trenches. We followed behind as the machines crushed the barbed wire and absorbed all the gun fire. The other soldiers cheered and, for the first time, it felt like and advantage. Still, they are slow and noisy and so they might find a way to fight back. For now though, progress is progress, I do however wonder at what cost

Diary entry #5

November/7/1916

Dear diary, Another cold night in the trenches. The sound of shells is constant now, I swear I could hear them in my sleep. Sometimes I hear some men scream in their dreams, all of us haunter by the memories of the gas attacks or the faces of our lost friends.

I write letters to my family whenever I can. They are my lifeline and the only way I feel conected to home. I never tell them about the worst of it though, instead, I just describe the little things, like the tea we managed to brew or a joke a mate told me, even the chocolate portions we saved little by little.Even here, there are a few moment of humanity, these moments keep reminding me that we are still men, not just soldiers.

References

• The National Archives. (2020, 22 enero). Letters from the First World War, part one - The National Archives. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/letters-first-world-war-1915/?
• Imperial War Museums. (n.d.). Voices of the First World War: Trench Life. Retrieved. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-the-first-world-war-trench-life?

• Battle of the Somme. (s. f.). National Army Museum. https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/battle-somme?
• Reporter, G. S. (2020, 26 marzo). From the archive, 19 February 1915: Letters from the front give a glimpse of trench warfare. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/19/first-world-war-trench-warfare-letters-editor-archive-1915?