Fighting Mud in the Trenches 



It is not easy to imagine men stand- 

 ing in trenches like this for three 

 days and nights at a stretch, but 

 that is what they did all through 

 the long winter. Mud inundates 

 the trenches on warm days and 

 freezes in the cold weather. Long 

 rubber boots, called "trench boots," 

 were supplied to the men last 

 winter and relieved the suffering 

 to a great extent. Work in the 

 trenches is not even confined to 

 standing in the mud and fighting. 

 In the illustration at the right is 

 shown a sapper looking out from an 

 air-hole. Many miles of tunneling 

 have to be dug in order to gain de- 

 sired positions and avoid the fire of 

 the enemy. Underground mining, the 

 digging of new trenches and building 

 huts and caves for residence, give 

 the soldier mud baths from head 

 to foot 



-^r^^iase^ -W 



674 



