Experience of life in the trenches
The trench system that the Lowlanders found themselves living in
during Gallipoli was rather different to the trenches of the Western
Front and posed distinct problems for the soldiers.
The hot summer climate was something that the Scotsmen were not
used to. Extreme heat caused major discomfort to the troops as
there was no shelter. There were mazes of trenches and dugouts
built into dry, gravelly, sloped landscape. The sun reflected off the
sea and back on to the troops. The lack of water caused severe
dehydration and the men were living in close quarters with each
other. Disease started to spread and intensified due to poor
sanitation, rats and swarms of flies. Some soldiers recounted a black
cloud above the peninsula when referring to the flies.
There was very little chance of movement due to the enemy’s
position and so the men had no choice but to squash into their
trenches and become ill. The main killer on Gallipoli was dysentery,
an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea and vomiting.
The communication trenches and cliff roads were difficult to
navigate, making the journey to hospital long and uncomfortable. By
October, the 52nd Lowland Division was losing an average of 3000
men per week to sickness and wounds.
In October, the weather changed bringing in cooler winds. Moreover,
between November and January the scorching temperatures of
summer had been replaced with rain, snow and chilling winds. The
impact was huge. Trenches were flooded and then they froze over
when the temperature plummeted. Many men had to be invalided
back home due to frostbite, some even froze to death.
The extreme weather influenced the Lowlanders’ campaign in
Gallipoli and contributed to the high deaths and casualties of the
Division.
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/podcasts/voices-of-the-first-worldwar/podcast-14-gallipoli