Letter From A Soldier

Dear Dave;

War isn't going well.  I knew it would be bad but its nothing like I thought it would be.  Everyday I wake an hour before dawn and gaurd in case there's an attack.  Many get carried out at this time.  As the sun gets higher there's more sounds of gun fire.  The mornings aren't all bad though.  Afterwards we get to have a drink and clean our gear and then breakfast.  We aren't allowed out during the day unless we are on lookout for a surprise attack, or if we were assigned to a task.  But when night comes we're fine.  Once we're done our assigned chit e we have some free time to read or write letters and get some sleep.  Sometimes we can get a bite to eat, bit then we are off to work again.  After breakfast we are assigned to our daily chores, unless you excused for a good reason, the chores we do aren't anything like the chores at home, here we haft to repair stuff like duckboards, refill sandbags, we haft to drain the floor of the trenches during and after it rains and quickly to because it can cause the walls to collapse, sometimes men are assigned to repair the whole trench itself, its not an easy job, however we are given equipment to help make the job easier. The trenches are almost always very busy, although the enemy is on constant lookout for any sign of movement , some men would be assigned to supply and maintenance, and some would be assigned lookout on the far step but if any longer than two hours than there's great risk of men falling asleep, for whitch  death is the penalty. Others would be assigned to other lines to fetch ration's and water. Patrols are often sent out into No Mans Land to add or repair barbed wire, or to listen for valuable information from enemy lines at the listening posts, and if unlucky you may find yourself in a situation with enemy portals which is also why you shouldn't fire a gun because its a deadly risk for all members on patrol. The nights can be be very long and frustrating like for men that get relieved front line and have to get their way through many busy and crowded trenches that are weighed down with equipment and trench stores after an awfully long day of hard work. Beside all that there's the awful smell of over flowing latatrines, body odor ( not to mention the fact that most of the men in here cant afford to take a shower within a few weeks to a month), and the trenches that reak of rotting sandbags, poison gas, cordite, cigarettes, stagnant mud, and creosol and chloride which is used to help provent the constant threat of infection and disease like trench foot which is a medical condition, I've asked about it, its a fungal infection that can result in amputation and its caused by cold, wet, and unsanitary trench conditions, I don't have it at least not yet anyway but there's a risk it could happen to someone like me living the trench life. And the rats are terrifying, I've seen rats the size of moms cat, and the trenches are infested with them and even I can't see them I know they are there. We've tried to get rid of them by gun fire to beating them to death but its really not easy and I don't think we can get rid of them because there's hundreds of them and they spread infection and disease and contaminate food , they even feed on human remains, eating their way from the inside out , which by the way I've actually seen a man's stomach burst open while a dozen rats crawled out last week and it was the most sickening thing I've ever seen, I've also had rats crawl over me and my face in the dark, and I swear they can sense when there's about to be heavy gun fire because that when mostly disappear. And there's frogs as well, in trenches and in shell holes covered in water, and there's slugs, Beatles, and other insects on the side of trenches. Rodents and insects never bothered me before this very much, but freak me out now.  I also shaved my head again but only to oyvoid nits though. But anyway I haft to get back to work. I hope you well and ill write to you soon

- Angus